The Roy saga has finally come to a halt and here's how things ended for major characters

By Ryan Woo and Hyonhee Shin BEIJING/SEOUL Tourists flocked to a giant thermometer in China showing surface temperatures

Double World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis confesses even she is blown away by the utter unpredictability of the 2023 tournament, which has already seen six top-20 sides bow out at the group stage. The most shocking of those upsets came on Thursday night, when world number two Germany were dumped from Group H after never failing to reach the quarter-finals in eight previous tournaments. Counter to the disappointed faces of the two-time champions were those of group rivals and debutants Morocco who, in a viral clip, huddled around a phone on the pitch before erupting in elation after learning their world number 72 side had made it to the knockouts. “It’s been a doozy so far,” said Ellis, who guided the USA to back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019 and now heads the tournament’s technical study group. “I think we all feel this. Gone are the days of total predictability. Progress sits very clearly at the core, and certainly the competitiveness can be felt [with] giants in the game getting knocked out, we see debutants advance to the next round, which I think lends itself to this being just one of the most unpredictable and arguably exciting World Cups we’ve seen to date. “If I’m candid, I really am surprised. I think when you suddenly see a Germany or a Brazil get knocked out of a World Cup in group stage. “I don’t think any of us could have predicted that. I’m excited by the development, of course, for sure. But I think I was thinking that one more iteration of the World Cup before we started to see even more parity that we’re starting to see right now.” Olympic champions Canada (seventh) and Brazil (eighth) were the other two top-10 sides to be sent packing after the group stage, joining China (14th), Italy (16th) and South Korea (17th) amongst some of the world’s top-ranked teams eliminated. For the first time, three African nations – Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa – all advanced to the knockouts, while Jamaica made history by reaching the last-16 for the first time, despite an ongoing dispute with their federation over pay, resources and conditions that resulted in players airing their grievances in an open letter on social media before the World Cup. Nigeria and South Africa are among other qualifying nations who were involved in pre-tournament disputes with their respective federations – a group that also includes England, who have vowed to fully focus on winning a first World Cup before resuming discussions with the Football Association over bonus payments and commercial structures. Each nation competing at this World Cup also received US $960,000 (£753,830) to exclusively cover preparation costs. While some sides seem to be defying the odds, Ellis and her expert panel have pointed overall to a clear correlation between investment and resourcing and performance. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, for example, has significantly invested in girls’ and women’s football since a system overhaul in 2009, and six years ago created a women’s football academy where players have access to the same facilities as the men’s national team. Ellis said: “I was blown away by the facility. It’s one of the nicest I’ve ever seen, and it just kind of made me realise that yes, there are federations that are taking this very seriously.” FIFA’s data after the group stage also reflect an increasingly competitive pool. The proportion of goals scored in the first half of matches has increased by nine per cent since the 2019 tournament, while the proportion scored in the first half by teams who did not advance increased by 18 per cent, from 5 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2023. We can arguably say that there aren't gaps Jill Ellis At the same time, Ellis’ team also observed a rise in the quality of goalkeeping, which saw the average save percentage increase from 70 per cent four years ago in France to 77 per cent in 2023, while the percentage of matches ending in a draw has increased from eight per cent to 21 per cent. Add in more players signing with clubs in increasingly well-resourced leagues and national teams developing clearer tactical identities shaped to their individual strengths and weaknesses, and this becomes perhaps the most open Women’s World Cup yet. Ellis added: “We hear this constant comment about gaps and where are the gaps. We can arguably say that there aren’t gaps. That on any given day, a team can come out here and be competitive against another team. “And so it’s going to be incredibly exciting to see how this plays out.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Anthony Joshua admires Tyson Fury self-will but critical of fight with MMA star James Maddison wants ‘world’s best number nine’ Harry Kane to stay at Spurs Gold for Will Tidball and silver for British women’s sprint team in Glasgow

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As long as 30 minutes after the game, and at least 30m from the Arsenal dressing room, you could still hear the raucous celebrations inside. The cheers were especially audible as the door to the media room swung open and Mikel Arteta came in for his press conference, when he eventually allowed himself to smile – and quite widely. “A great feeling,” the Arsenal manager said after his side’s 1-0 win over Manchester City, which represented his first points against his former employers, not to mention his club’s first points at all against the champions since April 2017. “You could sense, it’s been so many years without beating them. “They were all dancing and super happy. They go into the international break and the mood is much better. They’re gonna have a few days off, the ones who are not involved, and it just sends everybody away until the next game against Chelsea with the right feeling. It’s great so I’m really happy.” If these sound like the sort of scenes usually reserved for when a trophy is won, that is kind of the point. It’s all about taking this team closer to that first Premier League since 2004. Arteta has taken them step by step over the last four years, and we’re now at the point where it’s truly decisive moves rather than the earlier strides. It was why this was so important. If you are going to actually beat a team as powerful as this Manchester City in the title race, you obviously need to beat them on the pitch, and in the league. Arteta naturally tried to play down its exact psychological significance, but he couldn’t but admit this was important. His interpretations of previous games were maybe a bit generous but that was understandable. “I don’t know if it was a barrier. Obviously it was something we needed to go through. To beat them we have to lose against them, we have to lose probably the way we lost at the Etihad. The team showed a real maturity today, that comes from experiences. Sometimes you need that to become a better team.” That is probably what Arsenal are, even if their points return is worse than this point last season. They are clearly a more substantial team, with more conviction, as a season like last year will ensure. It was an arrival, even if it ended in frustrating fashion. It ultimately proved Arsenal are at that level again. The summer signings have since been about giving them more dimensions. It is one of the more interesting elements of Arsenal’s start to the campaign, as well as what might have been lift-off for Kai Havertz. Arsenal clearly hit on a superb first XI last season, which propelled their campaign for months. The issue was it eventually left Arteta in a bind. He could either persevere with the XI, at the cost of energy given how little they were rested, or he could change up but also remove some of the verve. He tried to do a bit of both in the end, and they somewhat inevitably ran out of steam. Since then, Arteta has obviously been trying to give them more depth, but also variety. Havertz was about exactly this. Arteta will especially enjoy his contribution, the pass to Gabriel Martinelli for the goal coming as it did just minutes after the German came on. It looked simple but was about his spatial awareness and presence of mind. The effect of just doing that can’t be discounted either – as with the win. Arsenal will believe, even more than before. Nobody should believe this is going to be the City for the rest of the season of course. They have some huge absences, especially with Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne. They will return and both the team and Erling Haaland will inevitably go on the sort of run they did last season at least once. Arsenal should be more equipped to go that bit further, to get more points. That was what the celebrations felt like they were about, at least in part. The team is that bit closer to completion. Read More Mikel Arteta hails ‘fantastic’ young Arsenal side as they break Man City hex Arteta provides Saka injury update and rules Arsenal star out for England Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hails ‘maturity’ of young Gunners after City win Gabriel Martinelli snatches last-gasp victory for Arsenal against Man City Fortune favours Arsenal as Mikel Arteta finally outdoes Pep Guardiola Pep Guardiola says he learned ‘a lot’ from Mikel Arteta ahead of Sunday reunion

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