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Something that runs like a vein through women’s football is that everyone has a “The Roadblock” story, at least one (and there are usually more) occasion on which they were stuck knocking on a door that wouldn’t open.

For Kay Cossington, the Football Association’s women’s technical director, it came at school. She was selecting her GCSE options and wanted to do PE because she loved football. When it came to the practical classes, she was told that only dance and netball were open to her.

Football was in Cossington’s blood. As one of five children in a West Ham-mad, working class family in east London, she had a secret plan to absorb live sport.

Her Dad didn’t want her to experience the swearing, so she waited an hour, ran to Upton Park and was allowed to enter the ground with 10 minutes remaining when the gates opened for the early leavers.

The hard bit was running home twice as fast before her Dad got back. She spent her days on the concrete square outside the house, pretending to be Hoddle, Waddle or Gascoigne; there were no visible female football heroes for her then.

Cossington worked in finance with NatWest, combining it with playing for West Ham Ladies and taking the first steps in coaching. Joining children’s charity Barnardo’s opened her eyes to the idea that you could spend your professional life making a real difference, but it was when she got a full-time role at Millwall that she says her life changed.

“At the time I was already coaching the England Under-15 women’s team, but this was as a coach education officer,” Cossington says. “I remember going to the interview thinking ‘What am I doing?’. It was Millwall! But I got the job, and I took it.

“That was the great turning point of my life and one of its greatest moments. Everything I had learnt at Barnardo’s came to life there through the power of football. It taught me that you could do magical things with the sport I loved to change people’s lives and affect communities in a positive way. I became a first-team coach and technical director, and then the women’s game started to evolve.”

That evolution has felt a lot like revolution in real time. We are chatting 12 years to the day since the first ever WSL match, Arsenal vs Chelsea at Tooting & Mitcham United. For many years, England lost many of its brightest talents to the US college system, but that need no longer be the case. Now the WSL is arguably the strongest in the world with links to further and higher education programmes that allow for greater personal development.

Alongside the determination to never allow complacency to creep in, it’s worth taking the time to appreciate the pace of the transformation. It strikes that one of the most rewarding aspects of working in women’s football is that you get to make noticeable improvements in a short space of time.

“You do forget to allow yourself to appreciate what has been achieved. I love the next challenge, but the last 12 to 15 years have been an astonishing journey. It wasn’t that long since there were four or five of us as the only people working full-time in women’s football.

“Now, in the division at St George’s that looks after the women’s national teams, we have circa 65 people. That was unheard of before. In every aspect: growth, success, participation, performance – it has been exceptional.”

That peaked in the summer of 2022, when the Lionesses won the European Championship and went stratospheric. It was way ahead of schedule, as Cossington freely admits. Her role combines long-term strategy with focus on the immediate tournament cycles, and 2022 was a dream. Not only because of the fulfilment of the grand ambition, but because of the individuals involved.

“I was watching Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly, Lauren Hemp, Leah Williamson – players with whom I had been a part of the journey, from selecting them at young age groups to seeing them represent their country and become the incredible people that they are,” she says.

“It’s so, so rewarding. I’m old enough to remember some of them when they were eight, nine, ten years of age. I remember the first time I saw them play.

“Every one of those players is a game-changer because they are authentic. It’s not just words, it’s definitive action: equal access, the work on pathways. They are genuinely interested and determined to make a difference.

“We are the guardians of the game, and it is our responsibility to leave it in a better place than we found it. That is how we will grow and create a sustainable model with the value of the women’s game at the heart of it. Having courage, being resilient, finding a way – these are the foundations of every element of the women’s game.”

The challenge for Cossington and her team is to oversee both a top-down and bottom-up approach. At the top, it is ensuring an elite performance environment so that the national teams can continue to compete to win tournaments, starting with this summer’s World Cup. At grassroots level, she uses the example of Millwall.

“I worked in two of the toughest boroughs in the country and I saw girls and young footballers in housing estates that were really talented. I was an England coach and I knew that I would never get them in that environment because the two worlds were just so far apart. My passion was always: how can I bring these worlds closer together to make those girls ready for performance sport, if that is their dream. It’s not enough to say ‘There is a club over there – go to it.’ That’s not enough.”

This is aided by an acceptance – no, an insistence – that the men’s and women’s game be treated differently. There is no copy-and-paste system or ethos. Within the FA, the technical division was split into two during the pandemic.

That allows for a sharing of information, but a separation of resources, control and, occasionally, strategy. The women’s technical division can recruit their own staff, make their own decisions, allocate their own budget.

“It’s the same sport, but a different game right now,” is how Cossington explains it. “We’re both teams of 11 players and we both want to score more than the opposition. But the journeys of the players getting to the world stage are uniquely different. So how we support that ecosystem is uniquely different too. One of the biggest things was getting everyone to understand that treating the men’s and the women’s game differently would have a positive outcome for both.”

There will always be challenges: talent identification, equal access within the education system, player development, mass participation. There are new ideas too: up to 70 Emerging Talent Centres that will be funded by the FA and Premier League for younger age groups and Professional Game Academies within the professional game for the 24-20 year-olds. It is both a daunting task and the most rewarding experience Cossington can imagine.

And there are wins, mileposts along the road that guide you along the way. During her first few years at the FA, Cossington became obsessed with discovering how other countries were making rapid progress: Germany, successful at every age group level and then seniors; the French and Spanish teams, successful at Under-17 and Under-19, but didn’t quite kick on thereafter; the power of the US, for obvious reasons; Japan, who went and won the World Cup.

She studied each of them intensely – participation, youth coaching, performance coaching, nutrition, education. The greatest compliment is how that shoe has changed feet.

“Over the last 12 months, I’m now getting the calls,” Cossington says and smiles as wide as the meeting room in which we are sitting. “That is the loveliest feeling in the world. I sit there and think ‘that was me searching and studying; now you’re ringing me’.

“That isn’t just because we won one tournament. That was merely the dream; we’re talking about the process. It’s because Leah Williamson went from a 13-year-old at an elite talent camp at Warwick University to becoming England captain. People want to know about a system that produces that quality and quantity and that age. And we’ll never stop improving.”

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Sports ministers from five nations have pressed broadcasters and footballing body Fifa to reach an agreement on TV rights for the tournament, which is due to kick off in just 50 days.

UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer joined ministers from France, Spain, Germany and Italy urging a resolution to the dispute that has seen Fifa president Gianni Infantino threaten to keep the contest off TV screens in Europe entirely if rights offers are not improved.

Mr Infantino has accused broadcasters of trying to pay only a fraction of what rights for the men’s game are worth, which he says is a “slap in the face” amid efforts to increase prize money for the women’s game.

The letter calling for a deal to be reached comes as England manager Sarina Wiegman unveiled the Lionesses’ line-up for the contest, due to kick off across Australia and New Zealand on 20 July.

It says: “We have acknowledged with concern that until now, no television rights have been attributed for the matches broadcasting in our countries.

“Media exposure to women’s sports has indeed a highly significant impact on the development of women’s and young girls’ sports practices.

“Because of the high potential of the Fifa Women’s World Cup and the sport and social issues at stake, we consider it our responsibility to fully mobilise all stakeholders, for them to quickly reach an agreement.

“These are decisions for Fifa and broadcasters to take independently, but we know that discussions are in progress and we are confident in Fifa and independent broadcasters’ capability to find a common path toward fair development of the Fifa Women’s World Cup.”

In the UK, it has been reported that a deal is “very close” that will see the BBC and ITV share broadcasting rights for the tournament, though there has been no announcement amid the wider stand-off with Fifa.

But The Telegraph reports that broadcasters in Germany are offering only three per cent of what was paid for the men’s tournament, while Italy’s broadcasters are offering just one per cent of what they paid for the men’s game.

Asked about the row during a press conference, Sarina Wiegman said: “I’m not worried about that situation. I think Fifa and the broadcasters will come to a decision.

“I’ve heard England is in a pretty good place. I have seen how it (women’s football) has been covered here in England since I came in, which is really good, so I expect that to be that way again. I’m focusing on the football part and I expect it to be sorted before it starts.”

Rights to air the women’s tournament were previously sold as part of a package alongside the men’s game.

Mr Infantino’s hardline stance has raised eyebrows from some, with former Fifa Council member Moya Dodd suggesting it is a “bit rich” for him to scold broadcasters for underpaying when historically “Fifa itself never put any value” in the women’s game.

She said earlier this month: “[Fifa] sold them as part of a bundle and then attributed all of that value to the men’s World Cup, so it has for decades trained those commercial partners and broadcast rights buyers to overvalue men’s football and undervalue women’s football.”

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Beth Mead will play no part in this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand after the England forward was left out of Sarina Wiegman’s 23-player squad.

Mead has not recovered from her ACL tear in time but Tottenham striker Beth England has earned a recall with her 12 goals in the latter half of the WSL season.

Manchester United duo Maya Le Tissier and Nikita Parris were also overlooked alongside midfielder Jess Park, who had been tipped to break into the squad after impressing on loan at Everton. Wiegman said Le Tissier was a particularly “hard call” and had been “really close” to being included.

Asked if Mead ever had any realistic chance of making it, Wiegman admitted: “No I don’t think so.

“Beth is so positive and she’s going really well but we said the time schedule she had, we would have taken so many risks to try and get her to the World Cup.

“We also have to take care of players,” she added. “And not do what’s a little bit naive.”

The Lionesses begin the tournament among the favourites having lifted the European Championship last summer, but have been weakened by long-term injuries to Mead, captain Leah Williamson, and Fran Kirby, all of whom will miss out.

Millie Bright will captain the side in Williamson’s absence.

Here are the 23 that made it onto the plane:

Goalkeepers

Earps – England’s first-choice goalkeeper has already won them one trophy in 2023 thanks to her penalty shootout heroics in the Finalissima against Brazil.

Roebuck – The Man City stopper made 18 appearances in all competitions this season and will remain as Earps’ back-up.

Hampton – Fought off competition from Manchester United’s Emily Ramsey to be named third-choice ‘keeper.

Defenders

Bronze – The right-back is the most capped current Lioness with 104 caps and has overcome a knee injury to be passed fit.

Bright (c) – England’s captain and first-choice centre-back but may not be 100 per cent fit after a knee cartilage problem and spend the end of Chelsea’s season on crutches.

Wubben-Moy – Was only used sparingly by the Gunners in the WSL this term but impressed when called upon after Williamson’s injury.

Greenwood – Largely plays at centre-back for Man City but may well be used at left-back given that Rachel Daly will be used as a forward.

Carter – A double-winner with Chelsea, the defender has featured in all five of England’s internationals this calendar year.

Charles – Vital to Chelsea’s league and FA Cup wins but also because of her versatility, able to play in both full-back positions and in central defence.

Morgan – Finally on her way to a major tournament after missing out on last summer’s Euros having broken her leg early on in the 2021-22 season.

Midfielders

Walsh – The most expensive female player in the world excelled in her debut season with Barcelona, helping them to both Liga F (the Spanish title) and the Supercopa de Espana Femenina.

Stanway – Also moved abroad straight after winning the Euros to join Bayern Munich, where she even managed to introduce Sweet Caroline into their title-winning celebrations.

Nobbs – Opted to join Aston Villa with the World Cup squad in mind and a great redemption story having overcome her injury problems and opting to end her long association with Arsenal.

Coombs – The 32-year-old midfielder is back in the fold after eight years with two caps under Wiegman, having previously not featured since the Mark Sampson era.

Zelem – The Man Utd captain has been in and out of Wiegman’s thinking but offers another option behind the front three, with eight assists this season.

Toone – The Man Utd midfielder’s creativity will be even more crucial in the absence of Mead and Kirby.

Forwards

Russo – By July Russo may no longer be representing Manchester United – where she was named Player of the Year – with her contract still up in the air but has been Wiegman’s preferred option at centre-forward.

Daly – The Aston Villa forward won the WSL’s Golden Boot with 22 goals and five assists following her return to English football from Houston Dash.

Robinson – The Brighton winger adds another option on the right with no Mead.

James – Only made her first international start in October but now almost a guaranteed starter.

Kelly – Scorer of both England’s match-winner in the Euro 2022 final, and the decisive penalty in the Finalissima, Kelly is playing the best football of her career and likely to start in the front three.

Hemp – Still looking for consistency – and a few more goals – but even Usain Bolt was impressed by her pace when they met at Man City’s Academy Stadium.

England – Lost her place while on the bench at Chelsea but has been revived by her January move, scoring 12 goals to keep Spurs up in the second half of the season.

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Jose Mourinho will attempt to win the third Europa League title of his career when Roma take on the competition’s most successful-ever club Sevilla in Budapest.

The Special One has never lost a European final and can lead Roma to back-to-back victories after steering the Serie A club to the Europa Conference League title last season.

Mourinho boasts a formidable record in European competitions having won five titles over the past 20 years. His trophy cabinet consists of two Champions Leagues (with Inter Milan in 2010 and Porto in 2004), two Europa Leagues (with Manchester United in 2017 and Porto in 2003), and the Conference League (with Roma in 2022).

After his time at Tottenham, many thought that Mourinho was done at the top level of management but the city of Rome has fallen in love with the Portuguese manager during his two seasons.

This could be his penultimate match in charge, however, with PSG reportedly considering him as their next boss after another disappointing Champions League effort.

“We are in the final because we deserved to be, they have a history that we do not have,” Mourinho said. “For them to play [in] the final is a normal thing, for us it is an extraordinary event.

” I have had more opportunities to play in European competitions, but Mendilibar is of the same generation as me, with the same white hair. We are on an equal footing.

“It’s the same for the players: Sevilla have more experience, but we’ve been playing together for two years.”

Although Mourinho’s record in European finals is formidable, so too is Sevilla’s as the La Liga club have also never lost in six previous attempts.

Incredibly, all six of their Europa League victories have come in the past 17 years: in 2005-06, 2006-07, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2019-20.

Sevilla’s most recent triumph came against one of Roma’s domestic rivals as they beat Inter Milan 3-2 in the 2019-20 showpiece, with Romelu Lukaku’s own goal proving to be decisive.

How to watch

Date: Wednesday 31 May 2023

Kick-off: 8pm BST (coverage begins at 7.15pm)

TV Channel: BT Sport 1

Stream: BT Sport app, website or YouTube channel

Although Sevilla have endured a disappointing domestic season – they are 11th in La Liga with one game remaining – they have been typically effective in Europe, eliminating Manchester United and Juventus in the previous two rounds.

“The coach has been very clear from the start about what he wants,” said Ivan Rakitic on Tuesday. “This won’t change tomorrow. We have to be ourselves.

“When we say nobody loves the competition like we do, it’s not because some bright spark in the club offices said it, it’s because we think that way. We have to play the perfect game and win the cup and bring it home.”

The game will be broadcast on BT Sport 1 but will also be free to stream on the BT Sport YouTube Channel

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Sevilla take on Roma in the Europa League final tonight, from the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

The Spanish side have won the competition six times – double the number of any other team – and have been victorious in every final they have reached.

But Roma manager Jose Mourinho has never lost a European final in five attempts. He has three Champions Leagues and a Europa League to his name, as well as last year’s Europa Conference League with Roma.

Something, then, will have to give as these two sides face off in Hungary tonight.

How can I watch the Europa League final?

The final will broadcast live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate, with coverage beginning at 7.15pm, ahead of an 8pm kick-off.

However, non-subscribers will also be able to catch the final, as BT Sport will stream it for free on its website and YouTube channel.

What should we expect from the final?

Neither Roma nor Sevilla can finish in the top four of their domestic leagues to ensure qualification for the Champions League next season.

That means their only path into the competition is taking the group-stage place protected for the Europa League winner by winning tonight.

Mourinho has attempted to paint Roma as the underdogs ahead of the final. “For them to play the final is a normal thing, for us it is an extraordinary event,” he said on Tuesday, though added: “History does not play.”

Speaking of history, Mourinho actually has more European title wins than Sevilla coach José Luis Mendilibar has total games managed in the three major European club competitions. The 62-year-old Mendilibar’s career is peaking since joining a struggling Sevilla just two months ago.

“I have had more opportunities to play in European competitions, but Mendilibar is of the same generation as me, with the same white hair,” Mourinho, 60, said. “We are on an equal footing.”

Last year, Mourinho won the inaugural Europa Conference League, making him the first coach with titles in each of the three club competitions.

Mendilibar has a more modest background, yet has arguably outcoached Mourinho in his brief spell at Sevilla.

Replacing former Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli in March, Mendilibar became Sevilla’s third coach this season, joining with the team just two points clear of La Liga’s relegation zone.

Mendilibar’s Sevilla have lost only two of 11 league games, and are now one point off seventh place going into the final round this weekend. They are unbeaten in the Europa League after eliminating Manchester United – despite trailing 2-0 after 83 minutes at Old Trafford in the first leg – and Juventus.

Roma come to Budapest having gone seven Serie A league games without a win. They advanced to the final with a 0-0 draw in the second leg at Bayer Leverkusen, managing just one shot on goal compared to 23 for the Germans.

“I don’t think they need many chances to score and to win,” Mendilibar said of Roma. “I don’t think they worry too much about getting to the opposition goal.”

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Operation Premier League is a go at Luton Town, but do not expect them to follow in the footsteps of last year’s most romantic promotion story Nottingham Forest this summer – in fact, they’ll go one better.

“Neymar’s available, isn’t he?” joked Luton boss Rob Edwards, adding that with increased inebriation at their celebrations on Saturday, “I might start asking for stupid things”.

And while the town toasts their success, Edwards will already be working on Luton’s blueprint for survival just days after the nail-biting Championship play-off final triumph over Coventry City.

“I think there’s been there’s obviously been a lot of work going on. I’ve not really allowed myself to focus on the Premier League targets,” he added.

“We’re not going to go wild. We want to make sure that we are sustainable, and that’s important to us.

“We’re never going into those dark times that we’ve had in the recent past, so we’ve got to be sensible. We’ve got to plan really quickly and plan for what is going to be a hell of a challenge.”

The size of the task is not lost on Edwards, with Luton back in the top tier for the first time in 31 years – and while the windfall that comes with promotion will aid their cause, there is the potential to be savvy in the transfer market if the Hatters look in the right places.

Make loans permanent

Loan deals are so often the difference for clubs either chasing promotion to or looking to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

And Luton certainly benefited from the arrivals of Cody Drameh and Marvelous Nakamba in the second half of the 2022-23 campaign.

Drameh joined on loan from Leeds, Nakamba from Aston Villa, with the pair slotting straight into Edwards’ starting XI. Drameh was an ideal replacement for James Bree, who left Luton for Southampton in January – a £750k move which backfired after just three starts and relegation with the Saints.

Reports suggest Luton are eager to sign Drameh permanently, although Burnley could rival them for the right-back’s signature. The Yorkshire Evening Post also claims the player is open to staying at Leeds.

Meanwhile, Nakamba is likely to depart Villa this summer with his contract expiring next year, and at the promotion party in Luton on Monday he gave a one-word answer that prompted cheers from their supporters: “Hopefully.”

Nakamba then told Birmingham Live later on Monday: “Only God knows the future, hopefully it’s for the best. I still have a contract there [at Villa], I will just see. Now is the time to celebrate, but I will wait for the phone call, or an email, from my agent or from Aston Villa.

“Wherever I am next season, God only knows, but I will just keep doing my best.”

Tempt relegated and Championship players

Carlton Morris’ 20 Championship goals were crucial to Luton’s promotion, and they could turn to another striker with impressive numbers in the second tier as they look to bolster their squad.

Joel Piroe scored 19 times for Swansea last season, but with one year remaining on his contract, head coach Russell Martin admitted the club may have to sell the 23-year-old.

“I’m sure there will be [clubs looking at him]. Well, I know there is,” said Martin. “If it was down to me [Piroe’s contract] would have been sorted a long time ago, but it’s not.

“While it’s frustrating that you may end up losing players of Joel’s ilk… we have to accept that may be a possibility.”

Luton may well look to Leicester, Leeds and Southampton for players eager to remain in the Premier League.

Competing for players the calibre of James Maddison, James Ward-Prowse and Rodrigo is arguably beyond Luton, but more realistic options could include Leicester’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

The 24-year-old spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Luton, making 40 appearances, and the central midfielder could fancy a return – particularly if Leicester are looking to sell to recoup funds this summer.

Attract free agents

They may not replicate them financially, but Luton could well look to last year’s play-off winners Nottingham Forest for players given Steve Cooper’s squad will certainly need trimming this summer.

Forest ended up signing 30 players in 2022-23, a gamble which ultimately paid off, and the last to arrive was Andre Ayew in February, the striker joining as a free agent until the end of the season.

The 33-year-old barely featured for Forest, though, racking up just 305 Premier League minutes with one start and 12 appearances off the bench. Given he is a free agent once more, his track record in the top tier could help Luton up front – albeit as a back-up option.

More than 70 Premier League players are listed as free agents come July and there are certainly some names that could appeal to Luton beyond Forest, where Jesse Lingard and Serge Aurier are also out of contract.

Fulham’s Shane Duffy has been linked with Norwich but could replace Luton’s outgoing captain Sonny Bradley at centre-back, while Manchester United’s Phil Jones, Crystal Palace’s James Tomkins and West Ham’s Angelo Ogbonna are other defenders that can be snapped up for free this summer.

Wages could of course prove an obstacle, particularly in the case of high-profile players like Jones, who ends his 12-year association at United this summer in search of regular football.

Far-fetched or not, the potential is there to strengthen without spending millions, and you can expect more concrete names to surface in the coming weeks.

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Replacing captain Leah Williamson and weighing up Beth Mead’s fitness will be top of Sarina Wiegman’s priorities when she finalises her World Cup squad.

England’s 23-player group will be confirmed on Wednesday 31 May at 2pm, with just 50 days until the tournament in Australia and New Zealand begins.

Wiegman has largely been a creature of habit and is unlikely to spring too many surprises, but she has been forced into a rethink by a string of injuries.

Indeed when England kick off their group stage against Haiti in Brisbane, they could field as few as four of their European Championship-winning XI.

Ending Houghton’s exile

Williamson’s torn ACL not only means the armband will have to be passed on but leaves England light at centre-back, with Millie Bright missing the end of the season with a knee problem. The Chelsea defender is at least set to recover in time for the World Cup.

There is one obvious solution waiting out in the cold: former captain Steph Houghton, whose form helped City recover from a poor start to the WSL season to only miss out on Champions League qualification on goal difference.

Yet Houghton has been vocal in her frustrations at her ongoing exile under Wiegman and that is unlikely to have done her any favours despite her experience.

More likely is Lotte Wubben-Moy, who has already been tasked with replacing Williamson at Arsenal and who returned to the squad in April to step in for Bright. Manchester United’s Maya Le Tissier will also be involved.

Recalling Beth England

The WSL’s most expensive British player has done everything she can to earn a recall, having kept Tottenham up almost single-handedly with 14 goals and one assist – bettering the tallies of both Sam Kerr and Alessia Russo.

What counts against her is that she fell out of Wiegman’s thinking while warming the bench at Chelsea and now has both Russo and Rachel Daly to compete with.

Daly’s impact at No 9

As the WSL’s Golden Boot winner, Daly will now be playing in attack for England, rather than at left-back where she played throughout the Euros.

That does mean weighing up whether to start Daly or Russo in between England’s two wide players as part of a front three – and tellingly, Wiegman has largely opted for Russo this season.

Beth Mead’s fitness

Mead is not likely to be part of that attack, however, and while Wiegman has stressed she will give the Arsenal forward every opportunity to prove her fitness after her own torn ACL, she also said it would require a “miracle” for her to recover in time.

Mead believes she is ahead of schedule but would be going into the tournament without any minutes since November.

England’s midfield conundrum

Fran Kirby also lost her race to be fit in time for the World Cup after requiring knee surgery. It is unclear what her international future holds but there is arguably no midfielder more difficult to replace in terms of her creativity.

Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone and Keira Walsh will all be included, which leaves three other slots to fill. Jordan Nobbs has bounced back from her prolonged injury struggles at Arsenal with Aston Villa and there will almost certainly be a space for Laura Coombs too, following her call-up in February.

That was the first time she had played for England since 2015 when Mark Sampson was still in charge. Manchester United captain Katie Zelem is in contention, though Manchester City’s Jess Park – who spent the season on loan at Everton – would be the more attacking option.

Gambling on fringe players

There is limited manoeuvre for fringe players in attack too, but Brighton’s Katie Robinson and Houston Dash’s Ebony Salmon have been given opportunities this calendar year.

Wiegman is inevitably going to have to lean on some relatively green fringe players. Chelsea’s Niamh Charles is the most appealing in defence given she can play in several positions across a back four – and England will be reluctant to rely on too few full-backs especially with Daly playing up front.

That has rocketed Aston Villa left-back Maz Pacheco up the list, though Manchester City’s Esme Morgan and West Ham’s Lucy Parker are also fighting Everton’s Gabby George and Manchester United’s Hannah Blundell for spots on the plane.

Hampton’s role

England need a third-choice goalkeeper behind Mary Earps and Ellie Roebuck after Sandy MacIver announced she had “made herself unavailable for selection” while she continues injury rehab.

Hannah Hampton would naturally be the go-to stopper in her place but Manchester United’s Emily Ramsey – who like Park spent the 2022-23 campaign at Everton – is another option.

Hampton was part of the squad for the most recent international break but it does not feel so long ago that she was dropped and rumours surfaced about her “attitude”. Wiegman later clarified that the door remained open to her and can reiterate her faith in the Aston Villa goalkeeper on Wednesday.

England’s probable squad

Goalkeepers: Earps, Roebuck, Hampton

Defenders: Bronze, Bright, Wubben-Moy, Greenwood, Carter, Le Tissier, Charles, Morgan

Midfielders: Walsh, Stanway, Toone, Nobbs, Coombs, Park

Forwards: Russo, Daly, James, Kelly, Hemp, Robinson

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For Jose Mourinho and Roma, it all comes down to this.

The Europa League final offers the Portuguese the chance not only to win back-to-back European trophies, but to snatch a Champions League spot and salvage a poor domestic campaign that has threatened to precipitate his exit.

It’s an occasion dripping with storylines. In a battle of serial winners, there can be only one – will Mourinho make it six wins from six in European finals, or are Sevilla set for a seventh Europa crown?

Mourinho can become the first manager to win the second-tier trophy with three clubs – following successes at Porto and Manchester United – and this year marks the 20-year anniversary of that maiden success.

Not that the Special One is ready to dwell on past achievements just yet.

“Maybe people think I’m older than I am,” he said.

“Maybe they look at my white hair and think I’m really old, but not old [enough] to think about closing the circle. You are going to have me still for many years.”

For all that, there is a nervousness around Rome about where those years will be spent.

Mourinho is adored in the Eternal City, his name boomed out by packed crowds at every home game, but a turbulent second season has cast doubt over what comes next as he approaches the final year of his contract.

The 60-year-old has regularly raged against referees, pundits, squad depth, injuries and more, and the more unsettled he has become, the more the speculation has appeared.

PSG have been most frequently linked, although those rumours were dismissed when put to the Roma boss recently: “If they called, they didn’t find me,” he said.

The lurking doubt troubling Romanisti is that the issue seemingly most likely to trigger a departure – a lack of investment in the squad – is directly linked to the outcome in Budapest.

Roma are limping over the finish line in Serie A; a seven-match winless run, including a late collapse to lose at Fiorentina on Saturday, has ruled them out of the top four and a top-six spot still needs to be secured on the final day.

Any hope of Champions League qualification – and receiving the gold-stuffed treasure chest that goes with it – rests on beating Sevilla.

Mou’s track record has earned him the backing of calcio luminaries like Roma legend Francesco Totti, who said “everything is easier with [Mourinho’s] strong personality” and backed him to “pass on this winning mentality”.

Former Italy World Cup winner Giuseppe Bergomi praised Mourinho for “creating an identity” and “a group that goes beyond its own limits, especially in difficult moments”.

He has certainly done that. Roma aren’t the prettiest team to watch, but they’ve been ruthlessly efficient in the knockout stages and their deep-lying and compact defence has the best xG for shots conceded inside the box per 90 minutes (3.08) in Europe’s top-five leagues this season.

Bayer Leverkusen player Kerem Demirbay was so frustrated after his side’s 1-0 aggregate semi-final defeat that he said: “It’s a shame that in a semi-final at such a high level that this type of play can be rewarded”, before branding Roma’s football “disgusting”.

Roma won’t care about the methods should they achieve their goal, but for all their coach’s experience in these games, it’s new ground for the Giallorossi.

Last year’s showcase in Tirana was Roma’s first European final since the 1990-91 UEFA Cup, which they lost to Inter, while their only experience before that was a 1983-84 European Cup final loss to Liverpool.

For an entire generation of Romanisti, new ground is being broken.

Their success could well depend on the condition of Paulo Dybala, who hasn’t started a match since 8 April due to injury and faces a late fitness race.

Tammy Abraham’s dry spell this season – 9 goals compared to 27 last year – has left the Lupi more reliant than ever on “La Joya” to provide match-winning moments.

It’s a nerve-wracking moment for Roma, with their season wobbling on the brink of being judged a success or failure.

Win, and it’s two European trophies in two years, another inevitably raucous street party and the riches of the Champions League.

Lose, and suddenly two seasons outside the top four in Serie A and a likely tightening of the purse-strings will make Mourinho’s future look more uncertain than ever.

Jose might not be thinking about “closing the circle” any time soon, but his time in Rome could all come down to this.

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Fresh from securing promotion to the Premier League for the first time, Luton Town fans will be eager to discover their schedule and pencil in the dates of when the big-hitters will be making the trip to Kenilworth Road.

Renovations have already begun at Luton’s stadium, and as the Hatters – who were last in the top flight in 1992 – get Premier League ready, fellow promoted sides Burnley and Sheffield United will also be thrashing out plans regarding how to beat the drop next season.

Burnley stormed to the Championship title, picking up 101 points to finish 10 clear of Sheffield United, who themselves had an 11-point cushion over Luton in third.

All three will be looking to continue that positive energy into the new campaign, and while they can draw inspiration from Bournemouth, Fulham and Nottingham Forest – who all stayed up after promotion last season – the campaign can often be dictated by how it starts.

Awful starts for Southampton and Leicester proved costly in 2022-23. Both were in the relegation zone after 10 games, and while the Saints went down with a whimper, the Foxes were battling until the final day – only to have their hearts broken by Everton.

With that in mind, some supporters will look forward to the fixtures announcement in order to pinpoint the moments where momentum could be gained, and likewise the tricky spells where the tough fixtures just keep coming.

And there isn’t long to wait.

When are the Premier League fixtures announced?

Put Thursday 15 June in your diary, the date when the Premier League releases the fixtures for the 2023-24 season.

The announcement will be made at 9am BST, with fans often eager to discover their club’s opening day fixture, Boxing Day meeting, and who they face on the final day.

And while details on all 380 matches will be published, they are subject to change based on TV picks and cup competitions.

When does the Premier League start and finish?

The Premier League is pencilled in to start on Saturday 12 August 2023, although a Friday night game could be in the offing.

That was the case in 2022-23 when Arsenal beat Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, while the year prior, Arsenal lost at Brentford on the opening Friday.

The Premier League season will then conclude on Sunday 19 May 2024 – this comes ahead of Euro 2024, which starts on Friday 14 June and is being held in Germany.

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When Kalvin Phillips signed for Manchester City from Leeds United for £42m last July it appeared at the time to be an ideal move, for the player and England.

Phillips had formed a formidable partnership with Declan Rice in the centre of England’s midfield, the pair excelling in the “double pivot” that propelled the country to its first European Championship final.

A big club was the next step. To take his game to the next level Phillips needed to leave Leeds and progress under one of the game’s leading managers competing for titles and trophies and playing in the Champions League.

At City he would get to work with Pep Guardiola, the master, and play and train alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan.

Yet as City have chased an improbable Treble in Phillips’s first season, the player has struggled to keep up. A serious shoulder injury that required surgery held him back for six weeks at the start of the campaign, yet even then his contribution this season has been so minimal as to wipe even the brightest smile from a face – and Phillips has the brightest.

Four starts. Another 17 appearances from the bench. By January 22, he had played five minutes of Premier League football, not including stoppage time.

He didn’t start a Premier League game until the penultimate weekend of the season after City had already been confirmed as champions. His second was on the final day, which they lost to Brentford ending a 25-game unbeaten run.

In the league he has been a substitute 11 times, often in the very late stages of games, those final few minutes when the mere act of making a substitution can waste a few precious extra seconds. Being a £42m clock drainer is not quite the stuff dreams are made of.

Maybe Phillips’s move will work out eventually. Jack Grealish struggled to settle in his first season but has been one of Guardiola’s most relied-upon forwards during this extraordinary season.

But football moves fast and in a summer set to be defined by the big moves of English midfielders the precariousness and difficulties of Phillips’s situation should act as a warning sign.

Gareth Southgate was asked recently about the issue of Harry Maguire not playing for Manchester United and the England manager name-checked Phillips. “Inevitably it’s not a situation that can continue for ever,” Southgate said. ”It’s like Kalvin Phillips. They are important players for us and with Kalvin we haven’t got many players who can play as that single pivot.”

A year out from Euro 2024, what happens this summer could be the making or breaking of some of Southgate’s key players, or those with potential to be them.

Rice, 24, with a year plus the option for one more remaining on his contract, is almost certain to leave West Ham for a deal that will reach around £100m. Mason Mount, also 24, only has one year remaining on his Chelsea contract so his fee will probably be closer to £80m. James Maddison, 26, is due to be sold by relegated Leicester City to reduce their huge wage bill and to finance a fight back to the Premier League.

According to reports Jude Bellingham is a Real Madrid star in waiting, although it feels unfathomable the teenager (how is he still a teenager?) won’t thrive at the Bernabeu. Likewise Conor Gallagher is also worth keeping an eye on in this regard — this could be a pivotal summer for the 23-year-old. While James Ward-Prowse’s expected transfer from relegated Southampton, possibly to West Ham, could be the domino that sets others in motion.

Those players with destinations TBC will be assessed by recruitment teams for their merits, their strengths and weaknesses, how they would complement what is already in their squad, who might tempt them where. They will plot and scheme, sell projects and ideas. It will be like a game of poker with hundreds of millions at stake but all the cards keep swapping hands after the flop, the turn and the river.

Arsenal want to build on their strong season and have long pursued Rice. A great fit for Rice, but still a risk if this season turns out to be anomalous.

Or could Rice and Mount move together, reuniting old friends from Chelsea’s academy?

Qualifying for the Champions League has given Mikel Arteta significant spending power and they could afford it. As could United. And the idea of working under Erik ten Hag should be a serious consideration with signs pointing to him turning them back into genuine title challengers. One or both could be crucial to that transformation.

Liverpool, meanwhile, had to measure expectations and pull out of the race for Bellingham to spread their transfer budget over several players and Mount is a financially attainable option, while working under Jurgen Klopp an attractive prospect for the player. Equally, the lack of Champions League football next season is a drawback.

Then there’s Newcastle. An exciting season of Champions League football ahead. They have long been keen on Maddison – could he be the playmaker to take them to another level? Or if Eddie Howe prefers a midfielder with more defensive capabilities and can promise Mount he will be at the heart of his team then it is a prospect that should not be ignored. Gallagher is an option too. Although if Mount departs Gallagher could be best served staying put and working with Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea.

It’s a complex, unenviable landscape to navigate. How successful each of them is at doing so will be crucial to England’s chances in Germany 2024. And they have been warned.

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You know Brighton’s masterplan by now: whatever happens with players, managers or staff, the process shall be the whole of the law.

What went well?

That process involves meticulous recruitment, scouting and creating an environment in which young, talented footballers feel valued and have a pathway to the first team. The process is more important than any one, or any group of, individuals, and because of that departures are welcomed rather than feared. They fund the next stage of the process.

This all sounds lovely in theory, but it is mighty hard to pull off in practice. It may not even be sustainable – ask Southampton about that. You have to get every decision right to ensure that it continues. Extreme wealth is an insurance policy that creates a concrete floor. See Chelsea’s gross underperformance this season – the worst you get is lower mid-table.

Which all makes this Brighton season one of the most impressive in Premier League history. They haven’t just competed against the wealthiest clubs in the league, they humiliated them. They came for the players, manager, off-field staff and the process won. Brighton finished above them and made Europe for the first time in their history.

The appointment of Roberto De Zerbi was a masterstroke. He quickly taught Brighton that they should not begin and end with Graham Potter’s work and made them a more extreme version of Potter’s team: braver when passing out from the back, higher intensity in midfield, greater rotation of positions and more shots. The chance creation in particular was barely credible – no team in the division had more shots or shots on target than Brighton.

The rotations in attack are what make Brighton so entertaining. Eight different players scored four or more league goals; 18 different players provided a league assist. There were periods of some league games when Brighton looked so fluid and versatile that their unpredictability made them impossible to defend.

And, finally, this is a squad that is still growing and learning. It is ludicrous that this was the first full season in a Premier League starting XI for Moises Caicedo, Kaoru Mitoma, Levi Colwill, Evan Ferguson and Julio Enciso.

What went badly?

Very, very little. The FA Cup semi-final defeat on penalties was a low point, but that in itself is ridiculous. Getting to Wembley was a joy beaten only by their debut European qualification.

Under De Zerbi, Brighton clearly have an issue when they face teams who are not prepared to engage with their invitation to press. Instead, those teams simply sit in a low block and ask Brighton to break them down. In the five games during which Brighton had the most possession (Everton at home, Forest away, Palace away, Brentford home and away), Brighton took two points in total and conceded 14 goals.

This message will be sent to every Premier League manager. Brighton dropped 12 points against the bottom five in the table this season because those were the teams who felt comfortable sacrificing possession. Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool did not and each of them lost at least one of the two league fixtures.

Still, these are problems to work out, not issues for now. Brighton have just recorded the greatest season in their history, a campaign during which they ironed out their imperfections by doubling down on their principles rather than compromising them. This was the year that the Brighton process went truly mainstream.

Player of the season

Obviously there are a dozen or more to choose from: Mitoma the new winger sensation, Caicedo rising from fringe player to superstar talent, Alexis Mac Allister the World Cup winner and Lewis Dunk and Aaron Webster, two magnificent multi-functional defenders who don’t get the credit they deserve. But I’m going for the slightly alternative shout: Solly March.

March has improved like no other player in the country. He went from hard-working winger to a versatile attacker implored to make runs into the box. March started games in four different positions, was Brighton’s top assist provider and their joint-third top goalscorer. More than all of that, he looked like he was having the time of his life.

The manager

Brighton didn’t just stumble upon De Zerbi. They knew of his work and they knew that he possessed attributes that could see him fit in. De Zerbi also benefited from replacing a poached manager rather than a sacked one; that cannot be overestimated. But none of us saw it working out this well.

De Zerbi’s difference is not just seen in those pretty passing patterns that make Brighton look like they are playing at double speed. It’s that he has given them greater guts, a personality that didn’t quite exist under Potter. They used to be a lovely team to watch but a few too many nice boys and a few more missed chances. Now they are streetwise and, sometimes, positively badly behaved. It’s great.

Who knows how long this lasts for? Such a rapid improvement suggests that De Zerbi will soon be wanted by a series of bigger boys. But that only means that you should take care to enjoy it while you can. And it also hints at the next stage of this Brighton project: if you can finish sixth, how much higher can you finish? And if you can finish higher, why would managers and players want to go anywhere else?

Preseason prediction (oh the shame): Fifth

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What went well?

Erm, well they were ninth in the table after five games, having beaten Leicester and Chelsea (although, over time, the positive relevance of that evaporated too), before everything fell apart and the rot truly set in.

Now, what else? They were pretty good in the opening 10 minutes of matches, conceding one more goal than Manchester City and two fewer than Arsenal. They certainly did understand who their most effective chance creator was, and James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick record alone provided a little cheer when they needed it.

And, although the transfers over the last year haven’t worked out at all, by buying almost exclusively players aged 22 and under last summer they have a core group of relegated players who will have retained decent value: Armel Bella-Kotchap, Carlos Alcaraz, Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, Kamaldeep Sulemana.

And that’s all the good news, I’m afraid. Everything else was a mess.

What went badly?

A truly dismal season. Southampton were not unfortunate to go down; they were unfortunate not to have been cut adrift sooner. Every decision, from boardroom level down to managerial appointments to team selection to the (lack of) style went wrong. Southampton were bad for long periods of 2021-22 and still they managed to drop 15 points from one season to the next. The first full season of new ownership has been an extended nightmare.

The first issue was sticking with Ralph Hasenhuttl for too long, albeit that was the most understandable. Hasenhuttl ended last season with five points from 12 games – that was the time to make a change and give his replacement a full preseason.

Instead, Hasenhuttl left in November and Southampton plumped for a guy who had failed in his only other job outside Luton (and that was in the division below). Nathan Jones lost seven of his eight league games in charge, Southampton hit the bottom of the table and never recovered. Giving Ruben Selles the job until the end of the season after one win was an act of wild, and unfounded, optimism.

The January signings largely made no impact either because it was too late or they weren’t picked; they will make this summer harder. They risked making a novice goalkeeper their first choice and then had to drop him before the end of the season.

Free-kicks were their best chance of scoring and we were somehow meant to believe that was sustainable. They didn’t score enough goals and they conceded too many. They trailed at least once in 32 of their 38 league games and won less than half the games they held a lead in anyway. Yeah, Southampton were bad.

Player of the season

The temptation is to blindly pick Ward-Prowse, and he might well get a move a good deal higher up the Premier League for his set-piece delivery.

But I think it’s Romeo Lavia who epitomises this season, a young kid signed from age-group football and thrown into an impossible situation who performed admirably well and the thanks he got was to be hung out to dry by Jones as a means of preserving his own reputation. Someone save him from this mess (and ignore the mistake on the final day).

The manager(s)

It’s easy to say in hindsight, but we were also saying this stuff in the present too so you’ll have to forgive: what on earth were they thinking?

Even if Jones had been successful at Stoke, giving him his first top-flight job when your team had just dropped into the bottom three, and were threatening to sink after several years of treading water, was extraordinarily risky.

Having seen the resulting calamity unfold and then to hand Selles the job – another first top-flight senior management role – with almost 40 per cent of the league season remaining was pure negligence.

Pre-season prediction (oh the shame): 14th.

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