‘Champions of Europe and the world’ — has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
Come on, girls, we’re all right behind you!
The Lionesses have made it through to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Women’s World Cup after winning 4-2 on penalties against Nigeria despite going down to 10 players, reports The Manc.
England’s women’s team remain among the favourites left in the competition after reigning world champions USA were dumped out in the quarters following a 5-4 loss on penalties to Sweden. Luckily the Lionesses managed to survive their shootout even after missing their first attempt.
Sarina Wiegman‘s side couldn’t break the deadlock inside the 90 and were almost awarded a penalty in the 33rd minute, but the decision was ultimately overturned following a VAR review. It was the same story in extra time but they somehow managed to limp across the line to take the game to pens.
Thankfully, Manchester City’s Chloe Kelly, England’s hero in the 2022 Women’s Euros and the Finalissima back in April, did what she does best and scored the winning spot-kick to send them into the next round.
Prior to the shootout, the biggest moment of the game undoubtedly came when Chelsea’s Lauren James — who had been the star of their World Cup campaign thus far, with three goals and three assists in as many games — was sent off for stamping on Nigeria forward, Michelle Alozie.
In a rare moment of petulance and unacceptable gamesmanship, VAR was called in once again to re-examine the sly on-the-ground challenge, at which point the 21-year-old WSL and England star was promptly shown a straight red card.
Nevertheless, the Lionesses battled on and somehow made it through to the quarter-finals, although they will now have to do without one of the best players for the next match.
England will now play the winner of Colombia vs Jamaica for a place in the semi-finals of this year’s Women’s World Cup and still stand a very strong chance of winning the lot.
‘Champions of Europe and the world’ — has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Come on, girls, we’re all right behind you!
Featured Image — BBC Sport/Lionesses (via Twitter)
Sport
A huge FA Cup semi-final fan park is opening in Leeds, with the biggest screen in the city
An enormous fan park is set to open in Leeds this month, ahead of Leeds United's FA Cup semi-final clash against Chelsea.
The Whites will be heading to Wembley on Sunday 26 April, but Leeds fans will be able to cheer them on in our home city too, thanks to this massive event from 4TheFans.
4TheFans will be turning the O2 Academy Leeds into an immersive, dedicated Leeds United fan park experience for this historic day.
Expect to watch all the action on the biggest screen in Leeds, plus there'll be world-class sound, a Sky Sports presenter, a fully-stocked bar, a dedicated 4TheFans presenter, DJs, and a genuine Leeds football legend providing analysis and banter.
And every time the ball hits the back of the net, pyrotechnics and other special effects will only add to the atmosphere.
It's been 39 years since our beloved Leeds reached an FA Cup semi-final, and now Daniel Farke’s side are just 90 minutes away from a place in the FA Cup Final.
Nearly 2000 fellow supporters will be able to come together under one roof in one of the city's most iconic venues, for what's shaping up to be the best atmosphere outside Wembley itself.
This really is the best alternative to being at the actual match, with 4TheFans’ proven track record of creating atmospheric fan parks for major sporting events.
A huge FA Cup semi-final fan park is opening in Leeds, with the biggest screen in the city
And whether it ends in ecstasy or heartbreak, this is a match that Leeds fans need to see together.
Hundreds of tickets have already been sold from pre-registration.
General Admission tickets start at £7.50 and provide standing access to the entire fan park, while premium seated tickets start from £9.50 and secure a balcony seat with unobstructed views of the screens.
This family event is for anyone over eight years old (under 14s must be accompanied by an adult on the balcony).
The 4TheFans FA Cup semi-final fan park will be open at O2 Academy Leeds on Sunday 26 April, with doors open at 1pm ahead of a 3pm kick-off.
Estimated to be worth around £45 million, the Grade II-listed structure renovations won't begin for a little while just yet, but it is set to increase the capacity of the space by more than 50%.
Announced on Tuesday, 24 March, the major refurb will be partly funded by public money and topped up by the private sector and "philanthropic partners".
The UK government and Sheffield City Council will be pumping in approximately £35m, with a further £10m being added through the investment mentioned above.
Soon to allow the theatre to scale up or down in size, the hope is that the new 'in the round' format will enable the Crucible to serve its arts and sporting audiences for decades to come, as well as opening the big Northern stage up to new opportunities.
Due to start in the summer of 2028, it's still unclear as to the exact completion date, but the plans are in support of confirmation that the annual snooker tournament will stay put.
A fresh agreement with the WSC will see them stay in Sheff until at least 2045, with the Crucible's number of seats set to jump from just under 1,000 to 1,480.
It's also said there is an option in the deal to extend the contract until 2050, and as one of the biggest competitive events that comes to the city year in and year out, you would expect them to push hard for the Council and partners to push hard for this, too.
Credit: Bread and Butter PR (supplied)
Dan Walker, Chair of Sheffield Theatres Trust, said in a statement: "The Crucible is a wonderful theatre with a brilliant reputation, and the positive impact of this investment will be seen for years to come.
"As a proud resident of Sheffield, I know the importance of snooker to our city, but this isn’t only good news for Sheffield: this is amazing news for the north of England and the whole of the UK."
If all goes to plan, the overhaul should take around 18 months, with productions being hosted in the Lyceium and the newest room, the Montgomery.
All the while, the Sheffield Theatres will continue to present new work both domestically and around the globe over this period, with more details coming this autumn 2026.
Danny Jones -
7th August 2023 
