Written for Gadsbysengland.com
It wasn’t to be for the Lionesses. And, sadly, there was a lack of nominative determinism – Lucy and co were unable to claim bronze in their clash with Sweden. However, while the third-place playoff was not the palette cleanser we’d hoped for, this shouldn’t colour our memories of what has been, on the whole, another spectacular tournament for an England side – a phrase I’m sure fans won’t tire of hearing any time soon.
Unconvincing in their opening games against Scotland and Argentina, Phil Neville’s women grew into the tournament. The highlights were undoubtedly the back-to-back 3-0 wins against Cameroon and Norway respectively, albeit for very different reasons. The former was a truly bizarre affair, one that felt more like an alcohol-fuelled fracas outside a nightclub than a football match. The spitting, the pushing, the all-round level of nastiness on display from England’s opponents that day bordered on maniacal. Visibly, though, a fresh sense of camaraderie was forged in that Valenciennes fire, both within the squad itself and with the fans back home who were vocal in their admiration of England’s conduct in the face of such roughhousery. This reaction in and of itself was a triumph, one indicative of the much-mended relationship between England player and England fan.
The Cameroon clash exhibited England’s mental fortitude, but the footballing pinnacle was the quarter-final dismantling of a highly-fancied Norway side. Throughout the game, England looked comfortable with and without the ball. Lucy Bronze’s 25-yard thunderbolt was the cherry on top of an already mouthwatering cake. The ‘swashbuckling fullback’ cliché is rolled out all too often nowadays, but for Bronze, it could hardly be more apt. Phil Neville consistently refers to her as the “best player in the world”; it was no surprise therefore that she was one of the tournament’s stand-out performers.
Ellen White was another revelation. The Manchester City forward scored six goals, tied in first place for goals with Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe. Given that Rapinoe scored three penalties and five of Morgan’s goals came in the United States’ demolition of Thailand, England fans might claim White was the winner in spirit – not that we’re biased or anything. Indeed, she might have thought she’d done enough to win the Golden Boot outright before VAR chalked out what would have been a glorious goal in Saturday’s defeat to Sweden, one which typified her unerringly clinical performances throughout the month. Exhibiting Herculean strength, she held off the Swedish defender before chesting the ball into the air, giving her enough time to pivot before slotting home. Unfortunately, Anastasia Pustovoytova, with the help of video replays, ruled that White had inadvertently handled the ball.
She, or any other England player, won’t want to see another VAR gesture as long as they live. Just a few days earlier England’s star striker had another strike ruled out, this one, all the more painfully, in the semifinal. The game itself felt like something of a watershed moment for women’s football in England; 7.6 million people tuned in to watch England’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of the USA, a record for any television event this year. There will be regrets, of course, the feebleness of Steph Houghton’s late penalty being the most prominent, but, overall, it’s hard not to see this tournament as a success. Yes, they were unable to improve on their semi-final exit in 2015, but only by the narrowest of margins and again to the eventual victors – England’s women can now truly be seen as a team that competes consistently amongst the world’s elite.
Supporting England used to feel like one continual adjustment to loss. The management’s approach to major tournaments seemed akin jumping off the cliff and learning to fly on the way down. Now, with the consistent success of the Lionesses and the male contingent’s performance last summer, these stitches in our footballing fabric seem to have been successfully resewn. For that, the FA and the DNA project must take credit. Of course, at some point this philosophy will need to result in trophies – the women’s team must believe they can capitalise on the warm reaction to their showing in France and do exactly that. And where better to do it than on home soil in 2021 – the European Championships in England follow the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. In both competitions, England have a real chance for silverware. Hopefully, by then we can look back and see this World Cup as an elaborate dress rehearsal for a trophy-laden spell.
Adam Williams - Portfolio 