Kenny Shiels’ attack-minded team have undergone a spectacular transformation
Star striker Simone Magill looks ahead to EURO and World Cup challenges
“The greatest sporting achievement I can think of” is quite an accolade.
The instinctive temptation to dismiss it as hyperbole only increases on learning that it was bestowed on Northern Ireland’s women by their own coach. Yet all it takes is a cursory look at the numbers behind Kenny Shiels’ team’s rise to understand, and perhaps even justify, his lavish tribute.
A classic against-all-odds sporting tale, Northern Ireland reaching the UEFA Women’s EURO was an achievement that no-one – not even the ultra-optimistic Shiels – saw coming.
Kenny Shiels’ attack-minded team have undergone a spectacular transformation
Star striker Simone Magill looks ahead to EURO and World Cup challenges
“The greatest sporting achievement I can think of” is quite an accolade.
The instinctive temptation to dismiss it as hyperbole only increases on learning that it was bestowed on Northern Ireland’s women by their own coach. Yet all it takes is a cursory look at the numbers behind Kenny Shiels’ team’s remarkable rise to understand, and perhaps even justify, his lavish tribute.
A classic against-all-odds sporting tale, Northern Ireland reaching the UEFA Women’s EURO was an achievement that no-one - not even Shiels himself - saw coming.
Wrestling breakdown: Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov upsets Salkazanov to become an Olympian
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To compete as a wrestler in the Tokyo Olympic Games, it is not enough just to “make the team”. In men’s freestyle, only 16 spots are allocated per weight class, meaning there is a qualification process that narrows down the field. The first qualification event was the 2019 World Championships in Kazakhstan - the top five place-winners at
Olympic weights automatically qualified their weight class for Tokyo, for their nation. That means if Nation A sent wrestler X to Worlds at 57 kg, and they placed fifth or better, Nation A can send anyone they want to the Olympics at 57 kg.
Frank Worthington (1948-2021) thefa.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thefa.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Jess Fishlock has featured for OL Reign and its previous namesakes, the Seattle Reign and Reign FC since the NWSL launched in 2013. The Wales native has made her mark in the Puget Sound. Now, she’s back for another season, a ninth season, for the Reign.
Fishlock and Spanish International Celia Jiménez Delgado have been recalled by OL Reign from their loans. Both players went on loan to Europe last summer Fishlock jetted to the FA WSL, featuring for Reading FC, while Celia joined OL Reign’s partner club, European powerhouse Olympique Lyonnais.