English amateur Lottie Woad wins Women's Irish Open by 6 shots
Woad, the world No. 1 amateur, had entered the final round with a seven-stroke lead and shot a 4-under 69.
The 21-year-old Woad ended at 21-under par for the tournament, six strokes ahead of second-placed Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden. New Zealander Amelia Garvey was third.
The previous time an amateur won a Ladies European Tour event was in 2022, when Jana Melichova secured victory at the Czech Ladies Open.
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New York Times
11 minutes ago
- New York Times
Viktor Gyokeres is a battering ram of a striker with an absurd scoring record. Is he what Arsenal need?
At last, Arsenal are closing in on their No 9. As reported by The Athletic on Sunday, Mikel Arteta's side are in advanced talks with Sporting CP over a deal to sign Viktor Gyokeres. Discussions continue over the transfer fee but the situation is progressing towards a conclusion, with personal terms in place on a proposed five-year contract. Advertisement To say that Gyokeres' stint at Sporting has been a resounding success would be an understatement. Two seasons have passed in a blur of stomping channel runs and emphatic finishes, with the 27-year-old racking up 97 goals in just over 8,400 minutes — the equivalent of 93 full games. But with two league titles and two Silver Ball top-scorer awards safely wrapped up in his suitcase, the Sweden international is in search of a new challenge. Arsenal have emerged as the most likely destination, their lack of goals from a recognised centre-forward well documented as they chase an elusive Premier League crown. The numbers look sensational — his frightening physical profile and an unerring ability to thump a football immensely satisfying on the eye — but there are still burning questions. How does his all-or-nothing game translate to the Premier League? And if it does, can he be the kind of striker that Arsenal need? The Athletic analyses his time at Sporting to find out… Gyokeres' quality in front of goal is clear, but much of what he has been able to achieve in Portugal stems from relentless work without the ball. His approach to the No 9 role is uncompromising, centred on repeated intensity and power that most defenders simply can't match. Tracking data from SkillCorner can help us to quantify that movement, comparing the frequency with which he makes specific off-ball runs with strikers across Europe's top seven leagues. As we can see, Gyokeres does most of his work moving forward, rarely dropping deep to connect the play, instead looking to be direct and destructive whenever his team-mates have the ball. He also loves to target wide areas, more than you'd expect for such a prolific centre-forward. But Gyokeres thrives in open space, able to drive his team down the flanks and create danger all by himself. It's not just that Gyokeres is desperate to attack the space, it's the speed, and the often drastic nature of his movement that makes him so difficult to stop. According to SkillCorner, he made 85 sprints in behind the opposition defensive line last season, runs at an average pace of 25km/h or more. That's more than double any other striker in the division — Porto's Samu Aghehowa is closest with 41 — and 24 more than the Premier League leader in that metric, Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson. Advertisement In the below example against Boavista, we can see just how active he is across the front line, often taking it upon himself to charge into the space if team-mates aren't prepared. After a quick turnover in possession, Sporting move the ball out to the left. Gyokeres sets off without hesitation, hitting full speed to offer himself for the pass down the line. Even if defenders could keep up, such extreme movement forces them to pass him along — centre-backs don't really want to follow strikers across the width of the pitch and lose their position completely. It's in those moments of uncertainty that Gyokeres pounces, stealing the extra yard in the milliseconds it takes for his new marker to react to the oncoming train. Gyokeres reaches the pass and finds himself in his favourite position; bearing down on a sole defender from the left flank. He can go either way in this situation, but chooses to chop onto his right with Ibrahima Camara closing off the outside. His touch is slightly heavy, but Gyokeres contorts his body to make sure he gets over the shot, beaming the ball into the bottom right-hand corner. It's one of the secrets to his success, hidden away in the biomechanics — a strong, powerful frame to barge into goalscoring positions, but springy and elastic when he needs to be, able to wrap his body around shots to consistently ensure the best connection all across the box. Just as above, Gyokeres will often drift over to the left with his team on the ball, something that could appeal to Arsenal. Last season, just 32.9 per cent of their attacking touches came in the left third, the lowest proportion of any Premier League team. They were unable to progress the ball with the same efficiency as they have managed with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Ben White on the opposite side. The Swede probably won't inspire intricate football and touch-tight triangles, but his work rate and forward momentum will certainly give Mikel Arteta's side more of a presence down that side should they need to shake things up. Here's a fine example of his one-man channel running against Austrian side Sturm Graz in the Champions League, after another high-intensity, in-to-out run to ensure he provides the out-ball option. Gyokeres receives the pass from Zeno Debast, before rolling his man and driving inside, dodging the recovery runs of three defenders as he shimmies around the goalkeeper and scores. A goal from nothing, without a team-mate in sight. In similarly devastating fashion, Gyokeres is quickly on the move as Morten Hjulmand nicks the ball back in midfield against RB Leipzig. Gyokeres isn't fussy about where he likes his through balls, which allows Daniel Braganca to spin and release quickly after he receives the ball in frame two. This time, defender Willi Orban blocks the striker from cutting inside and shows him onto his left, but Gyokeres is still able to finish confidently on his weaker side at the near post, just seven seconds after his team-mate regained possession inside their own half. While he may not find as much open space to run into in the Premier League, up against the kind of deeper blocks that Arsenal routinely face, he can certainly help them to maximise transitional moments after a quick recovery in midfield. Only Bournemouth, Newcastle and Liverpool won the ball more often outside their own defensive third than Arteta's side last season, but as the graph below illustrates, only 6.7 per cent of those resulted in a shot within 10 seconds, the third-lowest rate in the division. Gyokeres at least gives them the option to speed things up and break quickly — able to chase down a long pass and barge his way into dangerous areas unlike any player that Arsenal currently possess. It's not just coordinated counter-attacks: Gyokeres' battling spirit keeps defenders on their toes, moving his team up the pitch by hook or by crook. Here he is underneath a booted clearance against AVS, for example, holding off his marker before chesting it across for Francisco Trincao to bring it forward. Having dragged a centre-back into midfield, he is then typically quick to target the space in behind, picking up the return pass on the edge of the box and side-footing into the corner. Against Benfica, Gyokeres creates a goal for team-mate Geny Catamo after ambling out to the flanks to receive a throw in. Arsenal often like to target the byline with their throw-ins, and seeing Gyokeres shield the defender, surge into the box and pick out a cross will have set-piece coach Nicolas Jover rubbing his hands together with glee. If Gyokeres is to succeed at the top of a possession-dominant, Premier League side, he'll likely need to be more than just a runner. Not only will he face some of the stingiest defenders in world football — some of whom are capable of matching him stride for stride — but there will be days that the opposition frustrate Arsenal, sitting deep and blocking out the spaces he likes to attack with his pace. Advertisement This is where his physicality and movement in the box comes in, having already shown in the Championship that he can mix it with the big defenders and create spaces to strike the ball cleanly. Here he is making a nuisance of himself against Chaves, grappling with 6ft 2in (187cm) centre-back Ygor Nogueira while a neat move unfolds down the right. Full-back Ricardo Esgaio makes a dart into the box, and pulls a cross behind Gyokeres, but the Swede has managed to pin his centre-back by the time the ball comes in. Again, he can go either way here, but lets it roll across his body and finishes with his left on the swivel, showing he can provide that presence in the box that Arsenal sometimes miss. In the Premier League last season, only four teams attempted more crosses from open play than Arsenal. Just one side — Leicester City — converted a lower proportion of those into chances (Arsenal's was 10.2 per cent, Leicester's was 10 per cent). Despite his flying runs across the final third, nearly a quarter of Gyokeres' touches last season fell inside the penalty area, his energy and anticipation to sniff out the chances allowing him to be the all-action runner and close-range poacher all at once. He can score the scrappy goals, with acceleration in tight spaces getting him into promising areas to bundle home from close range. Look how quickly he is able to escape from his defender in the clip below, punishing any lapses of concentration with sharp movement towards goal. One area where Gyokeres isn't prolific is in the air. He didn't score a single header in league action last season — unexpected given his imposing frame — although only around 12.5 per cent of his shots came with his head. It's not a glaring weakness — Gyokeres has seen some commendable efforts saved — but a few high-profile chances have flashed past the post, including this late opportunity to win it against Arouca. As with all high-volume strikers, Gyokeres isn't immune to an off day in front of goal, but there is a clear ability with both feet to find the corners with precision from all angles. This finish on international duty against Azerbaijan is the kind of goal that drives his healthy over-performance relative to his expected-goals numbers, invaluable if he can dig something like this out in a scrappy, congested game. Again, the off-ball movement is sharp to get in front of his man, but more impressive is how Gyokeres is able to find the corner with a crisp, low finish into the far corner on his weaker side. The elephant in the room, of course, is the quality of opposition. While the Primeira Liga was ranked as the eighth-strongest league in the world in the most recent update of Opta's Power Rankings, 11 of the 18 teams involved ranked outside the top 300 last season. Relegated Boavista, who Gyokeres put four past in April to practically seal the title, are down at 786. There's a comparative case study to be made with Erling Haaland, similarly emphatic in his final season at Borussia Dortmund, when he crashed home 22 Bundesliga goals with a similar mix of brute force and power finishing. The Norwegian is clearly operating with reduced space in English football — it's been a while since we saw his signature, breakaway goal — but Haaland has still been able to use his freakish physicality to outmuscle and outmanoeuvre defenders close to goal, maintaining an incredibly healthy goalscoring rate for a more controlled, pass-heavy side. Advertisement Gyokeres' success likely depends on his ability to scrap with defenders and find those yards of space in the box. Encouragingly, a two-year spell with Coventry showed that he has what to takes against tough centre-backs, scoring some breathtaking goals — such as this strike against Millwall below — after holding off a defender, shifting the ball and finding the corners. Gyokeres is a stampede of a centre-forward, full-throttle his only gear. He would give Arsenal something different, and if they are to finally end a 20-year wait for a title, a little variety can't hurt. (Bernardo)
New York Times
24 minutes ago
- New York Times
What can the Club World Cup tell us about the strength of leagues around the world?
For those unaware, FIFA has established its own Technical Study Group (TSG) to analyse the Club World Cup this summer. Led by their chief of global football development, Arsene Wenger, the panel contains former players and coaches — with Esteban Cambiasso, Aliou Cisse, Tobin Heath, Jurgen Klinsmann, Roberto Martinez, Gilberto Silva and Pascal Zuberbuhler unpicking the key insights from each game. Advertisement A recent media release from the TSG saw the panel offer their views on the tournament at the midway stage, and the conclusions were rather… jarring in places. 'The competition is much tighter than expected. We wanted to create this Club World Cup to give the big clubs from all over the world the opportunity to come here,' said Wenger. 'It looks like it's the start of something that will never stop again.' Yes, it is FIFA's job to promote the success of the tournament — even if some of what they are saying comes across as downright propaganda. In mitigation, the competition has not been without its significant moments — with Inter Miami's 2-1 group-stage victory over Porto soon followed up by Botafogo's 1-0 win over European champions Paris Saint-Germain (though the French club did heavily rotate for the match). The Brazilian sides have been particularly impressive this summer, with Flamengo seeing off Chelsea in the group stage, before Fluminense's last-16 win over Inter Milan and subsequent victory over Al Hilal further highlighting the fact that clubs from the biggest country in South America should not be underestimated. The most notable triumph was Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal's last-16 victory over Manchester City, in a game that accrued the highest cumulative expected goals (xG) in the competition so far — with 47 shots to feast your eyes on across the 120-plus minutes. Did Al Hilal deserve the victory? Yes. Does that make Simone Inzaghi's side a better team than Pep Guardiola's? Well, no — football does not work in a ladder system where rankings swap if one team beats another. Does it make the Saudi Pro League better than the Premier League? Again, not quite — even if Cristiano Ronaldo's recent comments might have you believe it. Al Hilal's celebrations were ultimately short-lived, after Renato Gaucho's Fluminense beat them 2-1 in the quarter-finals and in doing so became the only non-European team to make the last four of the tournament. Advertisement In some ways, this backs up FIFA's media release that states this summer's tournament has 'shown that high-quality football is played all over the world'. This is a sentiment shared by Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso. 'The (Club) World Cup is showing us the high level of competition in other leagues,' Alonso said ahead of Madrid's quarter-final with Borussia Dortmund. 'Maybe we Europeans are not so familiar with it. The Saudi, Brazilian and even the Argentinian leagues. Sometimes in Europe we are too 'Championsised''. That is true to an extent. We should not ignore how good certain clubs are across global football, but what these isolated cases in a summer tournament can teach us about the quality of leagues across the world is another question altogether. Do FIFA's conclusions live and die within the confines of the competition itself? Or can we extrapolate each team's performances as indicative of their league's strength? As The Athletic has previously analysed, footballing inequality can exist within any country, such that the strength of the best teams does not always represent the competitiveness, or quality, of the entire league itself — think Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish Premiership. Using data from Twenty First Group, a sports intelligence firm that advises clubs, leagues and investors, we can look at the spread in quality across selected leagues whose teams have reached the latter stages of the Club World Cup — and we have thrown MLS in there for good measure. Twenty First Group's World Super League model uses a machine-learning algorithm to generate a single rating for every team in world football. League strength can then be calculated from the average rating of each team. As you can see below, there is plenty of spread across each league, but some clubs separate themselves from the pack more than others. The Brazilian league is an interesting case. 'We currently rate Brazil's Serie A as the sixth-best league globally, so we expected the four Brazilian teams to be competitive pre-tournament,' said Twenty First Group's Senior Data Scientist, Aurel Nazmiu. Crucially, it is not just the strength of the league but the compact distribution of teams within the Brazilian top flight that highlights the competitiveness of the division from top to bottom. As the strongest teams in the league, Palmeiras and Flamengo are not worlds apart from Juventude — the lowest-rated team. Advertisement This is made clear when comparing the 'standard deviation' of team ratings across each league. This statistical term simply looks at the variability of a set of numbers. The larger the standard deviation, the more spread out the ratings are within the respective league. Owing to the salary-cap system in the United States, MLS comes out with the lowest standard deviation and the highest competitiveness statistically. A close second is the Brazilian league, which can give us confidence that this summer's impressive performances by its four representatives at the tournament are proof of the quality of its league. By contrast, the Saudi Pro League has the highest standard deviation across the division, with the riches of Al Hilal — and their fellow three clubs controlled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) — dwarfing others within the country. 'Although we rate the Saudi Pro League as the 50th-best league globally, Al Hilal are significantly better than the rest of the league at the moment — ranked 132nd in the world in our models,' Nazmiu says. ' For context, the second-best Saudi team, Al Ahli, are much lower at 279.' Among the top 50 leagues worldwide, the Saudi Pro League is ranked as the fifth-most unequal in terms of quality. Contrast Al Hilal's global ranking of 132nd — sandwiched between the Bundesliga's Union Berlin and Spain's Las Palmas — with the lowest-ranked team in the Saudi Pro League in 2024-25, Al Orobah, who come in at 2,405th in the world. Al Orobah finished 17th last season with an average attendance of 2,307, lower than the average at Barnet (2,315) in England's fifth tier in 2024-25. So Al Hilal's success this summer does not yet prove that the quality of the entire Saudi Pro League is on the rise. Of course, European football is not exempt from such inequality, with Paris Saint-Germain dominant in France and the Portuguese trio of Benfica, Porto and Sporting CP dominating their top flight. You could very easily throw Bayern Munich in Germany into that argument across a 10-year window. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that 'a new era of football has definitely started' on social media after Al Hilal's victory over Manchester City last week — but is that an accurate declaration? Yes, there has been some excellent football on show and some memorable support from die-hard fans who have made the journey from around the world. There has been drama, shocks, and some notable upsets. However, to use this tournament as an advertisement for the increased competitiveness of the global game might just be a stretch too far.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois does not believe Gianluigi Donnarumma deserves to be blamed for Jamal Musiala's injury
Bayern Munich's match against Paris Saint Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinals was set to be a real blockbuster, but it ended up overshadowed by a gruesome injury. Right at the end of the first half, Bayern's Jamal Musiala competed with PSG's Gianluigi Donnarumma for the ball, only for the Italian goalkeeper to land with his full body on Musiala's leg. The end result, Musiala's ankle and foot bent in a terrifyingly unnatural manner, was horrifying for the players and fans of both teams and teammate Manuel Neuer openly criticized fellow goalkeeper Donnarumma for the action. Advertisement However, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois disagrees. Speaking after his team's victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Club World Cup, Carrussel Deportivo captured his statement. 'Blaming Donnarumma [for Musiala's injury] seems excessive to me. Goalkeepers go for the ball,' the Belgian explained, via @iMiaSanMia. 'Attackers don't hold back when they go at our faces either. It's bad luck. It will hurt him deeply.' Whether or not the former AC Milan goalkeeper should be blamed for the terrible injury might well be a very hotly contested subject for a while to come. Unfortunately, Bayern do not have the luxury of dwelling on the situation. Now more than ever, reinforcements in the transfer market are needed. Also, let us not forget Josip Stanišić also got hurt in the match. Musiala's injury completely overshadowed his issue. Hopefully, his injury will not prove to be nearly as severe. Advertisement More from
