A sweet young England fan has spoken about the "crazy" time since she went viral for the way she celebrated the Lionesses' semi-final victory.
Tess, eight, and her grandmother Susan appeared live on BBC Breakfast today, July 27, from Wakefield West Yorkshire where Jon Kay, Sally Nugent, and former footballer Ian Wright were able to chat with the young fan after a clip of her signing and dancing along to football anthem Sweet Caroline went viral.
The clip, taken as manager Sarina Wiegman was interviewed about the squad's 4-0 win against Sweden in a semi-final of the Women's Euros last night. Tess, who didn't even realise she was on the big screen last night as she celebrated, looked surprised to even be on live TV as she was quizzed over her celebrations.
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Presenter Jon said: "Can you believe this Tess? You stand up and celebrate last night, you end up on the telly, and now you're being interviewed live on the telly talking to Ian Wright. It's only less than 12 hours ago." Tess replied: "It's crazy! I didn't know I was being filmed. Like normally they look at the big screen, and they're like I'm on telly! I was in the moment", the Mirror reports.
Tess and her mum only realised the youngster had been on the big screen when her mum's friends started spamming her phone to say they'd seen her on TV. Tess added: "It was amazing. I didn't know I was on tv until my mum got lots of text messages from people. I was just dancing and enjoying myself. I was singing Sweet Caroline and then my mum started getting messages. It's really weird to be on TV, but it feels amazing."
Granny Susan was pretty shocked too, catching sight of her young granddaughter as she watched at home with Tess' grandad. Susan said: "We were slightly shocked when she came on the screen, I must say. Grandad and I were watching at home and trying to listen to the manager because it was quite difficult to hear her amid the crowd. Then it panned to Tess and I think I screamed."
Tess, who plays football herself and was recently selected to be part of the emerging talent team for Leeds United, eventually hopes to play for Manchester United and England when she grows up, so was looking forward to watching the Lionesses play. Talk during the show quickly turned to the final, which takes place this Sunday at the iconic Wembley stadium. The hosts asked if Tess would be able to make it down to Wembley, when the youngster admitted she hasn't got tickets.
Sally Nugent hinted that she'd like to see Tess get hold of tickets for this weekend's big game as they ended the interview, with Tess insisting she has faith the women's team can go all the way, describing the semi-finals as the "best football match I've been to so far".
Tess was one of thousands of fans who were celebrating the women's team's huge win, as Sweet Caroline erupted inside the venue. Cheering fans, including the eight-year-old, sang along as the players celebrated their triumph with thrilled England fans. The England team took the lead in the 34th minute with Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Frank Kirby scoring the four goals and managing to take the women into the final this weekend.
It was Alessia's goal that was the talking point though, as she missed her initial attempt to score, before tapping it back into the goal with her foot and the celebration was incredible. There were congratulations all round from a number of celebrities, including Prince William, who took to Twitter and wrote: "Congratulations @Lionesses on making it to the #WEURO2022 final on Sunday. The entire country is so proud of everything you’re achieving. We believe in you and will be with you all the way!"
Following their win, the stadium in Sheffield erupted into cheers and shouts of excitement. The sound of everyone singing along to the Neil Diamond track - which has become synonymous with the national sporting teams - drowned out comments from the players and manager Sarina Wiegman in their post-match interviews. It is the women's first final since 2009, where they will face either Germany or France.
Fans celebrated the win across the country at the likes of Boxpark and Trafalgar Square in London, as the country unites to back the women's team as they head to the final this weekend. Speaking following the win, manager Sarina had a message for the country: "They're singing and the music is on. We've had a little celebration and then tomorrow we will recover and prepare for the final. We want to inspire the nation and make a difference. I think that's what we're doing. We want to make the country proud of us."
Former England keeper Karen Bardsley added of last night's game: "I don't think people realise the impact this is going to have on the women's game in this country. In five or 10 years time this is going to become the norm." During his appearance on BBC Breakfast alongside Tess, Ian heaped praise on the team and the legacy they will leave.
He said: "The women’s game is here and it is here to stay. What we are seeing with these ladies, and the way they are inspiring everybody, is nothing is going to stop it. I love it, I hope they can finish it off simply because they deserve to. And again all those heroes, the mums, the dads, the brothers, the uncles, all those people that had to take those girls all over the country just to play football, they must be sitting there so proud at the moment."
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