IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!
England are in the World Cup final. England are in the World Cup final. England are in the World Cup final. England are in the World Cup final. England are in the World Cup final. Whichever words you emphasise, it still sounds great, not least because the last time the world’s most daily football email opened in such a fashion, it was written on one of those Jessica Fletcher-style typewriters from the opening credits of Murder, She Wrote and delivered by carrier pigeon a full 18 years before the first episode of the hit series starring Angela Lansbury aired on CBS.
In front of a crowd so openly hostile – at one point TV viewers were treated to the sight of a Australia fan playfully rubbing a neighbouring England counterpart’s belly – the Lionesses made relatively light work of bouncing the Matildas out of their own tournament and in doing so qualified for Sunday’s Women’s [Italics]World Cup[/Italics] showdown. Despite the backing of a massively partisan home crowd who left no galah unflamed in their efforts to cheer on their girls, not to mention that solo screamer from Sam Kerr, the Matildas simply weren’t good enough to see off England’s pride of Lionesses. They were, however, able to leave the pitch with their heads held high, stoked at having raised the profile of the game in a country that has always been sports mad, but in which women’s football has long been treated as a poor relation to other pursuits.
While Kerr’s goal cancelled out Ella Toone’s howitzer of an opener for England, the outcome never really looked in much doubt and strikes from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo rubber-stamped the superiority that has earned England a berth in the final against castanet-clacking Spain. Looking ahead to the final, opinion is split on who enters as favourites, but Spain are likely to provide a seriously stiff test of England’s undeniable mettle. “They’ve been very good,” said Lucy Bronze, who plies her trade with Barcelona. “Me and Keira [Walsh] know 90% of the starting 11 pretty well so I think we’ll be getting asked a lot of questions ahead of the final.”
Having sat out the second game of a two-match spell on the Naughty Step in Sydney, Lauren James will once again be available but will have to go some to dislodge Toone, who became the first England player, male or female, to score in the quarter-final, semi-final and final of a major tournament. She made an outstanding case for her inclusion in Sunday’s starting line-up. But amid all the jubilation, we should perhaps spare a thought for three women who won’t feature. Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead were all cruelly denied their places at this tournament through injury but these Lioness stalwarts will no doubt be cheering on their teammates on a day that could prove seriously bittersweet for the trio.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Am I in a fairytale or something?” – it’s not often England’s ice-cool manager Sarina Wiegman is reduced to stunned disbelief but, after guiding her team to two major tournament finals in a row, even she felt like Hans Christian Andersen had penned this storyline.
RECOMMENDED SHOPPING
The Football Weekly Book is out at the end of next month and you can order your copy for a discount now, now, now.
RECOMMENDED BOOKING
Football Weekly Live is going on tour in November. Get your tickets now.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
It’s the latest edition of Football Weekly, right here.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Breaking news: Sarina Wiegman is hired as Chelsea manager with immediate effect” – Krishna Moorthy.
Re: reflex reactions to player names (Football Daily letters passim), surely ‘Hey Makélélé’” – Bryony Mander.
Concerning Harry Maguire’s ‘dusty dugout he calls home’ (yesterday’s Football Daily), it looks like he is willing to establish a new benchmark at Old Trafford for sitting out a contract with no acceptable dig out from the Glazers or the Hammers” – John Weldon.
It’s a slight tangent I’ll grant you, but I started singing Mahmoud Dahoud to the tune of the Pink Panther and now I can’t stop” – Kevin Davey.
So if the neighbours in famously prudish and dour Paris found Neymar’s parties too loud and boisterous, will he be freer to party more loudly in Saudi Arabia?” – Gene Salorio.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Kevin Davey.
This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
