Elisabeth Terland, Kamila Dubcová and Tigres' unstoppable attacking threat - your women's football roundup
There has been plenty to talk about in the last seven days across the women’s game, with surprising results, hat-tricks and impressive performances galore, and that was only in the WSL.
As ever, this newsletter will take you through everything that has happened around the world since the last edition, providing you with a selection of analysis points, reading and listening material, meaning that you will be covered however you like to keep up to date with things.
3 key talking points….
Brighton can depend on Elisabeth Terland in their fight to avoid the drop
It has been no secret this season that Brighton and Hove Albion have been struggling to pick up results and have been attempting to maintain the distance between themselves and the bottom of the table, with them so far struggling to find the consistency that they would have been hoping for during head coach Melissa Phillips’ first full season in charge.
It has not been for the want of trying though, with Phillips continually shifting players around as she and they search for the right combinations, and that has been partly responsible for them struggling to get the results that some of their performances have merited.
For a closer look at Brighton, have a look at my anrticle on them from the end of the 2022/2023 season for Total Football Analysis:
However, despite the campaign being a largely disappointing one so far, there have been some positives that they can take from it, and one is the performances of striker Elisabeth Terland at the top of the field with regards to her ability to lead the line.
It is not only her goals that have stood out though, which is the key thing, and the weekend’s win against fellow strugglers Bristol City saw her also drop back into pockets when needed in order to help her team progress the ball into dangerous areas of the pitch, demonstrating that she is so much more than simply a goal scorer.
https://twitter.com/t_s_s/status/1749099307016343633
It will be interesting to see if she stays at the club beyond the summer, because the high quality of her performances in a team that is in a relegation battle could lead to some higher up the league or in other countries asking about her availability. However, Brighton will be keen to keep her for as long as possible, because there is no doubt that she is the one keeping their heads above the water at this moment in time.
Kamila Dubcová can be AC Milan’s secret weapon in their recovery period
Another team who have underperformed this season has been AC Milan, with them falling a long way off the Champions League places in Serie A and finding themselves in a battle to finish in the top half of the division.
Their poor performances and the general dissatisfaction among the fanbase with the way that Maurizio Ganz had been running the team for a number of years meant that it came as no surprise when the club dispensed with his services a few months into the campaign, and there has been a definite change in the air under his successor Davide Corti, with a more fluid playing style introduced and players starting to show what they can really do when in top form.
One player who has really stood out is midfielder Kamila Dubcová, who signed from Sassuolo in 2022 and who has gone on to become a key name in the central third for the team, and there is no doubt that her ability to dictate play from the central third will be critical as the regular campaign nears its endpoint and Milan try to secure a place in the top half of the table.
https://twitter.com/femmesfootnews/status/1747989940149825623
However, what has made her such a vital cog in the Milan machine is that she has also contributed goals to her side, with her scoring a hat-trick against her former side in the Coppa Italia quarter-final first leg last week. With the forward line currently struggling to find the back of the net on a consistent basis, her contributions have therefore been so important in allowing Milan to not only play well but to start picking up the points that they have deserved at times.
When watching Milan at this moment in time, there is a lot to admire about their continued belief and ability to keep pushing for results, and Dubcová certainly epitomises that in no small part. With Milan currently eighth in the league and two points outside the top half of the table, keeping players like her fit could make the difference between meeting their aims and falling just short.
Tigres’ attacking variety makes them a fearsome opponent
Whilst Liga MX is well-known for its unpredictability at the best of times and for the fact that every team needs to be at their best in each outing, there are some sides who buck that trend and who can seemingly pick up results even when they are operating at cruise control.
Tigres undoubtedly fall firmly into that category, with them having a vast array of attacking options at their disposal and able to find ways of scoring and winning matches even when it appears that they are struggling to have an effect in games. In their opening match of the ongoing Clausura tournament, they looked incredibly rusty and only managed to beat San Luis 1-0, and that highlights how they can be far from their best but can still find a way through.
As the matches have gone on, their quality has shone through and the fact that both Santos Laguna and Club León were on the end of heavy defeats in the last seven days is a testament to the fact that they are now such a powerful attacking unit, with so many different options at their disposal, and the fact that they managed to sign the likes of Alison González, Jenni Hermoso and Thembi Kgatlana during the close season break shows how they are always looking to bring the best to the club in their constant quest for glory.
https://twitter.com/Miseleccionfem/status/1748873814937661925
It might be premature to say that they are Clausura champions-in-waiting, with so much of the tournament still to go and Monterrey only two points behind them, but they just look so difficult to keep out at the moment and always seem to have a game plan that works. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain their supremacy as the weeks and months go on.
Read all about it….
Growing concerns over the women’s calendar - one key discussion point in the women’s game at the moment is the amount of games that are being slotted into the season, with players worried that it is increasing the risk of them picking up injuries. In last week’s edition of The Guardian’s Moving The Goalposts newsletter, Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg detailed the concerns in a piece that is really worth reading.
Manchester City’s future ambitions - under new managing director Charlotte O’Neill, Manchester City have huge plans for the future of their women’s team, and this interview on the BBC Sport website outlines how they want to progress things on and off the field.
How Ajax are developing their women’s team - not so long ago, the women’s team was not a major concern of the wider Ajax package, but they changed that mentality in recent campaigns and are now benefitting from that, with homegrown talent being produced and the team proving to be a force to be reckoned with in their maiden European campaign. This interesting article by Jessy Parker Humphreys for The Athletic goes through the changes that they have made.
Lend me your ears….
Juana Plata: Living in the Monterrey moment - whilst there has been a lot of focus on the return of the WSL among the many podcasts around the women’s game this week, the latest edition of Squad Depth is an in-depth chat with Monterrey and El Salvador winger/full-back Juana Plata, and it contains some interesting insights into life in Mexico, the Mexican league and the current status and future hopes of the women’s game in El Salvador.
That’s all for now - back next week!!