General Football
Five England players nominated for women’s Ballon d’Or after Euro 2025 triumph
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Alessia Russo and Leah Williamson among nominees
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Scott McTominay on men’s list after winning Serie A
Five of England’s European Championship-winning squad have been nominated for this year’s women’s Ballon d’Or, including three Arsenal players who claimed a club and country double of European titles this summer.
Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly all shared Champions League and Euros triumphs, and are joined on the nominees list by Lucy Bronze and Hannah Hampton, who both won domestic trebles with Chelsea and clinched back-to-back European titles with victory over Spain in Basel last month.
Championship 2025-26: contenders, hopefuls and youngsters to watch
Birmingham and Ipswich will be aiming high, while Millwall and Derby are expected to battle for a place in the playoffs
This week the tussle between Birmingham City and Ipswich Town, who meet in the curtain-raiser on Friday, to sign Chuba Akpom – the runaway top scorer in the division with Middlesbrough three years ago (Viktor Gyökeres was runner-up) – was tantamount to both sides taking it in turns to flex their muscles. Despite a sole Premier League win this calendar year, Ipswich were relegated with more decorum than Leicester City and Southampton and Kieran McKenna’s side are armed to attack the second tier, even if Omari Hutchinson joins Liam Delap in departing.