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INDIVISA breaks down the NWSL playoff semifinals, looking at matchups, key players to watch and bold predictions

After an exhilarating opening round, its on to the 2024 NWSL Playoff semifinals, with all top four seeds still alive. Reigning champions NJ/NY Gotham host the Washington Spirit, while 2024 regular season champions Orlando Pride host the Kansas City Current.

The and their star-studded roster featuring USWNT standouts such as Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Tierna Davidson and Lynn Williams, take on former Barcelona manager Jonatan Giraldez, USWNT's Trinity Rodman and the Spirit.

The Pride, meanwhile, are the No. 1 overall seed and are looking to hands Brazil legend Marta a proper send-off in her final professional season. Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga, ex-USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski and the Current stand in their way.

Getty Images SportNo. 1 Orlando Pride vs. No. 4 Kansas City Current

The Breakdown: After winning the 2024 regular season title, Orlando went into the postseason to host Mallory Swanson and the Chicago Red Stars. They won with ease, besting them 4-1 in the quartefinals. The Current, meanwhile, defeated the North Carolina Courage 1-0 courtesy of an 8th-minute goal from Chawinga, who will bey key in their semifinal clash.

In two meetings during the regular season, the Pride won 2-1 and then the two sides drew 0-0. KC, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last 10 matches across all competitions, while Orlando recorded two defeats towards the end of their campaign. In their meeting Sunday, it will be a matchup of two heavyweights, with the winning side likely being the favorite heading into NWSL Cup.

Orlando Player to watch: Barbra Banda – With 13 goals and six assists in 22 appearances during the regular season, Banda was one of NWSL's most exciting attackers. All eyes will be on her in the final-third of the pitch.

KC player to watch: Temwa Chawinga – 2024 NWSL Golden Boot winner, Chawinga is an ace in front of net. Give her any chance at all, and you're nearly guaranteed a goal.

INDIVISA'S prediction: The Current will upset the No. 1 seed to host NWSL Cup in their home stadium in front of their own fans, winning by a narrow margin of 1-0 to advance to NWSL Championship.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportNo. 2 Washington Spirit vs. No. 3 NJ/NY Gotham

The Breakdown: In Round One of the postseason, Washington narrowly defeated Bay FC in a 2-1 victory in an extra-time thriller. Gotham, meanwhile, escaped Sophia Smith and the Portland Thorns in the quarterfinals, pulling out a 2-1 extra-time victory themselves.

During the regular season, the Spirit and the Bats met twice, with the Spirit winning 2-0 in both matches, meaning we're set for a highly-contested match in the semifinals this weekend. Can Gotham finally get their victory, or will the Spirit make it three for three?

Gotham player to watch: Rose Lavelle – the attacking midfielder bagged seven goals during the regular season, being their second leading-scorer during the campaign. In their Round One Playoff game, she scored a stoppage-time winner to see them advance

Washington player to watch: Trinity Rodman – the U.S. international is back from injury, and a menace on the counter-attack and in the box. If Washington can get her in open space or on the break, there's a good chance a scoring opportunity will arrive.

INDIVISA's prediction: The Bats will return to the championship game, upsetting the Spirit 2-0 on Saturday.

How to watch the semifinals

The first game will be carried live on CBS and will be available for streaming on Paramount+ – the Bats and the Spirits kickoff on Saturday at noon ET.

The second semifinal will be live on ABC and streamed on ESPN+, as Orlando hosts the Current Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

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Getty Images EntertainmentWhen is NWSL Championship weekend?

The 2024 NWSL Championship will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Coverage of the match will begin at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, with streaming available on Paramount+

Two-time Grammy Award winner Tori Kelly will perform at the NWSL Fan Fest before the match, with activities beginning at 4 p.m. ET outside the grounds.

Heather Knight hopes Wyatt can build on her breakthrough hundred on New Zealand tour

Matt Roller22-Feb-2021

But for Covid, England Women would be two weeks into the defence of their 50-over World Cup, with two out of seven group games to go and the semi-finals looming. Instead, the tournament has been postponed by 12 months, and they have not played an ODI in 436 days.That streak will finally come to an end this week, with their three-match series against New Zealand starting on Tuesday in Christchurch. After the vast majority of their home summer schedule was cancelled, England are starting from scratch: remarkably, this will be their first ODI under Lisa Keightley’s stewardship, nearly 16 months after her appointment as head coach.The wait has been particularly frustrating for those players who had hoped to nail down their places after their most recent series, against Pakistan in Malaysia in December 2019 with Ali Maiden taking temporary charge of the squad.Nobody embodies the frustration better than Danni Wyatt. Wyatt turns 30 in April, and the fact that her batting average is a shade below 20 in both ODI and T20I cricket prompts a double-take. Anyone who has seen either of Wyatt’s two T20I hundreds will know how talented a batter she is, but she has struggled to realise her potential in international cricket, perhaps hampered by regular shifts up and down the order.She is a player who relies on form and rhythm, which jars with the sporadic nature of the women’s international calendar. In that series in Malaysia she appeared to have finally cracked ODI cricket, making her first hundred in the format with an innings of 110 off 95 balls to set up a convincing win; since then, she has faced six balls in an ODI shirt.”It’s fair to say – and Danni will say this herself – that she hasn’t quite nailed ODI cricket yet,” Heather Knight, England’s captain, said on the eve of the New Zealand series. “She’s batted in a few different positions and it was obviously a real shame for her that she had that great hundred in Malaysia and then wasn’t able to back that up with the big break.”I really think it’s going to be a huge series for her – and a huge year – in terms of really nailing down her ODI cricket and what she could do for us at the top of the order. She naturally scores very quickly, and there are going to be times, probably, when she gets out early because we want her to be aggressive, play her natural game, and take the game on. But I’m really excited about what Danni could do.”Related

Why Farrant's recall is a landmark moment for English women's cricket

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Dodd, Halliday muscle New Zealand XI to surprise victory

England batters warm up with 299 in first tour game win

NZ pick Halliday, Jonas for Eng ODIs; Bates ruled out

The early signs are positive. Wyatt endured a tough 2020, managing a top score of 29 in 12 innings across the tri-series in Australia, the T20 World Cup and the home series against West Indies, but started the New Zealand tour with two enterprising innings: 35 off 42 balls in the first warm-up game, and 54 off 42 in the second.As a result, Knight is optimistic about the prospect of her flourishing in this series in a likely opening partnership with Tammy Beaumont, hinting that she will be given licence to attack early on and make use of the initial fielding restrictions.”She’s had a little bit of a lean year, to be honest,” Knight said, “but the signs are really good. She’s worked really hard over the last couple of months to be in a really good place with her game. The way she played in that second warm-up game was exactly how we want her to play. I’m excited to watch her bat, because you always think that something is going to happen.”[Her role] is slightly different to T20 cricket where it’s pretty much to go from ball one. She can take a little bit more time in ODI cricket, but her natural mindset is to be aggressive and score. She certainly puts pressure on bowlers and pressure on captains, so that’s her role: to go out and be herself, and back her shots.”England are “really ready to play ODI cricket”, Heather Knight said•Getty Images

England’s touring party have a clean bill of health ahead of the series, meaning that Anya Shrubsole (knee) and Katie George (back) are the only absentees. Knight was unwilling to give much away in terms of selection, but it appears that the one remaining call revolves around whether Freya Davies or Tash Farrant is picked as the third seamer alongside Kate Cross and Katherine Brunt.”We’ve got some really strong depth in the seam-bowling department,” Knight said. “We’ll have to see what we go with later today and to see what the conditions are like as well. We haven’t played ODI cricket for a long time and New Zealand are a very strong side [so] it’s going to be a really good test for us.”Our preparation has been a little bit disjointed but I feel like as a team we’re really ready to play ODI cricket. Obviously, we’ve got a year before the World Cup in 2022, so that year is going to be key in terms of our preparation and showing us where we need to be and how we want to play our ODI cricket. I’m really excited to start that journey: it feels like a long time coming.”

The topic of Smith leading again came up when Aaron Finch was injured during the T20Is against India

Andrew McGlashan10-Dec-2020Steven Smith has indicated that the topic of him captaining Australia again came up when Aaron Finch was injured in the T20I series against India, but is not yet fully aware of the steps that would need to be taken for him to have the role again.When Finch was ruled out of the second T20I in Sydney, Matthew Wade stepped up to captain Australia for the first time, in the absence of vice-captain Pat Cummins, with coach Justin Langer saying there was “a process” that needed to be gone through before Smith could lead again following his loss of the captaincy after the ball-tampering scandal in 2018.The success Tim Paine has had with the Test side, and the indications he wants to take the team through to at least next year’s Ashes series, plus the improvements in Australia’s white-ball cricket under Finch mean there is no rush for the selectors and the Cricket Australia board to make a ruling.”There were discussions sort of taking place,” Smith said. “I think JL [Langer] answered the question when asked about me and captaincy and stuff. There’s obviously a process that needs to be done. For me I just said I’m happy to do whatever is best for the team and that’s the same going forward.”Right now Tim and Finchy are doing really good jobs in both the formats of the game. I’m comfortable where I’m at right now but as I’ve always said I’ll do what’s best for the team.”I think whenever there is a captain chosen, I think you go through a process where you go to the board and things like that, so I’m sure it won’t be too dissimilar. It’s probably more of a question for someone a bit higher up. That’s all that has been said to me and, yeah, we’ll let it rest for now.”One of the challenges Australia could face when replacements for Finch and Paine are eventually needed is the relative lack of captaincy experience among possible replacements other than Smith.Current vice-captain Cummins has not had any chance to captain at state level and would be unlikely to get it given the limited number of games he plays for New South Wales. Marnus Labuschagne, who has been touted as another option, also has yet to have any captaincy experience.Travis Head, who recently lost the joint vice-captaincy position, leads South Australia and captained Australia A in the recent tour match against the Indians. Alex Carey will lead the side in the second match at the SCG starting on Friday.

Chelsea continue to hunt for a lethal goalscorer in the transfer market, to challenge Nicolas Jackson coming off the back of a good first season for the Blues.

In his first season, the Senegal international scored 14 Premier League goals, provided five assists, and played 2,813 minutes. Bettering the numbers of Chelsea all-time great Didier Drogba in his first season at the club.

Jhon Duran from Aston Villa seems to have been the most concrete name in recent weeks, but many names are appearing as Chelsea do their due diligence to acquire competition for Jackson.

Chelsea transfer news

According to reports from The Athletic's David Ornstein, Chelsea have now held talks with the representatives of Lille striker Jonathan David.

There has been no approach to Lille so far, according to the reports. However, the two clubs have "good relations" and Chelsea are exploring the possibility of a summer move for the 24-year-old Canadian.

This signing could provide somewhat of a more known quantity, compared to others names such as Duran and Samuel Omorodion, who have been linked in recent weeks.

How David compares to Jhon Duran

On the surface level, David is the clear option for a striking reinforcement, scoring 26 goals for Lille last campaign, providing four assists and playing 47 games in all competitions. Not only does this prove his tendency to score goals, but also his availability.

Compare this to Duran who, despite making 37 appearances in all competitions, played 2500 fewer minutes than David. The Colombian managed eight goals in those minutes, five of which came in the Premier League.

David has also got a track record of scoring goals behind him, managing 26 in the 2022/23 season, 19 in the 2021/22 season, and 13 in his first season at Lille in the 2020/21 season. Therefore, it would make sense as to why Chelsea are interested, as they look to bolster the squad with a natural goalscorer up top.

Much like Jackson, the Canadian can drop in and link up play. Making 2.7 progressive passes per 90, 1.61 progressive carries per 90, and supplying 1.81 passes into the final third per 90, showing his ability to drop in deep, as well as affecting the game in the box.

Compare this to Duran, who is a riskier move due to sample size, not being an established goalscorer like David, and possibly even costing more money.

However, what the 20-year-old Aston Villa forward does offer is a physical profile that Chelsea lack. Standing at 6 foot 1, Duran has a powerful build which allows him to often get his own way against defenders, winning duels, not prevailing with 3.79 aerials per 90.

When you compare Duran's 3.79 aerials per 90, with the 0.72 of David, and the 1.13 of Jackson, it is clear to see a profile like the Colombian would provide something Chelsea currently don't have in the squad.

Both strikers clearly offer assets to this Chelsea squad. It will eventually come down to the decision of adding a different profile in Duran, or a proven goal-scoring option in the "fantastic" as dubbed by Micah Richards, David.

Chelsea are now on the verge of signing their answer to Olise

Chelsea are making early moves in the transfer window.

ByMatt Dawson Jun 23, 2024

Tottenham have made unwanted Premier League history after throwing away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Brighton on Sunday.

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• Spurs beaten 3-2
• Had 2-0 lead at half-time
• Spurs left stunned by turnaround

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Spurs were 2-0 up at half-time against Brighton on the south coast but somehow conspired to lose the game. Brighton had a goal back within three minutes of the restart through Yankuba Minteh, and were level by the 58th minute as Georginio Rutter scored. Danny Welbeck netted the winner in the 66th minute, meaning Spurs are the first club in Premier League history to lose 10 games in which they led by two goals or more.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING

  @Racingfan211 said: "I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Ange Postecoglou is a total myth. The hard guy routine is just show, tactically nowhere near good enough to manage in this league."

  @Yidoo90 said: "Worst points tally in 16 years absolutely says it all. Ange is a mid table manager at the very best."

  @Gunnerpunner said: "The funniest thing is how much Ange hates Spurs. I think he hates them more than most Arsenal fans."

  @EstNorthLDN added: "Being given a coaching lesson by a 31 year old. There's no way back for Ange.. I want that man out tonight.."

  @MrBlackFootball concluded: "Weekend ruined. And f*ck you Ange for picking Werner every week and making no subs until it was far too late. That one’s on you."

• WHAT ANGE POSTECOGLOU SAID

  Postecoglou took responsibility for the defeat, telling BBC Sport: "Fair to say that the second half was unacceptable and we paid a price for that. We probably should have put it to bed in the first half. What we did in that second half is unacceptable and we got what we deserved.

  "Maybe we just thought we’d roll out there and play well again and that’s not how it works and we paid for it. We’ve conceded before but it is how you react and our reaction wasn’t what it should be. It’s a bad day for us and when it’s a bad day the responsibility falls at my feet."

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  After the international break, Spurs play West Ham in a huge London derby in the Premier League. Postecoglou's side are ninth in the table after seven games, four points adrift of the Champions League places.

Tottenham Hotspur didn't qualify for the Champions League last season but Ange Postecoglou has planted the seed for a prosperous tenure.

There is plenty of promise about this Spurs side but also plenty to address, and transfer activity must be conducted with a flourish this summer to make further improvements next term.

Eberechi Eze has been at the forefront of transfer rumours in recent days but Postecoglou's side would be wise to line up alternatives with Manchester United also on the hunt.

It looks like Daniel Levy and Co have done exactly that.

Spurs transfer news

According to Spanish sources earlier this week – via TEAMtalk – Tottenham are eager to sign Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo and have even made an opening offer to the La Liga side, though it has fallen below the Japanese's €60m (£51m) release clause.

Kubo is a versatile and dynamic wide player who could add to a Tottenham team in need of some added depth, with European football on the cards after spending the 2023/24 campaign confined to domestic duty.

Takefusa Kubo's season in numbers

Kubo signed for Sociedad from Real Madrid on a five-year deal in 2022, having completed a series of loan spells across Spain after joining Los Blancos, never completing an appearance before moving to his current club on a permanent deal.

The 23-year-old might not be the most prolific of wingers – he has only posted 16 goals and 14 assists across 85 outings for Sociedad – but he is electric and enthusiastic and would offer competition for Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski down the Lilywhites' right flank.

Evidencing this: as per FBref, he ranks among the top 9% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries, the top 18% for successful take-ons and the top 17% for shot-creating actions per 90.

Takefusa Kubo: La Liga Stats 23/24

Stats

#

Matches played

30

Matches started

24

Goals

7

Assists

4

Big chances created

10

Pass completion

81%

Key passes per game

2.0

Dribbles per game

1.8

Ball recoveries per game

3.3

Duels won per game

4.8

Stats via Sofascore

Dubbed a "special talent" by journalist John Bunting, Kubo would bring some really impressive qualities to the Tottenham first team, and one can only imagine the partnership that could be forged with James Maddison.

Imagine Kubo & James Maddison

Maddison signed for Spurs from Leicester City in a £40m deal last summer and started life in London with a bang, winning the Premier League's Player of the Month award for August and leading journalist Henry Winter to dub him a "nightmare for defenders".

Averaging 2.4 key passes per game in the Premier League last season, the 27-year-old's unfortunate ankle injury suffered in November stifled a blistering start, but with some impactful additions welcomed in the months to come, it could be a positive fresh start.

For a speed demon like Kubo to have such string-pulling expertise beside him will only serve Tottenham well, with Maddison ranking among the top 7% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 1% for shot-creating actions and progressive passes and the top 2% for passes attempted per 90.

Spurs are eager to sign a ball-carrying whiz in Eze, but if they fail in that pursuit, Kubo could be the perfect player to strengthen Tottenham's wings.

Related What Spurs' starting lineup could look like after £201m spending spree

Spurs will want to give Postecoglou everything he needs to build a successful side this summer.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Jun 9, 2024

MatériaMais Notícias

O favoritismo do Flamengo contra o Internacional foi por água abaixo. Goleado dentro do Maracanã por 4 a 0, a equipe de Renato Gaúcho conhece sua primeira derrota sob o comando do treinador. Eram sete vitórias consecutivas, 25 gols marcados e apenas três tentos sofridos. Diante do massacre colorado no Rio de Janeiro, a internet não perdoou e rivais criaram uma enxurrada de memes em provocação ao técnico rubro-negro.
+ Confira a classificação atualizada do Brasileirão

RelacionadasFora de CampoCBAt promete entrar com ação judicial após fala ofensiva de comentarista: ‘Esporte de m…’Fora de Campo08/08/2021Fora de CampoGuilherme Arana provoca Hulk após ouro olímpico: ‘Esse aqui você não tem’Fora de Campo08/08/2021Fora de CampoDaniel Alves responde críticas à Seleção por polêmica no pódio: ‘Não queremos ser diferentes de ninguém’Fora de Campo08/08/2021

CONFIRA OS MEMES DO MASSACRE COLORADO NO MARACANÃ

Renato triste = Brasil feliz pic.twitter.com/e7xs3eRHYH

— Rony 🇦🇹 (@Rony_1909) August 8, 2021

Renata Fan x Renato Gaúcho

Amanhã o Jogo Aberto promete! rsrs pic.twitter.com/RcMb9uVGm2

— Rodrigo de Azevedo (@drigodeazevedo) August 8, 2021

Pq choras Renato? pic.twitter.com/Hj3eNwOesr

— Fabricio Molina (@Molina_1909) August 8, 2021

"Sem o meu Kannemann eu não consigo"

Portaluppi, Renato – 2021 pic.twitter.com/BuFXrRnbzq

— @vitorugo2004(2) (@vitorugo20042) August 8, 2021

Imagem do Renato Gaúcho depois do jogo pic.twitter.com/LKp2J5v4Mo

— Cavalinho Do Flamengo (@cavalinho1895) August 8, 2021

Renato Gaúcho deu o presente de dia dos pais para o inter kkkkkkkkkkkk pic.twitter.com/oG2rmwXKZq

— out of context brasileirão (@oocbrsao) August 8, 2021

Que me desculpem o palavreado mas não tem PREÇO ver essa cara do Renato. pic.twitter.com/SIqhQuAdmh

— 𝕯𝖎𝖆𝖇𝖑𝖆 ˢᶜⁱ 🇧🇷 // SHH.. (@scimariii) August 8, 2021

Tenho um poema:
" O Renato em Porto Alegre era o rei do Grenal enquanto vc lia gol do Internacional" pic.twitter.com/DD4x9CnyoA

— Resenha do Fut (de 🏡) (@ResenhadoFut2) August 8, 2021

Pensei que nunca mais diria isso

mas…

Meme do Renato ATUALIZADO com sucesso pic.twitter.com/T9kQu0NdU8

— Olha o que ele fez 🥇🇧🇷 #tokyo2020 (@olhaoqueelefezz) August 8, 2021

Kylian Mbappe says he is "very happy" with his performances for Real Madrid and that he is not phased by the criticism that comes his way.

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Mbappe joins Real Madrid from PSGHad solid if unspectacular start so far"Very happy" with Los Blancos displaysWHAT HAPPENED?

Following the 25-year-old's switch from Paris Saint-Germain to Madrid earlier this summer, the forward has scored three goals in five games. Despite scoring in their UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta, some have been somewhat underwhelmed by his start for Los Blancos. However, the France international has shrugged off any criticism, saying he "can't please everyone" and is "very happy" with his displays so far.

AdvertisementWHAT KYLIAN MBAPPE SAID

He said: "I don’t know what the critics think, I don’t notice it anymore, I come, I play, what people think is the least of my worries. We can’t please everyone. My time at Real Madrid is going very well and I’m very happy. We’ve already won a trophy. It’s getting better and better. Everything’s going well."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

While Mbappe has not been as prolific as he was for PSG to date, the Frenchman is playing as a number nine – rather than in his favoured left forward role. He has only played a handful of games and a player of his pedigree is likely to bag a hatful of goals this season – especially with the players around him at Madrid.

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

Before former Monaco star Mbappe returns to Madrid to play for Los Blancos later this month, the Frenchman is preparing to face Italy and Belgium in the Nations League on Friday and Monday respectively.

The NWSL club is filing the grievance as they believe Zambia didn't provide adequate care for their midfielder following an injury

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• Chanda is out for the season following an Olympics
• Pride say Chanda was asked to play and train after injury.
• Not the only issue being pointed at Zambia.

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Orlando Pride General Manager and Vice President of Soccer Operations Haley Carter has filed a grievance with FIFA against the Football Association of Zambia on behalf of new signing and midfielder Grace Chanda, according to reports.

  The NWSL is filing the grievance due to "failure to provide a reasonable standard of care for player health and safety," according to African media outlet Bolanews.

  Chanda signed with Orlando on May 30 and was set to make her first appearance with the club following the Olympics. With the 27-year-old suffering a ruptured quadriceps tendon against the U.S. in Zambia's opening match, she is out for the season.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Chanda's injury robs the first-place Pride of an addition they were counting to build upon an impressive season. Chanda has scored 19 goals in 31 appearances with the national team.

  "[Chanda was asked] to continue training and play in the opening match post-injury," Carter posted on X.

  Carter also added the following via a statement earlier this month to ESPN: "We are incredibly disappointed for Grace at this injury and how it occurred….Fortunately, she is under the best possible care with our medical and performance teams here at the club and through Orlando Health. While her debut in purple will be later than planned, it's imperative we prioritize her health and welfare through a safe and responsible return to the pitch."

• ZAMBIA'S ISSUES

  This isn't the only controversy Zambia is accused of. Zambia's football operations were already being investigated due to allegations of misconduct involving head coach Bruce Mwape.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR CHANDA AND ORLANDO?

  Chanda is now on the season-ending injury list and will continue treatment. Orlando hope to march forward when they host Gotham FC on Sept. 1

After a faltering start against India and Sri Lanka, a honest meeting reminded Australia of how they wanted to play

Daniel Brettig23-Mar-2020″We just need to make sure we’ve got soul in this group.” It was Ellyse Perry who delivered this critical message to the Australia Women’s team when they stood on the brink of elimination from the T20 World Cup they would go on gloriously to win, the national team coach, Matthew Mott, has revealed.Australia’s campaign culminated in a wondrous night at the MCG where Meg Lanning’s team defeated India to raise the trophy in front of more than 86,000 spectators. Mott described how, as well prepared as they were beforehand, the Australians struggled mightily with the weight of expectation.It had them nervous and getting away from their natural, aggressive instincts in the tournament opener against India at the Sydney Showgrounds, and took them near to elimination in the following game against Sri Lanka in Perth. After Lanning and vice-captain Rachael Haynes had fashioned a partnership to get them home, team leaders called a batting meeting at their hotel to discuss how to change things – at this point, they needed to win four matches in a row to claim the title.”Traditionally what happens in cricket, and this is only in my experiences, but because you share so much information about bowling and batting is more of an individual pursuit, we rarely have actual batting meetings, they’re normally part of the full meeting,” Mott said. “But we actually called a batting meeting, we just opened it up and said ‘how do you think we’re going, what do we need to do to actually be the best we can be, and be true to ourselves’ and the honesty around that was incredible.”Players admitted ‘I’m nervous, I haven’t been playing like I normally play, I should be doing this, I should be doing that’. Ellyse Perry was at that meeting because she goes in both meetings as an allrounder. She says ‘to be honest, we just need to make sure we’ve got soul in this group, and we look out for each other, be a little bit more overt with our body language and maybe the odd fist-bump and something like that when someone has hit a good boundary’. I think if you look back to us in the first two games compared to the last few, you definitely saw a greater appreciation of a partnership, and I reckon that was pivotal.”Perry’s message, combined with the batting of Lanning and Haynes, gave the Australians the reset they desperately needed to play more freely, as demonstrated by subsequent wins over Bangladesh, New Zealand, South Africa amid Sydney’s showers, and finally India in the tournament decider. Perry, of course, was to miss the last two games with a hamstring injury, but her experience and wisdom were tellingly kept on board right up to the finish line.Alyssa Healy got Australia off to a big start•Getty Images”We talked about it a lot before the tournament,” Mott said. “The beauty of this team was we actually realised that we didn’t react well in the first game and we were nervous, I was nervous, so I can imagine what the players were like. There was so much expectation and build-up, and we knew there was a lot at stake. For us to turn out at the MCG was potentially a game-changing moment for not just cricket but women’s sport. So there was absolutely a burden there.”How we internalised that and actually helped each other out sort of happened after Perth and that partnership between Rach [Haynes] and Meg [Lanning]. I think you always look back and say what a great final, but we had no right to be there unless that partnership happened, and that just changed our whole philosophy for the tournament. It was almost like a lightbulb moment of ‘if we keep playing scared and timid we’re going to get these results’. So I was really pleased with the batting group in particular that they galvanised and formed a unit and said ‘we’re going to commit to this. If it doesn’t come off, it doesn’t come off, but we’re going to make sure we go down swinging at least’.”Mott, who began his coaching career as an assistant to Trevor Bayliss with the New South Wales state team, also spoke about the parallels between Australia’s women taking on the task of winning a home World Cup and England’s men’s team trying to win their first-ever global tournament, also on home soil in 2019.”Even the way England, after their disappointment in 2015, tried to change the game up and take the game on,” Mott said. “It didn’t always come off, sometimes it doesn’t look great, and you’re always judged on your results. There are certain times where it doesn’t come off, but if you stay true to it, I think Alyssa Healy’s the perfect example of that, if you’ve got that rare talent that not many players have, [it does reward you].”As coaches and support staff you’ve just got to keep fostering that when the results aren’t coming, because you don’t want game-changers to start second-guessing themselves. We had to hold the faith and there was a lot of people talking about ‘how are you going to play’, there was never a doubt in our team that at some point she [Healy] was going to hurt someone and I think she did it a few times, ably supported by Beth [Mooney]. A different role, a bit more consistent over time, but they’re just a perfect foil for each other.”