MatériaMais Notícias

Artilheiro do Paulistão e do Corinthianscom oito gols, Róger Guedes é a grande esperança de gols para o Timão no duelo deste domingo (12), contra o Ituano, pelas quartas de final do Paulistão.

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+ Giuliano vai renovar com o Timão? Veja 40 nomes do futebol brasileiro em último ano de contrato

O camisa 10 corintiano acredita que o Galo de Itu irá montar uma linha de cinco defensores na Neo Química Arena para frear o ataque do Timão. Mesmo assim, ele confia que a força das arquibancadas será o combustível necessário para o Corinthians sair classificado.

+ Veja as movimentações do mercado da bola no LANCE!

– Jogo único, sabemos que é difícil, a equipe adversária pode entrar mais retrancada, com uma linha de cinco, é o que esperamos. Mas com o apoio da torcida, esgotou os ingressos, não esperamos nada menos do que isso. A gente sabe que a torcida corintiana sempre comparece. Espero que a gente consiga a vitória e eu possa fazer gols – concluiu o camisa 10 – disse Guedes à Corinthians TV.

Todos os ingressos colocados à venda para a partida foram comercializados. Por isso, há a expectativa de quebra de público em Itaquera na temporada

Com a semana livre para treinos, Róger Guedes acredita que a equipe entrará preparada para cumprir o objetivo na primeira parte do mata-mata.

-Foi uma semana muito boa, produtiva, trabalhamos forte. Sabemos que vai ser um jogo difícil, quartas de final. Espero que a gente conquiste a vitória para ir à semifinal, que é o nosso objetivo no momento – concluiu o atacante.

+ Veja como ficou a tabela e simule o mata-mata do Campeonato Paulista

Para o confronto, o técnico Fernando Lázaro não poderá contar com o meia Renato Augusto, que se recupera de um estiramento medial no joelho direito.

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Wrexham have said goodbye to a club legend as the Championship side confirmed the release of Ollie Palmer on Friday, with the striker joining Swindon.

Wrexham release strikerPalmer joins SwindonSpent three-and-a-half years with Welsh sideFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Wrexham have confirmed that Palmer has left the club after an historic three-and-a-half-year spell at the StoK Cae Ras. The club legend joined in January of 2022, when the club were still in the National League. He scored 46 goals in 156 appearances as the Welsh side rose through the leagues and up to the Championship. 

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Now, Palmer has completed a move to Swindon Town, signing a two-year contract, and will continue his career in League Two. He has played 288 times in the fourth-tier of English football, scoring 61 goals. 

WHAT PALMER SAID

Palmer told Swindon's website: "I’m really excited to sign for a club of Swindon’s stature. The ambition here is clear, and I want to play my part in helping the team push up the table and compete for promotion. I’m looking forward to meeting the lads, working with the manager, and getting started in front of the fans at the County Ground.

"When I spoke with the manager, his vision for the club really stood out. The way Swindon finished last season shows what this team is capable of, and I can’t wait to be a part of it."

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Wrexham begin life without Palmer this weekend against Millwall. They have yet to win a Championship game this season, drawing one and losing two of their three games.

Juventus have reportedly reached agreement for an initial loan move for RB Leipzig's Lois Openda after failing to sign Randal Kolo Muani.

• Juventus to sign Lois Openda
• Deal includes an obligation to buy
• Leipzig have inserted resale clause

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  After failing to land Kolo Muani, the Italian club are in talks to sign Openda from Liepzig and have reportedly reached an agreement worth over €50 million (£43m/$58m), according to . The deal will be paid in stages with the initial loan fee to be up to €4m and an obligation to buy inserted in the contract.

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  Juve failed to sign Kolo Muani from Paris Saint-Germain as the two clubs couldn't agree on the transfer terms. Juve insisted of linking the obligation to their Champions League qualification while PSG were more inclined towards liking it to a more assured clause. The Serie A side's deal for Openda also includes an obligation to buy set at €47m (£41m/$55m) that will be triggered should they finish in the top half of the league table. Leipzig has also inserted a re-sell clause in the contract.

• TELL ME MORE

  The Bundesliga club are also scouting the market for a replacement for Openda. Leipzig have identified Sporting CP's Conrad Harder and have reached an agreement that will reportedly cost Leipzig around €20m (£17m/$23m). The player, who was earlier in talks with AC Milan, will soon land in Germany for his medical.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR KOLO MUANI?

  With Juve's offer off the table, Kolo Muani will likely be spending the first half of the season in Paris. Bayern Munich have also showed interest in signing the French forward but the Parisians are adamant of inserting obligation to buy clause on their terms.

MatériaMais Notícias

A uma semana do primeiro compromisso em 2023, a Seleção Brasileira teve duas baixas confirmadas neste sábado. O zagueiro Marquinhos e o atacante Richarlison foram cortados da lista anunciada pelo técnico interino Ramon Menezes e não estarão presentes no amistoso contra o Marrocos. Agora há noite, a CBF confirmou que Bremer, da Juventus, e Yuri Alberto, do Corinthians, substituem a dupla. O atacante terá sua primeira oportunidade na Seleção.

O Brasil encara os africanos no próximo sábado, às 18h (de Brasília), no Estádio IbnBatouta, na cidade de Tânger. A delegação começa a chegar no país marroquino entre este sábado e a próxima segunda-feira.

+ Veja a tabela e os jogos da Copa do Brasil 2023

RelacionadasMais EsportesBrasil bate Paraguai e garante vaga na Copa do Mundo de futebol de areiaMais Esportes18/03/2023FluminenseCano anota um pôquer, Fluminense goleia o Volta Redonda por 7 a 0 e vai à final do CariocaFluminense18/03/2023BotafogoEm jogo pouco movimentado, Portuguesa e Botafogo empatam sem gols na ida da semifinal da Taça RioBotafogo18/03/2023

Marquinhos tem problemas na região abdominal e não entra em campo desde o dia 8 de março, quando o PSG perdeu para o Bayern de Munique na Champions League. Na ocasião, o defensor começou a partida, mas foi substituído com dores na costela no decorrer do duelo.

A situação de Richarlison é uma contusão muscular, sofrida neste sábado. O atacante foi titular no empate do Tottenham com o Southampton, pela Premier League, mas deixou o gramado chorando sentindo dores com menos de cinco minutos. O médico da Seleção Brasileira, Rodrigo Lasmar, entrou em contato com os Spurs, que informaram que o jogador não estaria disponível.

Além de Marquinhos e Richarlison, o Brasil não contará com Neymar, que sequer foi convocado. O camisa 10 passou por uma cirurgia no tornozelo direito e não deve voltar a jogar nesta temporada.

+ Confira as movimentações do mercado da bola no Vaivém do L!

+Messi pode voltar ao Barcelona, Ancelotti faz planos para o futuro… O Dia do Mercado!

VEJA OS CONVOCADOS

Goleiros: Ederson (Manchester City-ING), Mycael (Athletico-PR) e Weverton (Palmeiras);

Defensores: Arthur (América-MG), Emerson Royal (Tottenham-ING), Alex Telles (Sevilla-ESP), Renan Lodi (Nottingham Forest-ING), Ibañez (Roma-ITA), Éder Militão (Real Madrid-ESP), Bremer (Juventus-ITA) e Robert Renan (Zenit-RUS);

Meio-campistas: André (Fluminense), Andrey Santos (Vasco), Casemiro (Manchester United-ING), João Gomes (Wolverhampton-ING), Lucas Paquetá (West Ham-ING) e Raphael Veiga (Palmeiras);

Atacantes: Antony (Manchester United-ING), Rodrygo (Real Madrid-ESP), Rony (Palmeiras), Yuri Alberto (Corinthians), Vini Jr (Real Madrid-ESP), Vitor Roque (Athletico-PR).

Harry Kane reportedly has a clause in his Bayern Munich contract that will allow him to return to England, potentially at Manchester United, in 2026.

Left Tottenham in summer of 2023Has broken trophy curse in GermanyPremier League return being mootedFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Ex-Germany international Dietmar Hamann – who spent time in the Premier League and with Bayern in his playing career – claims that prolific frontman Kane is eager to head home after next summer’s World Cup.

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It is claimed that terms in his deal at the Allianz Arena will allow such a transfer to be agreed, with Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer ready to return to his roots after breaking his trophy curse with Bundesliga and Super Cup triumphs in Germany.

WHAT HAMANN SAID

Hamann has told : “I think Harry Kane has a clause that allows him to leave for a certain amount next summer. I believe the reason Bayern Munich wanted to bring Nick Woltemade in this summer was because many within the club think Kane wants to go back to England after the World Cup.

“Whether that's the case, I don't know, but potentially it could be his last season in Munich if someone pays the fee he can choose to leave next summer.

“Whether someone pays £50 million or £60m for him next summer, I don't know. Obviously, a lot will depend on what happens this season in the World Cup. But yes, I think a lot of people, I don't know where they get it from, but many seem to believe that he may want to return to England next summer.”

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Spurs have the option to match any bids that are lodged for Kane, but Hamann believes the 32-year-old striker could end up at Old Trafford. He added: “I can see Harry Kane at Manchester United next season, and I think he'd do well for them.

“Having said that, I always felt that as a London boy, sometimes they don't really like to go to the north. Having played for Spurs, obviously Chelsea and Arsenal might be tricky, but then again, you never know, if they give him a chance to win the Premier League.

“I always felt or thought that a London club would be more favourable than a northern club, but obviously United is probably still the biggest club in England, and if they were to ask for his services, I think it would be fantastic to see him as their number nine.”

Lautaro Martinez etched his name in the Argentina history books following his cameo against Venezuela.

• Martinez enters the history books
• Overtakes Maradona as Argentina's fifth-highest scorer
• Inter star struck after coming on as a substitute

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Martinez became one of Argentina's top five scorers of all time when he came off the bench to score in Argentina's comfortable 3-0 win over Venezuela in the World Cup qualifiers, putting behindthe disappointment of Inter's defeat to Udinese in the best possible way. The former River Plate sensation scored the second goal, but more importantly, he surpassed the legendary Diego Maradona's goal tally with the Albiceleste.

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  His goal wasn't just any goal. Coming on in the 74th minute and scoring just two minutes later, Martinez overtook Maradona's goal tally for Argentina. The Napoli icon scored 32 goals for the national team. Martinez, with his goal against Venezuela, now has 33 goals in 71 appearances.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Since making his debut in 2018, Martinez has proved to be a clinical finisher for Argentina. He has lifted three titles with the national team — two Copa America titles (2021 and 2024) and the 2022 World Cup, not to mention the 2022 Finalissima. He also won the Golden Boot at the 2024 Copa America for scoring five goals. Martinez now needs three more goals to overtake Hernan Crespo's tally of 35 goals, and nine more goals to surpass the 41 goals scored by Sergio Aguero.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR LAUTARO MARTINEZ?

  El Toro will be hoping to continue his purple patch for his country when they visit Ecuador next Wednesday. Martinez has scored 12 goals in his last 17 caps for Argentina. 

Also: Is it time for Gambhir to drop down Daredevils’ order? And Yuvraj to drop out of Kings XI’s line-up all together?

Dustin Silgardo24-Apr-20183:24

Where do Delhi Daredevils go from here?

Why is everyone praising R Ashwin’s captaincy?Well, first, he put his captaincy in the spotlight by saying he was going to be unpredictable. Second, he’s taken a team that finished eighth, eighth and fifth in their last three IPL seasons to the top of the table, and his decisions have had a lot to do with that success.Defending just 143 against Delhi Daredevils, he started off with a great Powerplay. Kings XI are one of only two teams this season to concede at less than eight runs per over in the first six. While Sunrisers Hyderbad, the best bowling team in the Powerplay, have relied on the excellence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Billy Stanlake up front, Ashwin has changed it up between spin and pace depending on the opposition. Daredevils had Gautam Gambhir, who is striking at just 70.00 against pace this IPL, and IPL debutant Prithvi Shaw opening, so Ashwin smartly opened with seamers Ankit Rajpoot and Barinder Sran and then brought in Andrew Tye in the fourth over. He bowled out Rajpoot, whose economy rate is 7.72 in the first eight overs of IPL games compared to 12.33 in the death, at one go. By the end of the sixth over, the seamers had struck three crucial blows.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhat starting with pace also did was keep the dangerous Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Ashwin himself for the middle order. In that middle order were two batsmen with poor strike rates against spin: Daniel Christian (102.33) and Rahul Tewatia (119.00). Between them, they faced 17 balls of spin for just nine runs, which took the momentum out of Daredevils’ innings.What is going on with Daredevils?It looks like it will be another disappointing season for Daredevils, who haven’t finished higher than sixth in the IPL since the 2012 season. They are rock bottom and need to win most of their remaining eight games to stand a chance of qualifying for the playoffs.So what has been going wrong? It’s difficult to pinpoint Delhi’s weaknesses as both their batting and bowling have struggled. Their batting is in the bottom three in the Powerplay and middle overs, while their bowlers have been the most expensive among all teams in the Powerplay.

Players used so far

• Delhi Daredevils: 19

• Chennai Super Kings: 16

• Kings XI Punjab: 15

• Kolkata Knight Riders: 15

• Royal Challengers Bangalore: 15

• Mumbai Indians: 14

• Rajasthan Royals: 14

• Sunrisers Hyderabad: 13

The losses have pressured them into changes, and they have used 19 players already this season, three more than any other team. They’ve tried seven different batsmen in the top three, three Indian seamers and three Indian spinners. For the game against Kings XI, they made five changes. Liam Plunkett and Avesh Khan came in and took five wickets between them, but Plunkett’s inclusion meant Jason Roy had to be left out, and his replacement, Prithvi Shaw, could not kick on after a brisk start.Another problem for Delhi has been that their two most expensive overseas recruits, Glenn Maxwell and Chris Morris, have not fired. Maxwell has just one score of note, which came in a losing cause, and Morris is yet to have a match-winning performance with either bat or ball.Should Gambhir move down the order?According to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats – ESPNcricinfo’s new set of metrics to make sense of numbers in the shortest format – Gautam Gambhir has cost his team 40.61 runs this season due to his slow strike rate. He is striking at just 96.59, thanks mainly to his struggles against pace bowling. What hurts Daredevils is that batsmen such as Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Glenn Maxwell, all of whom strike at over 135, are given less balls to get going because they come in after a slow start. Gambhir has always played the anchor role – his 4217 IPL runs have come at a strike rate of 123.88 – but with teams scoring more in the Powerplay than in any previous edition, that role may no longer be a valuable one.Is it time to dump Yuvraj?Yuvraj Singh has two unwanted records this IPL. Among batsmen who have faced 40 balls or more, he has the highest dot-ball percentage (58.92%) and the worst strike rate (89.28). According to Smart Stats, he has cost Kings XI 22.87 runs, and his scratchy 14 off 17 balls against Daredevils contributed to a below-par total.ESPNcricinfo LtdYuvraj has really struggled to middle the ball; out of the 56 balls he’s faced, he has controlled less than 60%. He’s also chosen to play defensive shots 23.21% of the time, surprising for the T20 format.The struggle has not been surprising. Since January 2016, Yuvraj’s strike rate in T20s is 117.73, well below par. Kings XI have not yet used Manoj Tiwary, whose strike rate in the same period is 134.88, and may consider bringing him in for Yuvraj for their next game.

Pat Cummins says he won’t reveal Australia’s first Test XI until the toss on Thursday, but Todd Murphy is firming to make his Test debut, while Peter Handscomb’s chances of a Test recall are increasing as Australia are wary of the problems too many left-hand batters might face on a made-to-order Nagpur pitch.The ground staff at the VCA Stadium were seen carefully curating the pitch two days before the start of the match, including doing selective watering of the surface. They watered the middle of the pitch and the areas outside the right-handers’ off stump at one end, but left those on a good length outside the left-handers’ off stump at both ends bone dry. There was also brushing and selective mowing of certain areas.Speaking from the team hotel on Wednesday morning, Cummins, the Australia captain, was not drawn into a discussion on pitch preparation, but did note that it would be a factor in Australia’s selection for the match.Related

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“I think it is a factor over here,” he said. “With so much traffic from the right-handers bowling, at times there is a bit more out there for the left-handers. The Indian line-up is going to be packed full of right-handers, so I think it plays a small factor.”Cummins ruled allrounder Cameron Green out of the series opener against India. Matt Renshaw had taken his place in Australia’s last Test match, but keeping him in for this one would mean five left-hand batters in the top seven having to deal with the bone-dry area of the pitch that is likely to get chewed up, as both teams have only right-arm quicks in their attack. While Cummins did not explicitly say that put Handscomb ahead in the pecking order, the chances of his recall seem to be increasing.Australia are set to play a four-man bowling attack with Cummins and Scott Boland to play as the two quicks in the absence of the injured duo of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Nathan Lyon will be their lead spinner. That leaves left-arm spinner Ashton Agar and offspinner Todd Murphy fighting for the last spot in the XI.1:11

O’Keefe: Todd Murphy will be a superstar

“I think he’d be as prepared as he could be,” Cummins said of the uncapped Murphy. “He’s been bowling beautifully in the nets over here. He’s started really well for Victoria in first-class cricket. If he got the nod, he’s got Nathan Lyon down the other end that he can work with; he’s ready. Everyone in the squad here has had really good preparation. Whoever we pick is 100% ready to go.”The fear of playing two specialist offspinners – and leaving Agar out – against India’s right-hand dominant batting line-up may have dissipated within the Australian camp after seeing the pitch on Tuesday.”It’s a factor. These conditions, they really spin, so just really good bowling is what you’re after, being consistent time and time again,” Cummins said. “I don’t think you need to go searching for anything more; the conditions will come to you.”You’ve seen Nath be really, really effective over here [with] a lot of bat-pad, leg-slip catches for the right-handers. So ideally, you’ve got variety in any attack, but I don’t think it has to be the case just for that sake.”Cummins has had an incredible record of winning tosses as Australia Test captain, with seven of his last eight and nine of 13 overall so far falling in his favour. He is hoping to keep that run of success going in Nagpur, but believes the toss may not be as big a factor if the pitch is a raging turner.”I think we’ll bat,” Cummins laughed. “I think when the conditions spin from day one, it’s actually not. I think you’ve seen India’s record. They win just as many games batting second as they do batting first. I think it can be overstated when the conditions do spin really quickly.”

Fast bowler says more than one Ashes Test would be ‘bonus’ as he builds across formats

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2023

Jofra Archer says that he has already surpassed his ambitions in battling back from persistent injury to resume his England career, but admits that he would consider it a “bonus” if he is able to feature in more than one Ashes Test this summer.Archer, 27, is in the midst of an encouraging but cautious return to action across formats, having claimed an impressive 13 wickets at 16.92 in four ODIs and one T20I since making his international comeback for England against South Africa in January.That haul includes a career-best of 6 for 40 in Kimberley last month, and he is likely to feature in one of England’s two remaining T20Is against Bangladesh in Dhaka this week, before linking up with Mumbai Indians for the forthcoming IPL.And while the demands on his time and availability are likely to be onerous in the coming months – with the IPL season bleeding straight into England’s Test summer against Ireland and Australia in June and July – it is vastly preferable to Archer’s status this time last year, when his gruelling recovery from two elbow operations was scuppered by a stress fracture of the back.”Sometimes you’ve still got that little feeling in the back of your mind that you’re still not ready yet,” Archer said. “But I just put that behind me and, whatever happens, happens. If you’re supposed to get injured again, then there’s nothing you can do about it. But till that time comes I’m just going to give everything I’ve got.”Coming back and playing cricket for England again means I have already done what I wanted to do. I said 18 months ago I was going to be back, and now I am back hopefully I have a long career, so it makes no sense doing too much too soon.”To that end, Archer has committed to taking it easy in his final outing of the Bangladesh series, for all that England are 0-1 down after their six-wicket loss in Chittagong on Thursday.”In Bangladesh I’m not going to be charging in trying to bowl 95mph,” he said. “It sounds a little bit bad but wickets where you put everything in and you don’t get anything out, you’re just putting yourself at risk.”There is still a bit more rust I need to take off, but for now I am happy with how it’s gone, with how the body has held up. There is always more in the tank but I’m progressing and peaking at the right time.Related

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“There’s a lot of cricket coming up and I’m just doing everything I can to stay on the park. I don’t think I can play all of it, it probably wouldn’t be sensible to, but whatever the medical team tells me I can do, I’m all for it.”Although he may not be back on the field in a full-time capacity just yet, Archer says that he has recognised a familiar sense of dislocation this winter, with an itinerary that has taken him from the Lions tour in the UAE before Christmas, to South Africa for the SA20, and onto his England comeback. And now, after Bangladesh, he’ll be swiftly heading for the IPL, where he hopes the shorter demands of the 20-over format will help to step up his comeback.”I think you know when you’re in the cricket mode when you actually don’t know what day of the week it is,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t even know what’s going on. But I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen at the IPL. Hopefully I can play back-to-back, or fly and play. I don’t think it’ll be as heavily restricted as when I first started. I hope not. It’s only four overs and it’s definitely not as taxing as a 50-over game, but the medical team knows best.”My time’s gone by a little bit slowly but it’s all right, you just have to find ways to keep yourself occupied,” he added. “There’s no reason to be upset about it or anything. I’ve had a lot of downtime before, it doesn’t bother me that much.”Further afield, however, Archer recognises the opportunity that is presenting itself in 2023, with a home Ashes summer followed by England’s defence of the 50-over World Cup – the same twin peaks with which he announced his arrival on the international stage in his maiden England summer four years ago.”It’s pretty similar actually,” Archer said. “If you caught form at the right time in 2019, you probably would have been able to carry it throughout the whole summer, whereas now you’ve got a couple of months before the World Cup.””Hopefully this summer will have the opportunity to surpass it, but I don’t think there’ll be many other summers of cricket that are better than that. If I can play one game this summer, I’ll be happy. If I play more than one, that’s a bonus.”

The 23-year-old has been consistently outstanding for the Red Devils since her move from Brighton, but its yet to translate to the international stage

On Sunday, Sarina Wiegman will be watching on as the two best English centre-backs of the 2024-25 season go head-to-head in the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley, in a clash between Manchester United and Chelsea. Both have captained their sides to extremely impressive seasons, with United back in the Champions League and the Blues looking to complete just a second-ever treble. But only one looks set to feature prominently as the Lionesses head to Switzerland to defend their European Championship title this summer.

That is Millie Bright, who has not received anywhere near enough praise for her performances this season. The Chelsea skipper has taken full advantage of her first injury-free campaign in three years, forming a strong partnership with Nathalie Bjorn that has laid the foundation for a season that has already returned a League Cup and a sixth-successive Women’s Super League title.

On the other side, meanwhile, is Maya Le Tissier. Arguably among the top three players in her position in the WSL this season, alongside the Chelsea duo, her form at United is made all the more impressive by the fact it has come in her first year as the club’s captain, an honour she has fully earned despite only celebrating her 23rd birthday last month. And yet, to the surprise of many, her chances to showcase that level with Wiegman’s England have been rather limited.

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  Another fantastic season

  This season has been no flash in the pan for Le Tissier, either. It’s her third with the Red Devils, after bursting onto the scene as a teenager at Brighton, and she has played every WSL minute of it once again, a feat she achieved last term and was only 20 minutes away from doing the year prior. That’s an indication of how important she has been to this team ever since arriving in the north west.

  Le Tissier was a natural choice as captain, really, when Katie Zelem moved on last summer, but that she was just 22 years old when Marc Skinner offered her that armband was always going to raise questions. Those are questions that Le Tissier asked herself. “But I felt that I was ready and I think if I didn’t feel like I was ready, I would never have accepted it because I knew how big of a job it was,” she tells reporters ahead of Sunday’s final.

  That feeling is backed up by the quality she has brought to the table since joining the club and especially since, with Le Tissier displaying such top form this season that she earned herself a nomination for the WSL Player of the Year award.

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  Love of the job

  There are a lot of reasons why Le Tissier is thriving so consistently and seamlessly adapting to the new, higher expectations that continue to come her way. But if you’re looking to understand why she is, quite simply, such a top-quality defender, you only need to see the smile that flashes across her face when United’s defensive record this season is mentioned.

  The Red Devils conceded just 16 goals in 22 WSL games this year, the second-lowest of any team in the division – only bettered by champions Chelsea. It’s something that Le Tissier clearly takes great pride in, as a centre-back but also the captain.

  “We all love defending,” she says, that smile not fading. “I love defending. I love blocking. I love doing anything I can to keep the ball out of the back of the net, and it's the same for every single player on the pitch, not just the back line. I think the way that we press helps us massively. The way that the No.9s, the wingers, how they press, they get through a lot of work so it definitely makes our lives a lot easier. We probably take the glory but it's a massive team effort. We like to keep it tight and go score goals as well. It's just fun to defend. We like defending.”

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  Striving for the top

  That will be vital on Sunday as United prepare to face a team they’ve only lost to by the finest of margins this season. In London back in November, only a Guro Reiten penalty separated the two, while it was Lucy Bronze's header from a corner that secured another 1-0 Chelsea win in the north west at the end of last month, one which sealed the Blues' sixth-successive league title.

  The remarkable team ethic, which Le Tissier sets as captain, was evident in United’s first game after that loss, when they battled from 2-0 down to draw level with Manchester City at Old Trafford. The Red Devils needed a point to secure Champions League football and their task was made all the more difficult when, having seemingly completed that comeback, they went down to 10 players. But the hosts stood tall, with Le Tissier in particular impressing in her defensive work to help the team confirm their return to the European stage.

  That top-three finish is a serious improvement on last year, when United tumbled down to fifth during a really disappointing league season. Victory in the FA Cup final did paper over some of the cracks, but this team knew it needed to be better and, despite the departures of key players like Zelem and Mary Earps, they have been.

  “None of the players that we signed, and those that play for this club, want to be anywhere other than the top,” Le Tissier believes. “I think that shows how strong-willed we are, that we want to work together and get to the top no matter what. We might not have the best players in the world, but we've certainly got great talent and young talent wanting to be the best and working together as a team. There are not any individuals in this team.”

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  On England's fringes

  Again, that is an insight into Le Tissier’s mindset as much as the rest of the United squad’s, with her certainly one of those rising talents as a 23-year-old who is now consistently one of the best players in the WSL. So why isn’t it translating at England level?

  Capped at the age of 20, the centre-back has still only made seven appearances for her country, despite making her debut over two-and-a-half years ago. That has come while her stature at club level has only grown and grown, to the point that she recently became the youngest player to hit 100 WSL appearances.

  You’ll only have to look at the Chelsea defence on Sunday to be reminded of two of the main reasons why she cannot seem to breakthrough on the international scene, though. One is the depth the Lionesses have at centre-back. Bright, who Le Tissier will go head-to-head with at Wembley, and Leah Williamson, the England captain, have made up Wiegman’s go-to pairing when both are fit, while players like Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter have been knocking firmly on the door as those next up.

  There have been opportunities for Esme Morgan in that role, too, while Le Tissier seems to be part of a lower-tier group in Wiegman's pecking order that also features her centre-back partner at United, Millie Turner.