Jess Breach ready to complete unfinished business at home World Cup
However, in New Zealand three years ago, she made just one appearance for England, in a group game against South Africa, missing out to a combination of Lydia Thompson, Abby Dow and Claudia MacDonald in the knockout stages.
As England fell just short to the Black Ferns in the final, Breach had to deal with both collective and individual disappointment but feels she has matured in the three years since.
She said: 'Individually I think I have learned a lot. I think I have grown a lot as a player over the last three years. It was hard, the last World Cup for me personally. But I think this time around, being involved and being with the girls, being on home soil, I think the whole thing will be completely different.
'I think I've learned that me even being a part of the team is way more beneficial than not. I bring other stuff than just my playing ability to the squad which is what I've learned over the last three years. I've adapted and got better as an individual.'
Given some time off after the Grand Slam, Breach took the opportunity to travel before coming back into England's World Cup training camp, part of the 42-player squad gearing up for the global competition.
And now fully fit, she feels she is in position to put her best foot forward ahead of the biggest World Cup to date.
She added: 'I went to Bali. People say you find yourself in Bali, I'm not saying I did that, but I allowed my time to reflect on the seven months I'd been through since WXV, on an injury that I didn't realise would be as serious as it was.
'You have to be your biggest critic. That is really important, I knew I wasn't at my best and now I know I don't want to be in that position. I had to give myself time to process that and my body wasn't ready. It wasn't where it was in WXV, but that is because I'd not had the long period of training. I felt like was catching up but now I feel like we're all on a level playing field.'
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The Guardian
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- The Guardian
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The Guardian
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Suzanne Wrack Lea Schüller remains a formidable spearhead for Germany and, in a side who have carved recent opponents wide open, should add healthily to her tally in Switzerland. Alessia Russo could challenge her but may find England's assignments too nip-and-tuck. NA Clàudia Pina – one of the most natural strikers in the competition. This is the 23-year-old's time to shine on the back of a brilliant season for Barcelona, where she finished as the top goalscorer in the Champions League. SD Pina could blow defences away. Even if she isn't chosen to start every game, she could be even more lethal coming off the bench against tiring defences. A tally of five or six goals may be enough for the Golden Boot and I would back Pina to notch at least four during the group stage on the form she displayed towards the end of the club season. TG I'm going to say Alessia Russo. I think Alessia is in a great place and I think since Renée Slegers has taken Arsenal on, she and Kelly Smith deserve huge credit for the development of Alessia. EH Sandy Baltimore: bit left-field (pun intended), but hear me out. Played as a wing-back for much of her career but now adding goals to her game: five for France and a brace in the FA Cup final. France's stacked frontline will allow her plenty of space to operate and she could easily go on a run. JL Marie-Antoinette Katoto. The Lyon striker – she joins from PSG on Tuesday – has 38 goals in 55 appearances for France and combines precision finishing with often unplayable physicality. After rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in the group stage of Euro 2022, then missing the 2023 World Cup, this could finally be the 26-year-old's moment in the sun. LT If you're predicting Spain to win then it's hard not to predict Pina to pick up the Golden Boot. She's been in formidable form and, although goals can come from a variety of Spain players, I think Pina will do very well. Were the Netherlands not drawn in such a tricky group I'd have fancied Vivianne Miedema. SW Iceland look strong, reliable and more than well placed to compete seriously in a winnable Group A. They have a habit of staying in games and, if they were to avoid Spain in the last eight, could travel far. It is also worth watching out for a hugely improved Italy. NA Italy are my dark horses. Andrea Soncin has overseen something of a rebuild and refresh since he took over in 2023. They have been in steady form since, taking the scalps of Spain and Germany among others. Roma's playmaker Manuela Giugliano is one to watch. SD At least one of the seven teams in Group A and B who are not Spain will reach the semi-finals. That's guaranteed, so while that won't be a 'surprise', whoever makes it from that relatively low-ranking set will be an unlikely name for a semi-finalist. There is little between the seven but I am leaning towards Italy, who have recorded some excellent results since the World Cup. TG You have to talk about the French, while Italy are a good side and Belgium have the qualities to be disruptive. EH Italy have claimed some big scalps in the past 12 months and if they escape a tough group the draw could easily open out for them. JL Wales. The NWSL title in the United States is notoriously hard to win but the Wales coach, Rhian Wilkinson, pulled that feat off at Portland Thorns in 2022. Wilkinson has turned a highly motivated Wales into extremely awkward opponents and, with Jess Fishlock and Sophie Ingle in a high-calibre midfield, they look capable of reaching the quarter-finals of their first major tournament. LT Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion Is this Norway's time to not be disappointing? The draw has certainly helped them and if they top the group that should give them momentum going into the knockouts. I don't expect them to go far, but with Ada Hegerberg, Guro Reiten, Caroline Graham Hansen, Frida Maanum, etc the quality is there. SW Nobody with any handle on the England setup is blind to the prodigious talent of Aggie Beever-Jones. Now Europe should discover the Chelsea striker's gifts first-hand. She has made a flying start at international level and should prove an explosive option from the bench. NA Beever-Jones will bring the impact from the bench. The 21-year-old is playing in her first major tournament and has just enjoyed the season of her young career. If the Lionesses need a goal, they know they have someone in the ranks with an instinctive eye for one. SD For the viewer who may not be a women's football diehard, this should be the tournament when Cláudia Pina breaks into the mainstream and receives wider recognition. Meanwhile, England's Michelle Agyemang can go into this tournament with no fear and if she gets a chance off the bench she can show she is a future superstar. TG Pina is someone who has got huge, huge potential. For England, we could talk about Grace Clinton for example, but I'm always going to say Beever-Jones, because if England need a different type of goalscorer in another moment in a game, I think she's capable of delivering on that front. For Germany, watch out for Jule Brand; she is so exciting to watch. EH Vicky López. Still only 18 but long regarded as one of Europe's most promising talents, López went to last summer's Olympics for Spain but didn't play. Has featured more often for Barcelona this season and this could be the tournament that puts her name in lights. JL Manuela Giugliano. The Roma playmaker says she models her game on that of Andrea Pirlo but, at 27, is still to see her lofty domestic standing transposed on to the international stage. That could be about to change for a dead-ball wizard blessed with superior vision, a stellar passing range and a knack of making impeccable defensive interceptions. LT Lauren James has had an injury-hit season for Chelsea but when fit she has looked sublime. The forward seems to have matured her all-round game, her defensive work rate as impressive as her attacking, and this could be the tournament where she really stamps her name on the international stage. In training she has looked phenomenal and her assist against Jamaica on Sunday, after coming on for her first minutes in three months, showed her importance to England from a creativity point of view. SW Further evidence that standards at the game's elite level continue to reach new heights – in a country that should be perfectly set up to host a smooth, joyful summer tournament. NA I think the next month will be the best illustration of how far European football has continued to develop over the past three years. Any of five or six teams could win it and no side are infallible. In terms of the tournament, I am looking forward to seeing everything that Switzerland has to offer. This is a huge moment in their women's football journey and I am sure they will seize it. SD The three group matches between England, France and the Netherlands – all three of whom are capable of going all the way – should make for blockbuster viewing. The pressure riding on those early fixtures will be immense; they are akin to semi-finals, in terms of standard, but they are going to be entertaining us inside the first 11 days. I'm also looking forward to the mountainous scenery from the window seat of a Swiss train. It is a beautiful country. TG Nowadays players have got more access to the support they need to be the best versions of themselves, so the quality is going to be so much higher. There may be a bit of a shifting of the order, too; this may be a tournament where we talk about a Belgium or an Italy and not a Sweden and a Norway. That's not to say that will happen, but there could be a shift. EH The Dutch fans. Obviously. JL You mean apart from the Swiss chocolate museum in Lucerne? Watching Wales and their 38-year-old, but still world-class, midfielder Jess Fishlock at their first major tournament. The final Group B game between Italy and Spain in Berne looks intriguing, too. Off the pitch, seeing Lake Lucerne, the Alps and the Abbey Library in St Gallen, said to be one of the world's oldest and most beautiful. LT A cheese fondue. Does that need elaboration? It's all I've been thinking about for months. On the pitch, Spain are obviously the favourites but the fact any one of several teams (Spain, England, Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands …) could win this tournament makes it hugely exciting. Set against the backdrop of stunning Switzerland, it will be memorable. SW
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Djokovic passes Muller test to reach Wimbledon second round
LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic was made to work hard after a strong start as he began his bid for a 25th Grand Slam title by beating unseeded Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1 6-7(7) 6-2 6-2 to reach the second round on Tuesday. The sixth seed, who is aiming to equal Roger Federer's haul at the All England Club and move past Margaret Court in the all-time list of major champions, will take on British wild card Dan Evans in the next round. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I have a chance, to be honest," Djokovic said. "I think I always have a chance, I've earned my right to feel I can go all the way to the title. I've had arguably the most success of any Grand Slam here in the last decade. "It's just the beginning of the tournament. There are many fantastic players in the draw. I'm going to be playing a Briton in the next round. That's going to be a tough one, but I look forward to it. "I've always felt like grass, particularly in the second part of my career, was really the surface where I played my best tennis, so why not do it again?" Djokovic, who endured a poor year before lifting his 100th tour-level trophy in Geneva ahead of a run to the semi-finals of the French Open, powered through the opening set against Muller by winning six games on the trot. Muller put up much more of a fight in the next set, saving five breakpoints to hold for 4-4 before forcing a tiebreak where he raised his game again to battle from 2-5 down and draw level in the match. Djokovic caught his breath when the Centre Court roof was closed and then took a medical timeout early in the third set for a stomach problem, before going up 3-2 with a break after Muller hit his sixth double fault of the match. Having wrapped up the third set, Djokovic racked up a 4-2 advantage in the fourth set with an exquisite backhand winner and there was no looking back from there as he completed the victory by holding to love. "I went from feeling my absolute best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes," Djokovic added. "Whether it was a stomach bug, I don't know what it was, but I just struggled with that. The energy kicked back in after some doctor's miracle pills. "I managed to finish the match on a good note."
