The Lionesses face a different kind of challenge against La Roja and I’d vary the approach in their pressing to disrupt Bonmatí and coAt last year’s Euros quarter-final in Brighton, Spain gave England the biggest scare of the tournament they eventually won. In 2019’s World Cup, Spain narrowly lost to the US, who won it in the end. They may very well have been the second-best team at both tournaments.A year on from the Amex, and for differing reasons, both teams feature different players but they still go into Sunday’s World Cup final as the two best teams in the tournament. I don’t think it makes sense to speak about the missing players (those who walked out for Spain and...
The Matildas have played their part in raising the profile of football but for everyone else the hard work starts nowNot the end, but the beginning. That was the dominant theme from the weary Matildas as they reflected on a remarkable run to the World Cup semi-finals and sought to put into words what this tournament has meant to a captivated nation. The reflections were tinged with sadness, of course, after a heartbreaking loss. “It sucks,” midfield veteran Katrina Gorry said. But above all there was hope for a better future for the game in Australia.“It’s been incredible,” vice-captain Steph Catley said. “Gamechanging for women’s sport, women’s football, women in general. It’s been very special.” Alex Chidiac, among the next...
Sarina Wiegman’s new system suits both players and they could help decide the World Cup final against SpainIn the 86th minute in Sydney, with the game finely balanced, Lauren Hemp galloped up the pitch. Shrugging off a defender, a trademark burst of pace enabled her to maraud from one half to the other before producing the deftest of no-look passes to send Alessia Russo through to score. In 10 seconds flat, the player of the match had changed the course of the game, with her strike partner putting it beyond the reach of a heartbroken Australia.It was a goal that lifted the lid on the pressure cooker inside Stadium Australia. Hemp herself had restored England’s lead with dogged determination after...
In the culmination of the best month of football the country has ever seen, the Matildas’ biggest star blazed a trail into historySam Kerr’s hands were on her knees. At the other end of the pitch she had just witnessed Alessia Russo score England’s third goal to end Australia’s dream of winning the Women’s World Cup. The feeling of responsibility was obvious. Just 72 seconds earlier, she had missed a chance from close range that would have levelled the match.For Kerr, it looked like torture. The worst thing that could happen to a striker, a captain, the leader of a footballing nation. The kind of pain that never leaves. The story written entirely the wrong way. Continue reading...
Lionesses’ only loss under Sarina Wiegman came in a friendly against Australia but stakes are much higher nowThey are no longer England. England disappeared overnight. A subtle tonal and linguistic shift began to occur from the moment the final whistle blew at Stadium Australia, and the runes of Wednesday’s blockbuster World Cup semi-final began to take shape. At that point Sarina Wiegman’s team stopped being the familiar faces in the draw, the mother country, the cultural brethren. They are the Poms. And if you’re unclear on the difference then clearly you haven’t watched much international sport between the two countries. England is the place you go on holiday. The Poms are the guys whose noses you want to crush into...