England in the semi-finals and Manchester United’s infamous five – Football Weekly

Max Rushden is joined by Lucy Ward, Jonathan Wilson and Philippe Auclair as the Euro 2025 semi-finals are decided and Manchester United try to move on unwanted players

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On the podcast today; an extraordinary comeback from the Lionesses against Sweden that culminated in a hugely entertaining penalty shootout. Whatever ‘proper English’ means in the context of this team let’s hope they can manage it for two more games.

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Football Daily | Marcus Rashford and the Manchester United transfer boffins

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The transfer boffins at Manchester United didn’t have a great record last summer when it came to the club’s departures. Scott McTominay was deemed not good enough for Ruben Amorim’s squad, sold for around half of Manuel Ugarte’s fee, and went on to win Serie A Footballer of the Year, leading Napoli to a historic Scudetto. Antony couldn’t trap a beanbag in the first half of the season, registering one goal (a penalty in a 7-0 Fizzy Cup win over Barnsley in September) and no assists in the first five months of the campaign in United colours, yet went on to be one of the standout players in La Liga in the second half on loan at Real Betis, scoring nine goals, registering five assists and helping the Seville side reach a European final.

Representing our country is the greatest honour. It is not right that while we are doing that, some of us are treated ­differently ­simply because of the colour of our skin. Until now, we have chosen to take the knee before matches. It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism. We have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick‑off on Tuesday. Those behind this online poison must be held accountable” – England’s players release a joint statement to show solidarity with Jess Carter, who revealed that she has been subjected to racial abuse online during the Euros in Switzerland.

I am glad that Mike Walsh and Stuart Maconie ((Friday’s letters) have definitively answered the question of where the north of England starts and am confident that is the end of the matter” – Bryan Paisley.

You can cite Howlin Studs Maconie all you want, Mike, but though he may have coined the phrase ‘Britpop’, he also claimed Bob Holness played the saxophone solo on Baker Street. The north starts at Sheffield, indisputably, as did football, also undisputedly. (I’d love to say this is the one thing Noble will agree with me on, but he’d probably email in and say it’s bloody Woodhall, or something)” – Jon Millard.

So it’s really come down to this has it then? Literary choices from a footballer copying their look from John Oates circa 1981. How long till the Premier League starts again?” – Noble Francis.

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Soccer has changed, but the drama and dynamics of penalties remain

Two recent shootouts in the women’s Euros show why the dramatic tiebreaker remains a fascinating fixture of soccer

England’s victory over Sweden at the women’s Euros came after one of the worst penalty shootouts in history (or at least, worst in terms of how many penalties were missed; in terms of drama, it was arguably one of the greatest ever). Of the 14 penalties taken, only five were scored. That led, predictably, to the usual tedious criticism of the women’s game and suggestions that the penalty spot should be moved closer to the goal.

Which is, of course, nonsense. Four of the five penalties that were scored were excellent, hit firmly into the corners, and the other, the kick that turned out to be the winner, was smashed sensibly and without fuss, straight down the middle by Lucy Bronze as the goalkeeper Jennifer Falk dived out of the way. Two nights later, as Germany beat France in a shootout, 12 of the 14 penalties were scored. In the Women’s Super League last season, 90.32% of penalties were converted. Nobody has used those examples to suggest moving the penalty spot further away to give goalkeepers more of a chance.

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