No matter what happens on Sunday at Wembley Stadium, a new name will be etched on the Women’s FA Cup trophy. Tottenham Hotspur Women and Manchester United will battle for the title on Sunday, each trying to be the first team not named Chelsea, Arsenal, or Manchester City to lift the trophy since 2013. For both teams, it would be their first top flight silverware in club history; for Tottenham, it’s their first-ever top flight final. The excitement is palpable. A Spurs victory would be the most important event in club history and could set them up for sustained future success under first year head coach Robert Vilahamn.
It’s been a difficult and dramatic path to the final for Spurs, having had to eke past league runners up Manchester City on penalties in the quarterfinals before squeaking past Leicester in added time in the semis. Now they’re 90 minutes away from silverware, and while they have a puncher’s chance in this match they enter the final as underdogs against a potent United team with ambitions of their own.
Spurs’ Season Thus Far
Tottenham have had an up-and-down league campaign this season, though there are clear and obvious signs of improvement under first year head coach Robert Vilahamn. Tottenham suffered a dismal campaign in 2022-23 and were in a relegation battle before firing head coach Rehanne Skinner and limping — barely — to safety. Under Vilahamn, a highly successful coach in Sweden, Spurs are employing an exciting, attacking, press-and-possess style of football that’s not that dissimilar to the tactics of men’s head coach Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs have reinvigorated the squad with promising young players such as former United striker Martha Thomas, Australian fullback Charli Grant, and Sweden international winger Matilda Vinberg to complement existing stars Bethany England, Jessica Naz, Eveliina Summanen, and Ashleigh Neville. The results haven’t always come naturally — Spurs sit sixth in the WSL table at present, seven points behind United in fifth but with a game in hand — but there have been some dramatic highs. The aforementioned FA Cup quarterfinal win over City is one, as well as the club’s first ever North London Derby win over Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December.
More recently Spurs have drawn their last three league matches against Brighton, Everton, and United. They’re not in contention for a Champions League qualification spot, but they have improved from -5 xgd in the first half of the season to nearly +3 in the second. The improvement is real, and this is a promising young team whose ceiling should only increase going forward.
The Grace Clinton Factor
One of Tottenham’s biggest disadvantages against United involves a player who won’t even be on the pitch on Sunday. Grace Clinton has been a phenomenal breakout performer at attacking midfielder for Spurs this season — joint second on the team in goals and assists and a nailed-on starter, she has been Tottenham’s best player on a team that includes Bethany England. Clinton cracked the England national team for the first time this season and has been dubbed “England’s next superstar” by the media. But she won’t play on Sunday, as she’s a Manchester United player on loan at Spurs for the season.
That fact alone adds an extra wrinkle to this matchup. Spurs will be desperate to sign her permanently this summer, but after such a season, will United even entertain the notion? Regardless, Spurs will miss her creative playmaking, technical ability, and press resistance in the biggest and most important match of their season.
Replacing that output will be a balancing act. In what was widely considered to be a FA Cup final preview, Tottenham earned a scrappy Clinton-less draw against United on April 21. Vilahamn tweaked his tactics and caught United by surprise at Leigh Sports Village, starting Jessica Naz at the tip of the spear, bringing in Matilda Vinberg as a wide attacker on Clinton’s side of the pitch and pushing Martha Thomas into a slightly deeper attacking midfield role. This kept United on their heels for much of the match — Spurs took a 2-1 lead into extra time before United scored a last-gasp equalizer from Maya Le Tissier.
The question will be whether Vilahamn gave away his hand in that match or if he has additional tactical tweaks up his sleeve. Regardless, he’ll rely on the pace of Jessica Naz to get balls behind United’s defensive line, crosses in from the flanks from Celin Bizet and Ashleigh Neville, the experienced midfield duo of Drew Spence and Eveliina Summanen to anchor the midfield, and of course Bethany England to bang home as many goals as they can feed her. Tottenham may not get many shots at goal in this one, and Earps will do her level best to stop any that get through the back line, so Spurs will need to be especially clinical with the chances they do have if they want to be successful.
Spurs are still big underdogs
Of course I’m painting a rosy picture for Spurs — this is a Tottenham Hotspur blog — but Vilahamn’s side will still be underdogs for the final. United have had an almost equally difficult road to get to the final, having had to beat Chelsea in the semis to even get here. Despite having only been formed in 2018 and promoted to the WSL in their first season (the same year Tottenham was promoted) they have assembled a formidable squad that has future WSL title ambitions. Leading scorer Nikita Parris has eight strikes this season, and United has numerous players that can score goals including England international Ella Toone, Lucia Garcia, and former Lyon striker Melvine Malard. United boast the fourth-best defense in the league, and the best keeper — England #1 Mary Earps.
One of the keys for Tottenham at Wembley will be disrupting the midfield and preventing United from getting balls forward. United captain Katie Zelem leads the league in key passes and forms a potent partnership with Lisa Naalsund in the center of the park, and head coach Marc Skinner’s side likes to generate attacks through the wings via Leah Galton, Garcia, or Brazilian forward Geyse Ferreira. Spurs will need to press United selectively to prevent balls from reaching the flanks, and defend well when they do. S
Conclusion
United will enter the match with superior firepower and big-match experience, having reached the FA Cup final a year ago. Spurs will be without their best performer Clinton, but have pulled off plenty of surprises against better teams already this season and in their first ever final have nothing to lose. If Tottenham can prevent United from going ahead early and can keep the defense honest, they have a puncher’s chance to keep the match close and even pull off what would be dramatic win. There are differences in talent between these two sides but also differences in expectations. This match could end up being a lot closer than anyone realizes. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the final go to extra time or even penalties.