Only 12 months ago, Team GB took to the Olympic stage in Tokyo, but one player was conspicuous by their absence after being left out by Hege Riise. A year later and she’s become one of, if not the most impactful player the Lionesses have at their disposal.
That player is 27-year-old Arsenal forward Beth Mead. After having one of her best seasons to date for both club and country, she speaks about having a point to prove after a setback, but also how there is always room for improvement.
“Obviously it was disappointing last summer,” said Mead, “But would I be the player I am today if that didn't happen? Maybe not. I'm enjoying my football, I'm happy out there on the pitch and again, that is showing in my performances, and hopefully, I can bring that into this summer's Euros.”
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In retrospect, a year is not a long time, but when a player goes from the disappointment of missing out on a major tournament to being one of the most talked-about players in the English game, it’s hard not to admire the determination and hard work that Mead has put in to show how much of an impact she can really make on the pitch – whether that’s scoring goals or creating chances for fellow teammates.
Mead, along with Arsenal teammate Jordan Nobbs – who unfortunately was not selected for the Euros due to a badly timed injury – surprisingly missed out on last summer’s competition. The Whitby-born star though has shown she had what it takes to turn things around and get back on track.
“I know it's only been a year, but I think I've matured as a player,” the WSL star said confidently. “I think for me, I've started maybe to not think about what other people think and concentrate on myself a little bit more.
“I've played with a lot more freedom this year and I think for me when I play freely is when I play my best football. I don't overcomplicate anything. I make better decisions and for me, this year has been a lot freer on the pitch.”
Mead has had a massive impact on her club’s success this season, scoring 11 and assisting eight during the 2021/22 campaign, which saw the battle for the WSL title go down to the last day of the season, with Jonas Eidevall’s side narrowly missing out on silverware.
But she’s also done it on the international stage under manager Sarina Wiegman. Whether it’s letting her start or come off the bench, Wiegman has trusted that Mead will have some sort of impact against any opponent, and she has proved that.
The game that really brought the Arsenal star to people’s attention was back in October. Mead came off the bench to score an 11-minute hat-trick against Northern Ireland, setting the record of being the first female footballer to do so at Wembley stadium.
“I didn't start that game, again I was frustrated probably not to start and I've spoken about it a lot, which sometimes helps my game, being a little bit frustrated,” Mead said. “But I just wanted to come on at 0-0, help my team and make that little impact that got us going in that game again.”
The energetic forward has also had a massive impact in the Lionesses' friendlies leading up to the Women’s Euros, scoring a second-half brace against the Netherlands and creating plenty of chances in the other two games.
“It was nice to have such an impact and help the team against the Netherlands. I think there’s a lot of competition in the team right now and we’re all pushing each other.
“I think for myself and most of us, we’re all perfectionists. No one’s perfect but I always expect more from myself and I’ve always got more to give so for me, some good games, some things I can do better and some things I can improve on.
“We can always assist and score more goals can’t we? It’s the job we do. We’ve done very well in the second half of the games, I think our first halves haven’t been what we want them to be, as good as we want them to be, and I think as a team we’re working hard on that. We just want to improve and whether it’s being on the ball, being better on the ball, creating more opportunities and like Sarina says, being more ruthless.”
Since former Netherlands coach Wiegman stepped into the role, she has instilled a certain mind-set into her group of players which has proven to work wonders on the pitch. The team are currently unbeaten in 14 games and have scored an impressive 84 goals since she took charge. This new mind-set has created healthy competition across all areas of the pitch and with the depth of this year’s squad, Wiegman has plenty of players to pick from at any stage of a game.
“I think we’ve got a lot of quality, a lot of different qualities in the positions we’ve got and we’re pushing each other every day and we all bring something different to the table. At the time I think Sarina has got to make that decision of what fits best for what game, and we’ve got players that can do well off the bench and that can do well as starting players. We’ve got a lot of quality in the whole team but as forwards we’ll back ourselves.”
Mead, along with all her England teammates, hopes to make a real impact this summer and with the support from the country behind them, the Lionesses will look to go as far as possible on home soil as the women’s game looks to take another massive step in the right direction going forward.
