This week we look at the format for the 2024 Olympic Games Finals next summer in Paris and other cities in France. We also have the tragic story of the death of Moldovan international Violeta Mitul from a fall while on a hiking trip in Iceland with some of her professional club teammates. We examine the first two games of the UEFA Nations Cup and update the reader on Spain's WNT crisis and their high profile game in Sweden—a reply of the 2023 WWC Semifinal won by Spain 2-1,

With the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup now over, the next major international tournament on the horizon is the 2024 Olympic Games Final Women's Football Tournament in France from July 26 through August 11. The women, rather than the men, will close the Olympic tournament for the first time and there will be no double-headers as has been done in the past. Paris Parc des Princes (home of Paris St. Germain) will host the final and other matches as well, while other hosts will be:

• Stade de Bordeaux
• Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes
• Stade de Lyon
• Stade de Marseille
• Stade de Nice
• Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne

Wendie Renard, who captained France in the 2019 Women's World Cup finals at home, said: "[Winning Olympic gold] is a dream for any athlete. Obviously in football we tend to think of the World Cup first, but a medal at the Games is also a magnificent title. The Olympics is the pantheon of sport; it's being part of an even bigger national team represented by our country's greatest champions. And when you know that the next ones are at home… It will be an extraordinary, unique opportunity to try and win a medal with the support of our people."

Jessica Houara, a FIFA Legend and former Bleues international midfielder who played at the 2016 Olympics and 2015 WWC and is a well-known football analyst on French TV, said: "The Olympic Games are like the Holy Grail for athletes. Football players have the World Cup, but the Olympics mean representing your country in every sport. You see the Olympic rings—it's like magic. The Olympic Games have something special, a particular pleasure, and I'm sure every French athlete, from every sport, can't wait to take part. It's going to be extraordinary, being able to live an Olympics in their own country. I talked to the girls, and I can tell you that they are looking forward to it."

Qualified nations for the 2024 Women's Olympic Football Tournament (5/12)

• France
• Brazil
• Colombia

• Canada (see final qualifier results versus Jamaica in next week's column)
• USA

Spots still to be determined:
• Europe, 2 teams (Nations League finals, Feb. 21-28, 2024)
• Asia, 2 teams (AFC qualifying, Feb. 24-28, 2024)
• Africa, 2 teams (CAF qualifying, April 1-9, 2024)
• Oceania, 1 team (OFC qualifying, Feb. 5-March 10, 2024)

Moldova international defender Violeta Mitul dies in a hiking accident in Iceland

Violeta Mitul (26), an international defender from Moldova with over 40 senior caps, died in a tragic hiking accident with some of her current club teammates in Iceland, having joined Einherji, in the third tier 2 Dield Women, earlier this year. She fell from a cliff near the northeast Icelandic village of Vopnafjörður.

Moldova international Violeta Mițul has passed away after a tragic hiking accident in Iceland. Photo credit: UEFA/FMF

She had also played for professional clubs at home, in Italy, Kazakhstan, Romania, Spain and Ukraine. Mitul won the Moldovan and Romanian Cups with Alga Tiraspol and Vasas Femina.

We were saddened by this news and our thoughts are with her family, friends and teammates.

First Two Matches of the Inaugural 2023-24 UEFA Women's Nations League

League A

The games that dominated everyone's attention in the opening two group games across Leagues A-C of the inaugural Women's Nations League, played during the September international window, were Spain away to Sweden and then Spain at home against Switzerland, a quick rematch of two knockout stage wins for La Roja on their way to capturing the Women's World Cup this summer—a late 2-1 win against Sweden in the Semifinals and a 5-1 Round of 16 demolition of the Swiss in the Round of 16.

The focus should have been just on the matches themselves rather than if they were going to take place at all and, if so, who would line-up for the World Champions, due to a continuation of the national team players' conflict with their federation started by now dispatched Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales (as well as head coach Jorge Vida) after Rubiales kissed Pachuca of Mexico midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips after the Final win (see our column a few weeks ago for more details: The Week in Women's Football: Rubiales & Pauw chaos - but Boquete can calm it down; WWC ratings impact - Tribal Football).

Since that column, the players threatened to strike the first Nations League matches, which at one point looked like they would be postponed rather than assigning their opponents walkover wins. Spain's WNT players wanted more changes at a Federation that, in its treatment of women's football, has been way beyond parochial and condescending for years.

Rather than a conciliatory approach by the RFEF, the players were threatened with fines and suspensions as the Spanish government has a 2022 law forbidding athletes from not accepting a national team call-up in any sport (except for injuries), with substantial punitive penalties for those who do, with fines ranging between 3,000 and 30,000 euros ($3,200 to $32,100) and they could also potentially lose their license to play football at all—even at the club level—for up to five years. Even though the players had petitioned in a statement asking not to be selected for the matches, interim head coach Montse Tome selected most of the Women's World Cup winners, except bizarrely for Jenni Hermoso, in order "to protect her." Tome told the Associated Press: "We are all with Jenni and with all of the players. I believe this was the best way to protect her." That's a funny way of showing that you are "with Jenni."

Needless to say, this strategy did not go over well with the players. Two time Ballon d'Or Feminin and FIFA Best Women's Player winner in 2021 and 2022 Alexia Putellas responded: "We have to talk long and hard about if we are coming to a safe place or not when we have been forced to come [to camp ahead of the matches]. We have been forced to come. But if they want to sanction us, then we have to come."

Spanish newspaper AS said that the RFEF's moved triggered "open war." The newspaper Marca added: "The wound gets bigger." Hermoso's response was classic: "Protect me from what? And from whom?" She further felt that the roster announcements were "manipulation" and proved that "nothing has changed," even with Rubiales' and Vilda's terminations.

Tome is the first women's national team coach of Spain but she is not out of the woods yet as anything but a placeholder in the job as she was an WNT assistant to Vilda since 2018—the complaints by a majority of the squad started in mass after the 2022 EUROS--and then she foolishly stood and applauded Rubiales' speech to the RFEF the week after the WWC Final in which he essentially branded the players as traitors.

Clearly back-pedaling, she has said that there were "communication mistakes" when she announced the team. You think? Maybe she should explain to Jenni what word she meant rather than "protect." How do you say banished in Spanish [desterrar]? Clearly Tome needs to be broomed as well and an experienced women's national team coach brought in, even from abroad. Reynald Pedros has won a Women's Champions League title with Lyon and was outstanding with Morocco this summer at the Women's World Cup; Pia Sundhage is available after being fired by Brazil. We could come up with dozens of names that wouldn't have the baggage that Tome does.

Just two days before the team was due to fly to Gothenburg for the first game on September 22, the players agreed to play after late night negotiations with the RFEF and the Spanish government's Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD). The RFEF agreed to "immediate and profound changes." This included the firing of RFEF general secretary Andreu Camps—with another half dozen executives likely to be terminated—and the federation apologized for everything that had taken place since the players defeated England 1-0 on August 20, including putting the players through "unwanted circumstances" and noting specifically that Jenni Hermoso was "immersed in a situation that she did not create." Wow—a more truthful statement has never been uttered in the women's game!

The Federation further said in a statement: "We understand that the players need to feel that the federation is their home, a safe environment where they can show their professionalism and sporting quality while displaying the privilege of representing Spain. The steps taken so far by the current leadership of the RFEF have always sought this objective. However, we recognise that until yesterday, we have not managed to create a climate of trust with the internationals."

Comes the dawn, but the RFEF needs to follow through as the world is watching and these champion women—on and off the field—deserve to be treated as professionals—finally.

Alexia Putellas explained that Spain's meeting with government officials to settle the impasse will be considered a landmark "before and after" moment for women's sport in her country. The problem was that, with all the stress and the late night negotiations, the players had very little sleep ahead of two games with top European sides. Putellas added: "There's a meeting until five in the morning, which we think was necessary but without forgetting that we're professional sports people, so imagine what it's costing us that we're not going to sleep. We've had a week in which we've slept four hours with all the meetings we're having."

Defender Irene Paredes explained that part of their motivation for agreeing to play the two games was to protect the under-23 side, who would likely have been called up in their place, from having to deal with the problems they were encountering: "[At the meeting] they said, among the things that were agreed, that we wouldn't be sanctioned and then we took the decision to stay. Not because we're particularly happy—because of all the situation we've been experiencing since a month ago, because of how we were called up—but we stayed because we believe it's what we need to do so that the agreements go forward and for this to go on advancing. Not just for us but I think we also have a responsibility to the under-23 team. If we hadn't been here it's very probable they would have been called up. It's like passing a bomb to people who maybe have less experience and it could become more complicated."

Victor Francos, the Spanish government's secretary of state for sports, explained that two of the 23 players who had been called up did not wish to continue with the squad; Mapi Leon and Patri Guijarro (both Barcelona), who were among the 15 players who went on strike after the EUROS in England to protest the methods of then national coach Jorge Vilda as well as other issues with the federation. Neither was on the Women's World Cup winning squad in Australia and New Zealand. They were permitted to leave, explaining that they were: "not in the right state" to play the two Nations League games. Valencia's Claudia Florentina (who also was not on the Finals squad this summer) was brought in as a substitute for Leon. It should be noted that 2023 WWC winner Esther Gonzalez, who just joined Gotham FC in the NWSL, was excused to rest a thigh injury from the weekend before, when she scored both goals in her club's 2-0 win over the Washington Spirit. (We will discuss Esther's groundbreaking signing by the NWSL and the New York area franchise in our annual NWSL regular season review later this month.)

Spain roster:
Goalkeepers: *Misa Rodriguez (Real Madrid), *Enith Salon (Valencia), *Cata Coll (Barcelona).
Defenders: *Ona Batlle (Barcelona), *Olga Carmona (Real Madrid), Maria Mendez (Levante), *Irene Paredes (Barcelona), Laia Aleixandri (Manchester City), *Oihane Hernandez (Real Madrid), *Claudia Florentina (Valencia).
Midfielders: *Teresa Abelleira (Real Madrid), *Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), *Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), *Maria Perez (Sevilla), Rosa Marquez (Real Betis).
Forwards: *Athenea del Castillo (Real Madrid), Inma Gabarro (Sevilla), Cristina Martín-Prieto (Sevilla), *Mariona Caldentey (Barcelona), *Eva Navarro (Atletico Madrid), Lucia Garcia (Manchester United), Amaiur Sarriegi (Real Sociedad).
*2023 Women World Cup champions.

Midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who won the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2023 Women's World Cup, said: "We want to leave a good legacy and good conditions for the generations that follow; we're an example, not just on a sporting level but a social one, [for] an equal society in which men and women are equal and have the same rights."

By the way, while the Federation's circus act continued with their national team—again World Champions at the senior as well as at the U-20 and U-17 levels and Barcelona is reigning Women's Champions League titleholders—the women's league players (Liga F) announced a two week strike for increased pay and benefits. It was settled after one week. The player's union FUTPRO agreed to a minimum annual salary of 21,000 Euros (about $22,544). The players initially asked for a minimum salary of €23,000 (about $24,600) to be introduced for the upcoming season, rising to €25,000 (about $26,750) for 2024-25: "The agreements consist of a minimum salary of €21,000 (about $22,544) for the 2023/24 season, €22,500 (about $24,153) for 2024/25 and €23,500 (about $25,223 for 2025/26….These amounts could reach €23,000 (about $24,689) for the 2023/24 season, €25,000 (about $26,834) for 2024/25 and €28,000 (about $30,054) for 2025/26, based on the profits obtained for commercial activities and other commercial sources of income proposed by the unions, like matches played for a national team by first division players."

Following the announcement of the deal, Liga F strategy director Pedro Malabia Sanchis told CNN that he believes the deal is a fair one, despite the vast pay gap that still remains between men and women in the country, with the average minimum salary for men in the first division in Spain of La Liga at US$197,000, compared to US$22,500 for women: "We need to understand the difference. We cannot compare men's football dimension with women's football dimension. If we need to understand and compare this minimum salary, we need to also compare the incomes and when it comes to men's football in La Liga, it's [two billion] Euros per year, only in TV rights, against six million Euros that we have in Liga F. It's absolutely impossible to sustain this equal payment if the incomes are not equal. This is a thing that players understand, absolutely."

I think the issue of further reducing the pay gap will arise again, particularly if average Liga F attendances rise considerably, as we expect as more fans will want to see the 2023 Women's World Cup Champions play on a weekly basis.

I do think that the Spanish Federation is going to see a severe drop in sponsorships over the next 12 months—some companies have already questioned their future spend with the organization. These companies could support the women's game through other organizations/groups or even sponsor individual players once we can solely focus on them and the team's results. Again, the players have done a spectacular job to win their first two Nations League games (see below) and top their group with all of this turmoil and threats against them and their careers. They are an amazing team and group of women.

Spain did play their Nations Leagues Games and came away with two big wins. In Sweden on September 22, with the two sides in a 2-2 deadlock late in the game, Amanda Ilestedt (who is now at Arsenal and won the Bronze Ball as the third best player as a defender with 4 goals this summer at the World Cup) was shown a straight red card five minutes into added time and Mariona Caldentey converted from the penalty spot. Tome blissfully said after her first game in charge about the win in Sweden: "It's a very positive victory that manages to make you forget the days we've had. It also means that we have players with incredible talent. They love what they do. What they know how to do is play soccer, and we have to make them feel they can really concentrate on the game." I'm going to bet that the players aren't going to forget the past month and they shouldn't. She should be appreciative that she has a national team win for her resume for future job hunting.

Spain then went home to play their first match since becoming World Champions. However, again a sign that the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has got to learn how to market their women's team was that they played in Cordoba, in Andalusia—which is only the third largest city in the province and eleventh largest in the country. I am all for spreading national team matches throughout any country, but why they couldn't hold this match in Barcelona or Madrid and maybe get a crowd of 50,000 or more is a really good question? In Cordoba, they did set a record for a women's international in Spain but it only drew 14,194 fans—there were 75,784 to watch them in Sydney at the Final on August 20.

It was an opportunity missed as far as celebrating the team's achievement this summer. At least there was some celebration as Putellas and team-mate Irene Paredes paraded the World Cup trophy in front of the fans. However, at both games, the players did not forget what they have been fighting for off the field and they and their opponents held a banner with the words "se acabo" ["It's over]" prior to the game.

Spain won again, this time defeating the Swiss 5-0. Bonmati led Spain with two goals, while Lucia Garcia, Inma Gabarro and Maite Oroz added singles. The results were amazing and speak to the quality of the team as the players had little sleep and were highly stressed throughout the camp and ahead of the first match.

League A Standings:
Group 1: Belgium 4 points; Netherlands 3; England 3; Scotland 1.
Group 2: France 6 points; Portugal 3; Austria 1; Norway 1.
Group 3: Denmark 6 points; Germany 3; Iceland 3; Wales 0.
Group 4: Spain 6 points; Sweden 3; Italy 3; Switzerland 0.

Belgium is the surprising leader in Group 1—ahead of the 2017 EURO champions Netherlands and 2022 EURO champions England—while France, Denmark and Spain lead groups 2, 3 and 4 respectively, with six points after two games.

Surprising results included Denmark defeating Germany at home in Viborg 2-0 on September 22, with two goals from Amalie Vangsgaard (26), who is in her second season at Paris St. Germain. Denmark then won again on the road against Wales (5-1) with Pernille Harder (30), in her first season at Bayern Munich of Germany after winning three WSL titles in three seasons at Chelsea, scoring a hat-trick. In their second game on September 26, Germany bounced back with a 4-0 defeat of Iceland as Karla Buhl (22), who is in her fourth season at Bayern Munich, scored twice. On the same day, Portugal upset Norway 3-2, with Carole Costa (33) of Benfica scoring two second half goals from the penalty spot.

Netherlands upset England 2-1 in the second set of Women's Nations League matches on September 26. It was England's second loss in three matches (including the 2023 WWC Final 1-0 defeat to Spain) and third under Sarina Wiegman since she left the Netherlands WNT job after the Olympics in 2021. Renate Jensen (32) of Twente scored the winner in the 90th minute for the Dutch.

Sweden defeated Italy 1-0 in Castel di Sangro with a 14th minute goal from Anna Rytting Kaneryd (26), bouncing back from their first match loss at home to Spain (above).

League B

League B Standings:
Group 1: Republic of Ireland 6 points; Northern Ireland 3; Albania 1; Hungary 1.
Group 2: Finland 6 points; Slovakia 3; Croatia 3 1; Romania 0.
Group 3: Serbia 6 points; Poland 6; Ukraine 0; Greece 0.
Group 4: Czech Republic 6 points; Bosnia-Herzegovina 4; Slovenia 1; Belarus 0.

Republic of Ireland (Group 1), Finland (Group 2), Serbia and Poland (both in Group 3) and the Czech Republic in Group 4 all won both of their initial Nations League matches and are top of their group with six points. Bosnia and Herzegovina in Group 4 is undefeated after two games on 4 points.

New Northern Ireland senior women's team manager Tanya Oxtoby—a native of Australia who played at home and in England and has been an assistant coach for Australia's U-20 national team, Scotland's senior side and, for the past two seasons, Chelsea of the WSL—selected 23 players for her first squad for the inaugural edition of the UEFA Women's Nations League. She has signed a four year contract and replaces Keeny Shiels, who resigned in January after taking his side to the 2022 EUROS for the first time, but they failed to qualify for this summer's WWC. They faced neighbors Republic of Ireland in Dublin in a high profile match on September 23 in Dublin and then hosted Albania at Seaview in Belfast three days later.

There were three changes from the squad for July's friendlies in Scotland (a 3-0 loss) and the Czech Republic (a 2-0 win) with Southampton defender Laura Rafferty and Birmingham City Women defender Ellie Mason called in while Cliftonville Ladies' Kirsty McGuinness is also back after injury. Missing out for the September matches were Cliftonville Ladies trio Kelsie Burrows, Fi Morgan and Danielle Maxwell. Of the 23 players on the roster, nine play in England, with one each in the U.S. and Scotland, with 12 playing at home in the 10 team Northern Ireland's Women's Premiership:

Goalkeepers: Rachael Norney (Cliftonville Ladies), Shannon Turner (Wolverhampton Wanderers Women, ENG), Lilie Woods (Mid Ulster Ladies).

Defenders: Rebecca Holloway (Racing Louisville, USA), Abbie Magee (Cliftonville Ladies), Ellie Mason (Birmingham City Women, ENG), Sarah McFadden (Durham Women, ENG), Rebecca McKenna (Charlton Athletic Women, ENG), Laura Rafferty (Southampton Women, ENG), Demi Vance (Glentoran Women).

Midfielders: Joely Andrews (Glentoran Women), Megan Bell (Rangers Women, SCO), Nadene Caldwell (Glentoran Women), Marissa Callaghan (Cliftonville Ladies), Rachel Furness (Bristol City Women, ENG), Caragh Hamilton (Lewes, ENG), Chloe McCarron (Glentoran Women).

Forwards: Kerry Beattie (Glentoran Women), Simone Magill (Aston Villa Women, ENG), Caitlin McGuinness (Cliftonville Ladies), Kirsty McGuinness (Cliftonville Ladies), Lauren Wade (Reading Women, ENG), Emily Wilson (Glentoran Women).

The Republic of Ireland's interim head coach Eileen Gleeson selected 25 players for their first two Nations League Group B matches, including the home tie with Northern Ireland and away to Hungary in the Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium in Budapest. Gleeson recalled
defenders Savannah McCarthy, Hayley Nolan and Éabha O'Mahony, midfielder Tyler Toland (see more below) and forwards Saoirse Noonan and Emily Whelan.

Injuries have ruled out six players with WSL clubs in England and one each from Scotland, the NWSL in the U.S. and at home from the League of Ireland Women's Premier Division: Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Megan Campbell (Liverpool), Aoife Mannion (Manchester United), Jessie Stapleton (West Ham United), Claire Walsh (Glasgow City of Scotland), Tara O'Hanlon (Peamount United), Roma McLaughlin (Fortuna Hjorring of Denmark), Jess Ziu (West Ham United), Sinead Farrelly (Gotham FC of the U.S.) and Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool). Both Áine O'Gorman (Shamrock Rovers) and Harriet Scott (Birmingham City of England) have retired from international football and were honored ahead of the Northern Ireland game.

The roster included 15 players based in England, four in the U.S.—three in the NWSL and one in college, two in Belgium, two in Scotland, one in Switzerland and one based in Ireland:

Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton, ENG), Grace Moloney (London City Lionesses, ENG), Megan Walsh (West Ham United, ENG)
Defenders: Louise Quinn (Birmingham City, ENG), Diane Caldwell (FC Zurich, SUI), Claire O'Riordan (Standard Liege, BEL), Savannah McCarthy (Shamrock Rovers), Éabha O'Mahony (University of Texas, USA), Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace, ENG), Chloe Mustaki (Bristol City, ENG)
Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal, ENG), Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage, USA), Ruesha Littlejohn (London City Lionesses, ENG), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers, ENG), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City, ENG), Megan Connolly (Bristol City, ENG), Lily Agg (Birmingham City, ENG), Heather Payne (Everton, ENG), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City, ENG), Marissa Sheva (Washington Spirit, USA)
Forwards: Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave, USA), Abbie Larkin (Glasgow City, SCO), Amber Barrett (Standard Liege, BEL), Saoirse Noonan (Durham WFC, ENG), Emily Whelan (Glasgow City, SCO)

Defender Diane Caldwell (35) reiterated the feeling of player dissatisfaction with former head coach's Vera Pauw coaching in the wake of the FAI's decision to not renew her contract at the end of August (see: The Week in Women's Football: Rubiales & Pauw chaos - but Boquete can calm it down; WWC ratings impact - Tribal Football). She told the media: "From my position as a pretty experienced player, I don't think it was up to the standard expected at the international level. And I think the results and performances that we got were in spite of Vera being our coach."

Caldwell cited Pauw's approach to analyzing and preparation ahead of international matches, adding: "There were many areas that could have been better… Our preparation for games could have been better. Physical preparation, opponent analysis, match tactics, in-game match tactics, systems of play…. We approached her many times about professionalising many aspects but it was hard to get change, and she obviously made myself part of the leadership group that she created along with other players, so she gave us that position to use our voice and to try to talk on behalf of the team. We tried to do that as a group the best we could but obviously at the end of the day she's the coach and she controls everything. We could only say and try to change so much. I think a group of players that were destined for success came together at the right time."

She was quite correct that the team hit a golden patch at the perfect time to qualify for an international Finals for the first time, but what a damning indictment of Vera Pauw, which will no doubt take off some of the shine of her achievement of guiding the Irish to the 2023 WWC Finals. More preparation and a better use of tactics and less drama could have seen the Irish make the knockout stage in a very difficult but open group with Australia, Nigeria and Canada.

Caldwell has joined FC Zurich in Switzerland for the 2023-24 season from Reading of the WSL—she has also played professionally in the NWSL, in Germany, Norway and Iceland and is approaching a century of caps with the Irish.

Chief executive Jonathan Hill confirmed recently that the FAI tabled new contract talks with Pauw this past summer as a result of an Athletic article by Steph Yang and Sarah Shephard on July 2, investigating in depth her time coaching the Houston Dash ('Abusive and belittling' or a 'woman being direct'? Vera Pauw at the Houston Dash - The Athletic) after her name was part of a NWSLPA investigation earlier in the year, for which she has since been suspended from coaching in the NWSL until meeting a variety of conditions, which she probably won't attempt given that she has threatened to sue the league over the allegations in the report. After Ireland opted not to renew her contract, Pauw accused FAI executives of "interfering" in football affairs and said its review was "pre-determined." She is not one to ride quietly into the sunset. It will be interesting to see where she ends up coaching next—undoubtedly someone will hire her.

On September 23, the Republic of Ireland used goals from Lucy Quinn, Kyra Carusa and substitute Lily Agg for a clear 3-0 win over Northern Ireland. The Northern Irish head coach Oxtoby said: "We know we have so much to improve on and there is more to come. I saw enough today to see that we are on the right track. They [the Republic] are where we want to be, competing at major tournaments."

The game attracted a women's record crowd of 35,594 at the FAI's Aviva Stadium in the first match ever held at the de facto national stadium. The Republic's interim head coach Gleeson said: "Three goals, three points, a clean sheet and an amazing crowd, what more could I ask for?" She added: "It was a solid performance. The first goal was a settler and we asked for a few different things from a few different players in the second half and to be a bit better. I think we showed that in the second half."

Gleeson had particularly glowing reviews for midfielder Tyler Toland, who was awarded the player of the match award in her first start for the Republic in over four years, after she and her father fell out with Pauw in yet another Vera drama incident best forgotten.

Ireland defeated Hungary 4-0 in Budapest in their second match with goals from NWSL-based Kyra Carusa and Denise O'Sullivan, as well as goals from Arsenal's Katie McCabe and Caitlin Hayes (28), who was born in England and is in her second season at Celtic in Scotland. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland returned home to record an important 1-0 home win over Albania, with a 57th minute goal by veteran striker Lauren Wade (29), in her second season with Reading, who were relegated after last season to the second tier Championship.

League C

League C Standings:
Group 1: Malta 6 points; Latvia 3; Andorra 3; Moldova 0.
Group 2: Turkey 6 points; Luxembourg 4; Georgia 1; Lithuania 0.
Group 3: Azerbaijan 4 points; Cyprus 4; Montenegro 3; Faroe Islands 0.
Group 4: Kazakhstan 4 points; Israel 3; Estonia 1; Armenia 0.

Group 5: Bulgaria 4 points; Kosovo 1; North Macedonia 0.

In Group 1 Malta leads with six points, with Haley Bugeja (19) scoring all three of their goals in wins over Latvia (1-0 away) and Moldova (2-0 at home)—who we have covered in the past (see: The Week in Women's Football: 2022 NWSL Regular Season review - Tribal Football); she moved this summer form Orlando Pride of the NWSL to Inter Milan in Italy.

Turkey also leads Group 2 with two wins, while teams that are undefeated but dropped points with a tie include: Luxembourg (Group 2), Azerbaijan and Cyprus (Group 3), Kazakhstan (Group 4) and Bulgaria (Group 5). In Group 4, Israel's home game in Rishon Le Zion against Armenia on September 21 was postponed so both teams have played only one game thus far.

A number of flights that the Armenian side were trying to book for September 20 were cancelled and they didn't want to arrive on the match day without any preparation time in Israel. Israel's Football Federation had to then fly to Estonia for their second match so they couldn't delay the game by a day. The revised dates for the Armenia-Israel Women's Nations League fixtures are November 29 in Armenia and December 12 in Israel, with the first match shifted a day early to accommodate travel.