By Elliott West
“Whatever happens in the final, if girls are not allowed to play football like the boys can after this tournament then what are we doing?”.
Ian Wright
Introduction
The rise of women’s football in recent years has been meteoric with huge investment and a focus largely by the BBC on the broadcasting of fixtures at international and club levels on their channels. This change of media direction has solely been down to the success of the England Ladies or the ‘Lionesses’ as they have now become to be known. A team that is tight, determined and never gives up when the chips are down. The green shoots of success came with the appointment of Hope Powell as their manager in 1998, an inspirational woman who brought a wealth of experience to the role, having previously won 66 caps in the England squad between 1983 and 1998 and a playing career for clubs such as Millwall, Bromley Borough and Croydon WFC that date back to 1978.
However, Powell fell out of favour with the football establishment despite taking the England team to the quarter-final stages of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, losing to France in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. After a disastrous performance at the UEFA Women’s Euro 2013, there was a call for her to be sacked but she retained her position until August 2013.
Subsequently there followed a string of England managers who failed to push the Women’s team far enough up the trophy tree. Mark Sampson was appointed manager in 2013 helping win the national team the Cyprus Cup in 2015 and reach the semi-finals of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World. However, his reign as England manager was soured by inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour when he worked at Bristol Academy and racist comments and behaviour toward player Eniola Aluko. Behaviour that led to his sacking in 2017.
Phil Neville replaced Mark Sampson in 2018 after a spell as the England Ladies’ coach. International success would come with the She Believes tournament where England reached the final of the competition, losing narrowly 1-0 to the USA. However, they won the competition the following year and reached the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup. However poor performances at the Olympics and 2021 She Believes tournament, led Neville to make the decision to step down as manager in 2021.
The Key to Success
England Ladies have grown in confidence and courage. A youthful squad handpicked by the present Dutch manager Sarina Wiegman was appointed in 2021. They are like a family, tight and fearless, producing football that mesmerises the audience and stirs national pride. Their present run the Euros has been mesmerising with impressive wins and even when looked down and out in the quarter-finals against Spain, they eked out a 2-1 win in the dying time of the match.
A 4-0 win against Sweden in the semi-finals, exposed the true brilliance of this fantastic squad. Players such as Alexandra Popp who scored two goals with a much-repeated goal in the 76th minute led them to a blistering victory that was celebrated at the moment by dancing to the song Sweet Caroline. Even an attempted burglary of the family home of Georgia Stanway didn’t dampen the mood as the burglars were chased away by a family member who couldn’t go to the match. This was after the thieves thought the house would be empty.
England now faces a common opponent in the final, Germany at a packed-out Wembley Stadium. Lea Williamson, the England captain has urged fans to turn Wembley into a party atmosphere for the final. With a 90,000-capacity crowd, this won’t be hard and with football on a Summer holiday break, all eyes will be focused on this final. Mary Earps, the England goalkeeper will have her work cut out. A lady who has already made a stunning save against Sweden when Stina Blackstenius attempted to put a dent in their 2-0 lead.
Let’s Finish It!
Lucy Bronze has already warned the squad and the public that “it’s not job done” until they lift the trophy against Germany. Bronze knows because she has been there and has the battle scars to prove it. Recent knee surgery hasn’t deterred her, a player who was awarded FIFA women’s player of the year several years ago. She believes that England’s transformation has come largely from a new manager. Wiegman is plain speaking and process driven, a woman who led the Netherlands to victory in 2017. This had been born out in the results of the England team and for 11.3 million viewers to tune in to the BBC coverage of their match against Sweden in Milton Keynes.
Sarina Wiegman has only been in the England manager’s post for ten months. The 52-year-old has the chance to win back-to-back international titles and go down in football history books as one of the greatest England managers. One of the best decisions was to include the 27-year-old Beth Mead in the team, a player who had previously been overlooked by Great Britain for the Olympics. Mead has already scored six goals in five matches and making her a standout star of the squad.
England can’t however rest on their laurels and they will have to iron out the slow starts that they produced against Spain and Sweden. To win against one of the best teams, they won’t be able to beat Germany using their previous uphill battle tactics. These heavyweights will punish their opponents and leave them scrambling for a solution. However, they are energetic and manoeuvre well as a team, producing the formations, skills, passes and shots that can potentially lead them to victory.
The Legacy
Win or lose, this England team will be remembered as being probably the best that women’s football has produced. A journey that isn’t over here as it is crucial to invest in the grassroots of the game, starting at school and allowing girls to play football on an even playing field with boys. Only then will the stars of the future be nurtured and developed. Without this, such victories are short-term memories and will soon be forgotten.
It is easy to be swept away in the frenzy of England’s success in this year’s Euros, especially after the gloom of the pandemic and the internal wrangling of British politics at the moment. Success is always refreshing, especially in women that has far too long been off the media radar and poorly invested. It’s time to move the international game and premiership team to larger venues, not ones that have empty seats and tickets not sold in dark and dingy surroundings.
The momentum is here but the foot shouldn’t be taken off the brake for one second. Going with the flow won’t work and I know that those behind the scenes won’t want this fascinating football journey to end. With sponsors such as Tik Tok and Lays crisps putting their money into the tournament, there is massive potential for the future and to continually expand on this brilliant women’s football legacy.
