Euro 2022 has attracted a different type of fan that puts aside local tribalism and it made the semi-final extra specialI decided to walk to the semi-final at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night, mainly because I could. It was almost impossible to believe my luck, an England Euros semi-final just a short walk down the road from my house. This just doesn’t happen in Sheffield.The city has hosted tournaments before. Denmark and Portugal came for the Euros in 1996 and reportedly drank the city dry, forcing the local breweries to put on extra shifts to satisfy their thirst. It was a magical time and is still fondly remembered by those old enough to have been around. Continue reading...
Moments of inspiration are so rare at this level that the England striker’s semi-final goal was the last thing anyone expectedLook, we’ve all tried it. The skill itself is not the thing. Anyone who has ever kicked a football at any level has at some stage tried the cheeky backheel with which Alessia Russo foxed the Sweden defence at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night. It is a staple of playground kickabouts, five-a-side games and pre-match warm-ups the world over. And yet there seems to be an unspoken acceptance that as you travel up the echelons, such impertinences are ultimately left behind, for fear of waste and inefficiency, for fear of embarrassment, for fear of how it might look to everyone...
England managed to survive Sweden’s early threats to turn their semi-final into a comprehensive victorySports quiz aficionados will doubtless soon be asked what Edmonton, Enschede, Lyon and Sheffield have in common?The answer, obvious to all Lionesses fans, is that they hosted England’s four successive semi-finals in the past two World Cup and European Championship tournaments. Continue reading...
Now is the perfect time to launch the promised review into the women’s domestic game and end eyebrow-raising disparitiesThe women’s game is, undoubtedly, having a “moment”. The European Championship has caught the imagination of football fans and the wider public.The performances of the England team have led back pages, with the Lionesses playing to primetime TV audiences and packed stadiums full of passionate fans. The comeback win against Spain was pure football drama, capped by a winning goal from Georgia Stanway that would grace any game. Continue reading...
Clamour for the young Manchester United striker to replace Ellen White in the Euros semi-final is misplaced despite her huge talentMaybe it’s a symptom of the impatient world we inhabit but, whenever a young talent emerges, there seems an almost inevitable clamour for this new star to start every game. In England’s case that is now applying to Alessia Russo after the Manchester United striker’s impressive performances as a substitute during England’s first four Euro 2022 games.Russo scored a goal against Norway and two against Northern Ireland after coming off the bench. Crucially, she also played a key role in creating her fellow substitute Ella Toone’s late equaliser in the quarter-final against Spain. Continue reading...