Finland, Otesha Charles and why Opah Clement could be the next top African striker - your women's football roundup
The women’s game may have been on an international break over the last week, but that does not mean that there has been a shortage of action for fans to enjoy and for the media to dissect, with the Nations League, the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations all part of the programme.
As ever, this newsletter will bring you the best of those stories in a digestible format, with the usual selection of short analysis points, external articles and a podcast episode to listen to, ensuring that you are covered however you prefer to consume your content.
3 key talking points….
Finland’s new style will make them tough opponents to come up against
Whilst there was certainly plenty to enjoy in the higher tiers of the inaugural Nations League campaign, it is worth remembering that there were important games and teams worth watching in other areas of Europe too.
One of those that is really catching the eye at this point in time is Finland, who have really evolved under head coach Marko Saloranta (who took charge last year), with them now having a greater reliance on positional rotations as they try to confuse opponents and force them into leaving spaces open.
“We want to be a team that steals the ball more often in the upper areas and is more aggressive in fighting situations. Secondly, we need to be able to control games with the ball and, by extension, be dangerous and attack with more rhythm.”
Marko Saloranta, talking in October 2022 after his appointment as Finland’s new head coach
When looking at their performance against Romania last week, it was apparent just how influential this was in dismantling their defensive line, with constant shifts between the channels, most notably by the forward line of Linda Sällström and Jutta Rantala, ensuring that the Romanian players could never settle and ended up conceding six times during the 90 minutes.
There is definitely a balanced look to them at the moment which will give their fans a lot of confidence, especially with the Euro 2025 qualifiers commencing in the new year. On the evidence of this and their more recent performances (which have seen them secure promotion to League A), they will be a team to watch in the race to Switzerland and one whose clarity and confidence will make very difficult to keep quiet.
Otesha Charles is a player to watch in the upcoming Gold Cup playoffs
With five wins in their six group stage games at the beginning of the road to the 2024 Gold Cup, which saw them find the net on 20 occasions, there is little doubt that Guyana will be ones to watch when the next round of qualifiers gets underway.
https://twitter.com/OfficialGFFInc/status/1731452058656551081
The next task that they will have to navigate is a tricky play-off fixture against a currently unknown side, but there is little doubt that they will go into it with a lot of confidence after the manner in which they have dispatched their other group stage opponents.
One player who has proven to be particularly important to their continued hopes of progression to the finals is forward Otesha Charles, who has often played on the wing but who has often been seen in central areas too.
https://twitter.com/OteshaCharles/status/1707687076546674908
Whilst their strong form has been down to the whole team working together, there is little doubt that Charles is someone that they could not offer the same threat without, with her constantly finding gaps in opposing lines and punishing mistakes, and her hat-trick against Dominica and the goal that she scored against Antigua and Barbuda in the last week highlights just how dangerous she is when allowed to receive the ball in and around the opposing goal area.
https://twitter.com/OteshaCharles/status/1732090115806130546
The variety of her play and the different things that she offers tactically really epitomise Guyana’s free-flowing style of play in many ways, with them not just having one way of breaking opponents down but scoring from through balls, crosses and set pieces.
As mentioned, it has been a team effort where Guyana are concerned, but Charles has certainly been front and centre of everything that they have done well so far, and there will be a lot of hope that she can continue in her current form and book Guyana a trip to the USA next year.
Opah Clement looks like being the next African striking talent
Africa may not be one of the primary places to witness the women’s game (at the moment at least), but there is no doubt that the continent does have a rich history of producing some outstanding female footballing talent, particularly when it comes to the goalscoring department (the likes of South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana, Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala, Malawi’s Tabitha Chawinga and Zambia’s Barbra Banda all come to mind).
Following the latest round of AFCON qualifiers, it does seem like another young talent could soon join that illustrious group, with Tanzania’s Opah Clement a player in really good form at the moment and looking calm and composed whenever the ball is at her feet.
At the time of writing, she plies her trade for Beşiktaş in Turkey and has found the net six times in her opening 12 matches, whilst she was the leading scorer in the Serengeti Lite Premier League (the Tanzanian top flight) before moving to Europe.
However, it is her overall movement that is really making her a player to watch, with her capable of both playing on the shoulder of opposing lines and of dropping back into gaps behind her to link up with teammates. In the first leg of Tanzania’s double-header against Togo, her ability to do both was critical for her team and was instrumental in giving them a 3-0 lead to take into the second leg.
https://twitter.com/azamtvtz/status/1730246519796728065
Her ability to play with this level of variety will be vital as her career progresses, with the modern game built around player movement and constant positional shifts, and it is clear that she will be one to keep an eye on as the years go on.
Read all about it….
Where do Scotland go now? - whilst the discussions of last night’s Nations League action at Hampden Park have mainly been around England and how Team GB will not be at the 2024 Olympics, it is worth remembering that it was yet another defeat for Scotland and another disappointing performance. Amy Canavan has detailed where they are now and if head coach Pedro Matinez Losa can keep his job following their poor Nations League campaign for BBC Sport.
Kim Little opens up on leadership and other things - in this wide-ranging interview with The Athletic’s Sarah Shephard, Arsenal and former Scotland captain Kim Little talks about the Olympics, captaincy and how she deals with the potential of moving on from football in her future life, despite it being her life for so long. This is a really engrossing interview that touches on so many areas and is well-worth reading.
Christine Sinclair in the words of others - there has understandably been a lot said about now-retired former Canada legend Christine Sinclair, who played her final match for her country last night, but this article on The Athletic by Steph Yang is a really good one to read and one that will make readers smile at some of the stories and memories of her time on the international stage.
Lend me your ears….
Can women’s football be a billion pound industry? - amongst the on-field action this week, another big piece of news is the UK Government giving their backing to Karen Carney’s review on women’s football and suggestions on how to develop and improve it. This episode of BBC Sport’s The Sports Desk was recorded back in July (before the World Cup), but it discusses many of the aspects of the report in greater detail and recent news means that it is a good time to revisit it to look at why these recommendations are so vital to the future of the women’s game.
That’s all for now - back next week!!