🌍 The Week in International Sport
Monday May 4th: the UEFA U17 Euros, Cohen Norrie and more
This year at Plot the Ball, I’m using data to try and better understand the landscape of international team sport. For some background to this project — which I’m calling ‘Rank the Nations’ — you can read my introductory post here.
In today’s edition of The Week in International Sport:
📊 Chart of the week: assessing Poland’s potential in women’s soccer
⏪️ Highlight of the week: Cohen Norrie’s change of pace
💭 Lots of other interesting things I learned
In this edition of Plot the Ball — to coincide with the first leg of the annual IHF Global Tour — I was planning to include an overview of the current state of play in both men’s and women’s beach handball.
However, historical match results have taken a bit longer to track down and wrangle than I expected, so I’ll come back to the sport after the World Championships conclude in June.
Instead, I’ve included a few extra things I’ve learned this week at the bottom of this newsletter.
📊 Chart of the week: Are Poland on the rise in women’s soccer?
The finals of the 2026 UEFA Women’s U17 Euros kick off in Northern Ireland later today. What can we learn about soccer by analysing recent results at this age grade? Among the eight qualified nations, it’s Poland’s improvement that really stands out.
Led by Ewa Pajor, the country did win the U17 Euros outright in 2012-13; they didn’t build on that success when the format was expanded the next year, though. Between 2013-14 and 2018-19, Poland scored only 43% of the goals in their matches in the competition. Since its post-pandemic resumption in 2021-22, however, that figure has jumped to 70%. Euro 2025 was the first major tournament their senior women’s team had ever qualified for; based on these numbers, I don’t think it’ll be the last.
⏪️ Highlight of the week: Cohen Norrie’s change of pace
Further to last week’s discussion of New Zealand’s fortunes in rugby union: it’s worth adding that — despite the fact that I’m not a Kiwi — I’m far from a neutral observer. Turning over my YouTube watch history would prove as much.
The ‘All Blacks’ channel regularly publishes compilations of every test try scored by some of the team’s most notable players, and I rarely scroll past one without watching. Having seen some of those recently featured come through age-grade rugby, I often wonder who might be next. Could it be Cohen Norrie? Last Monday, he scored twice for New Zealand U20 against Australia. Both were slick finishes, but for the second he produced a ‘stop-and-go’ move worthy of a seasoned international.
You can watch a replay of this try on YouTube here.
💭 What else I learned last week
For ESPNCricinfo, Andrew Miller interviewed Asa Tribe — who has already played ODI and T20I cricket for Jersey — about the prospect of representing England in test cricket this coming summer. The 22-year-old batter’s swift rise through the English domestic system has been accelerated by a number of stints playing overseas. Tribe told Miller: “it’s a 12-month sport now, so you can get in the habit of going, and going, and going, without actually processing what’s happened”.
For The Athletic, Stephen J. Nesbitt and Sam Blum reported on how MLB teams manage the off-field transition of baseball players who move from Japan to the USA. Some are more prepared than others; one recent free agent visited a team and “noted the home clubhouse had no bidets”. The transition might also be easier in the other direction, per one former pro: “I think it’s a lot easier for foreign players to go to Japan than it is for Japanese players to come to the [USA].”
For Yahoo! Sports, Madeline Kenney wrote about the return of Han Xu to the New York Liberty for the 2026 WNBA season. The 26-year-old from China last played basketball in the W in 2023, and has grown two inches — to 6ft 11in — in her time away. Over that period, she had a successful stint in Australia’s WNBL. Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco was positive about her recent development: “credit to her for improving the way she has since she’s been here last”.
For TSN, Darren Dreger reported that 18-year-old NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna will represent Canada at the men’s ice hockey World Championship later this month. The forward spent his final year of pre-draft eligibility playing at NCAA level in the USA, instead of continuing in Canada’s junior system. Also committed is Macklin Celebrini, the 19-year-old who stood out at February’s Olympics; many other stars are unavailable due to the ongoing NHL postseason.
For The Times, Elgan Alderman investigated what NRL investment in Super League could mean for rugby league in England. The competition makes much less money than its equivalent in Australia, and some clubs feel a deal would be a step towards financial sustainability. A calendar revamp is also possible. “The NRL taking over Super League may actually bring rugby league into the globalised world that it’s not really been part of,” says historian Tony Collins.
For The Guardian, Matt Hughes examined how lucrative this year’s men’s soccer World Cup will be for FIFA. They project that revenue from this cycle will be 73% higher than the four years leading up to 2022. However, the hosts — Canada, the USA and Mexico — will receive a smaller share than they did the last time it was held in North America. “In 1994 FIFA retained the international marketing and TV rights, and then turned everything over to us,” said a former US Soccer executive.
The next edition of the newsletter will be published on Monday May 11th.
