Ireland defeat England to reach semi-finals of World Deaf Futsal Championship
Ireland are through to the semi-finals of the World Deaf Futsal Championship after they defeated England 6-3 in Italy on Sunday afternoon.
A stunning quartet of finishes from Laura McGuinn, along with goals from Natalie O'Brien and Catherine Grier sealed Ireland's place in the last four.
Huge congratulations to the Ireland Deaf Women's Futsal Team who have reached the semi-finals of the World Deaf Futsal Championships 🙌
A 6-3 win over 🏴 in the quarter-finals made history as Laura McGuinn (4), Natalie O'Brien & Catherine Grier got the goals ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/F5rndryZsH — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 22, 2025
But they were forced to do it the hard way as England raced into an early two-goal lead. McGuinn got her first goal of the game to get her side back into the contest in the 10th minute before former Cork City defender Natalie O'Brien levelled terms just before the half-time break.
McGuinn completed her hat-trick at the beginning of the second period with two excellent strikes to give the Girls in Green a lead that they would not relinquish.
The English battled until the very end and although they would pull a goal back, Grier grabbed Ireland's fifth before McGuinn netted her fourth and her side's sixth to seal a historic victory.
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Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Ireland defeat England to reach semi-finals of World Deaf Futsal Championship
Ireland are through to the semi-finals of the World Deaf Futsal Championship after they defeated England 6-3 in Italy on Sunday afternoon. A stunning quartet of finishes from Laura McGuinn, along with goals from Natalie O'Brien and Catherine Grier sealed Ireland's place in the last four. Huge congratulations to the Ireland Deaf Women's Futsal Team who have reached the semi-finals of the World Deaf Futsal Championships 🙌 A 6-3 win over 🏴 in the quarter-finals made history as Laura McGuinn (4), Natalie O'Brien & Catherine Grier got the goals ⚽️ — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 22, 2025 But they were forced to do it the hard way as England raced into an early two-goal lead. McGuinn got her first goal of the game to get her side back into the contest in the 10th minute before former Cork City defender Natalie O'Brien levelled terms just before the half-time break. McGuinn completed her hat-trick at the beginning of the second period with two excellent strikes to give the Girls in Green a lead that they would not relinquish. The English battled until the very end and although they would pull a goal back, Grier grabbed Ireland's fifth before McGuinn netted her fourth and her side's sixth to seal a historic victory.
Sunday World
9 hours ago
- Sunday World
John Aldridge: Why FIFA got their Club World Cup badly wrong
If Fifa are serious about the Club World Cup, they need to get the qualification process right Players line up before the Club World Cup Group D soccer match between Chelsea and Los Angeles FC, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group B - Paris St Germain v Botafogo - Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California, U.S. - June 19, 2025 Botafogo's John and Alexander Barboza celebrate after the match as Paris St Germain's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia looks dejected REUTERS/Daniel Cole Fifa's revamped Club World Cup may become a prestigious trophy to win over the next few years, but the organisers are facing a losing battle trying to convince any of us that this summer's competition is a true battle between the planet's top clubs. A big tournament featuring all the best teams in the world every four years might not be welcomed by the players and managers who would prefer to be sitting on a beach in June, but football audiences around the world would have a different view. I would not be alone in welcoming a competition featuring all the best club teams in world football, but that is not what we are seeing this summer. The champions of England, Spain and Italy are not taking part, so the idea that the team that lifts the trophy in mid-July can be called 'world champions' is laughable. If Fifa are serious about this competition and wants it to be seen as more than just an exhibition event that feels like some early pre-season friendlies, they need to get the qualification process right. Premier League champions Liverpool and runners-up Arsenal are not involved and neither are Serie A winners Napoli. I'm surprised Fifa didn't find a way to shoehorn Barcelona into this tournament because they have added Inter Miami just because Lionel Messi plays for them. Decisions like that call over Messi have undermined the credibility of the competition taking place in America, but I'm sure the organisers will learn from their mistakes and put it right when this tournament is played again in four years. Chelsea's Tyrique George keeps Sergi Palencia of Los Angeles FC at bay at the Club World Cup in America. Photo: KevinManchester City and Chelsea are the English representatives thanks to their Champions League wins over the last few years, but that feels like a strange way to work out who the best teams are from each nation. Tottenham's Uefa coefficient ranking will be pretty high right now after their Europa League win, but does anyone think they should be in this tournament after the season they've just had? And while I know money plays a massive part in this, the group stages of the Club World Cup are hard to get excited over, as we are seeing a lot of mismatches between top European sides and minnows from minor leagues. Harry Kane didn't get on the scoresheet in Bayern Munich's 10-0 win over Auckland City. Photo:Did anyone really need to watch Bayern Munich beat Auckland City 10-0? I don't think so, but this tournament would not need to be tweaked too much to be great. While the GAA is always great to watch and I enjoy a bit of cricket in the summer, the Club World Cup would be an event to look forward to in these hot summer weeks if all the best teams were taking part. There will be plenty of critics who tell us players need some time off as overplaying leads to injuries, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out when we get to November and December. Yet when you look at the size of the squads Manchester City and Chelsea have now, it feels like they are ready-made to play in a summer tournament like this, as they could pick a different team to play their opening Premier League matches a few weeks from now. Also, football is very different from my playing days and the level of scientific insight that goes into helping players to avoid injury is in a different world these days. I was 35 when I played for Jack Charlton's Ireland in the 1994 World Cup and I was given extra time off by Tranmere after the tournament ahead of the new season, which I didn't really want. After we lost the game against the Netherlands in Orlando, I went away with my wife and kids in Florida and I was training every day to make sure I stayed in shape for the start of the season. It was my own training programme and nothing like the kind of detailed plans players get from the team of experts who work for the top clubs these days, so I suspect the City and Chelsea players will be fine when the new season starts. City manager Pep Guardiola voiced his concern over the extra matches in the Club World Cup, but he has spent more money in the transfer market than any other English club in 2025, so he should be well equipped to deal with these extra games. Chelsea also have loads of players in their squad and the joke a while back was that they needed to build extensions on their training ground to fit all their players in! Liverpool manager Arne Slot and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta may be enjoying a conventional summer break and they may have a fresher team for the opening weeks of the season. Yet City and Chelsea are getting a chance to give their new players time to bed into their set-up during this tournament, which may help them. Fifa will probably be hoping European champion Paris Saint-Germain or South American champions Botafogo – who beat PSG in the group stages – end up winning the Club World Cup, as that would give it a little more legitimacy. If Manchester City end up winning the tournament after finishing third in England and not winning a trophy, it will be hard to justify their coronation as 'world champions'. The critics won't disappear, but one certainty is that this tournament is here to stay, as it will generate big money for Fifa and for the clubs. If this is a dry run of what it could become, I'm thinking we will all have a much more positive view on the Club World Cup in years to come.
The 42
10 hours ago
- The 42
One of 3 outfielders to play every minute in League One last season on his Ireland ‘dream'
WHILE MOST of Ireland's English Football League-based players could fully relax for a couple of weeks this summer, Sean Roughan was thinking hard about a big decision. After six years at Lincoln City, the 22-year-old defender decided he was moving on. While grateful to the club for helping to develop him, he felt now was the time to take the next step in his career to progress further. Roughan had moved over to England at 16, and the youngster was able to do his Leaving Cert remotely, with the club hiring a tutor to prepare him for the exams. Director of Football Jez George mentioned this factor on the official club website news article confirming the player's departure. 'This story also wouldn't have been possible without the support of Mark Wallace, the headmaster of Lincoln Minster School at the time, who found a way to deliver the curriculum with the help of numerous teachers, and Louise Costello, who tutored Sean in Gaelic. They all had a harder job than the football staff!' Roughan ultimately repaid the significant investment made by the English club in 2019. He registered over 150 appearances, becoming a regular in the last three seasons, having impressed on loan at Drogheda in 2022. The Dubliner was particularly eye-catching in the 2024-25 campaign, as he was one of three outfield players in League One to complete every minute of action (Bristol Rovers' James Wilson and Reading's Lewis Wing were the others). Such a feat is rare, especially for someone of Roughan's age (the other two aforementioned footballers are 36 and 29). When you consider that as a teenager he had been seriously hampered by quad and ankle injuries, and had to undergo surgery as a result of these problems in 2021, the achievement is even more impressive. So with all those minutes under his belt, there was unsurprisingly plenty of interest in Roughan this summer. It was a difficult choice, but in the end, he opted to sign a three-year deal with Huddersfield Town. Advertisement In the process, he rejected two offers from clubs in the Championship to join the team that finished 10th in League One last season, 14 points adrift of the playoff spots. Roughan knew that staying in England's third tier would likely undermine his 'dream' of playing for the Irish senior team, at least in the short term, as footballers competing below the Championship are seldom considered for a call-up by national team manager Heimir Hallgrímsson. However, the former Ireland U21 international is confident it will ultimately be the right move for him. 'It would help me be in the Ireland picture more, [playing in the Championship], which is the biggest dream I have to play out in front of Aviva,' he tells The 42. 'But it was one of them where everything in good time, I thought.' He adds: 'Everything that you do in football is a risk, and you just have to hope that it pays off.' Expanding on his reasons for choosing Huddersfield, Roughan says: 'Just talking to people around the club, it's going places, and that's what I liked about it. I wanted to be at a project where they're going forward and not somewhere that they're going to be happy to stay in the position they are. I want somewhere that is challenging, and that's going to challenge you.' Roughan says that it was 'the biggest decision I've made in my career to date'. Former Ipswich coach Lee Grant was recently appointed Huddersfield boss. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The club themselves are in transition. Last month, Lee Grant was appointed manager, following three years as first-team coach at Kieran McKenna's Ipswich Town, who achieved back-to-back league promotions during that period before their recent relegation from the Premier League. 'Everyone that I've talked to about him, and people close to me, thought he was a really nice guy and and that he'd probably be the best to try to develop me,' Roughan says of Grant, who as a player had spells with Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley and Stoke before spending the final four years of his career as a backup goalkeeper at Man United. Joining Grant in the backroom staff is former Ireland international Paul McShane, with the pair having previously worked together at the Old Trafford club. Roughan has also worked with McShane, as the Wicklow native is the Ireland U21s assistant boss. Two other highly-rated coaches have joined the staff as well. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Jonathan Robinson both had lengthy spells in Liverpool's academy — helping develop players such as Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah and Tyler Morton — while the latter was also recently Steven Gerrard's assistant at Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq. All these changes fit with Huddersfield's philosophy of creating an exciting young squad and turning footballers of potential into top professionals. 'The gaffer has been at big clubs as well, and he's been around when they've been in the Prem,' says Roughan. 'He's been at United, so he's well in the know of what you have [to do to get] there, or how you get better, and [the same goes for] the people around him as well.' On playing every minute last season, Roughan adds: 'What I tried doing was controlling being fit and available. And if you're fit and available for any manager, they're going to like you. 'There were games where I wasn't great, but [it's about] just trying to stay consistent in that moment, not making it a very, very bad game. And thankfully, the gaffer [Michael Skubala] still had faith to keep playing me, even if stuff went wrong, which I can't thank Lincoln enough for, because sometimes people are fit for the full season, but don't play a full season. So yeah, it's a good milestone to hit, and not many people do it in their career, so hopefully I can do it twice.' Roughan has also had plenty of help from people around him. His mother, Charlotte, is a fellow fitness fanatic who owns a gym in Ashbourne, and from a young age, she instilled in him the importance of diet and nutrition. 'You turn up to a game, if you haven't refuelled your body well, you could get an injury, because rest and the food is probably the most important thing to do outside of football, to make sure that you're ready and you're fit.' Even during his few weeks off in the summer, Roughan says he rarely indulges in junk food or deviates from a strict dietary plan. 'In the off-season, you don't really do stuff like that. The body is not used to it. So you say you're going to do it, but then when you get to it, you're like: 'No, I'm not really that bothered.' Or: 'I don't want to feel sick.'' Roughan may not be closing in on making the Irish squad just yet, but one factor that could help him down the line is his versatility. According to Transfermarkt, of his recent appearances, he has played 56 games as a centre back, 33 at left back, and 24 on the left of midfield. Hallgrímsson has plenty of depth in the centre-back position, but less so at left-back, where Roughan has predominantly played lately, and Ireland's regular in that position, Robbie Brady, at 33, is closer to the end of his career than the start. But the youngster knows he still has plenty of work to do for that dream to become a reality. 'Things move quickly in football,' he says. 'The train's never going to wait for someone if they're late. So football's not going to wait for you — you have to get on with it. 'And if you're not going to be there or thereabouts, you're going to be left behind.'
