England have never won a major women's international football tournament.
The Lionesses are desperate to change that fact this month as they host the Women's Euros for the first time in 17 years. Their journey to Wembley starts against Austria at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening… and the nation expects.
England are among the favourites to be crowned champions of Europe as they're in superb form heading into the tournament. They've never lost under current boss Sarina Wiegman, enjoying a 14-game run. That stretch includes a record-breaking 20-0 win against Latvia in November and a 5-1 victory against European champions the Netherlands last month.
Unsurprisingly, former England winger Sue Smith is backing Wiegman's side to go far on home soil. "The warm-up games, we've looked good," Smith tells Mirror Football , courtesy of VoucherCodes. "You look at the first half, maybe we need to start stronger. We've had to change things in the second half - tactically and in personnel - but we've managed to do that."
England scored just twice during the first half of their warm-up games against Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland but found the back of the net 10 times after the interval.
"I think that's the strength we have – that we do have strength in depth, that we do have quality from the bench to make an impact and change things. Maybe that's not really been the case in the past. We have that now.
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"Sarina Wiegman is not afraid to make changes if she needs to. Doesn't matter who it is… if they're not performing or not playing how she wants them to play, she'll change that up.
"When you want to go to the latter stage of a competition, you have to have a strong squad because you're going to have to rotate and rest players. I think when you're bringing players on and they're making it even better, that's got to be a huge boost and positive for England to go far."
England’s hopes of winning Euro 2022 are strong thanks to their impressive squad. The likes of Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright, Alessia Russo, Ellen White and skipper Leah Williamson have all been lauded in the press, but Smith believes Lauren Hemp will be the nation’s star player this summer.
The Manchester City winger, 21, has just completed a tremendous season in the WSL – scoring 10 goals – to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award for a record fourth time. Smith also thinks Hemp’s club colleague Keira Walsh, 25, will play a pivotal role in the heart of England’s midfield.
"Hemp is just a great player to watch, so exciting. If you want to get fans off their seats, she's the player to do that. Whether that's beating a couple of players and pinging one in the top corner or creating that for someone else, she's a game-changer… and that's what you need.
"The fact she's still so young, she's still adding to her game. Each game, you see a little bit more from her. Whether she's going to go inside, outside or deliver that first time cross – she's unpredictable – and I think that's so important for a wide player, an exciting player. She'll certainly be key going forward.
"Defensively, I look at Keira Walsh as their holding midfielder. She never, ever gets any sort of credit or any sort of media praise, but she's so important to that side… protecting the back four, the reading of the game. But also building from midfield. She's got a great ping on her and I think that's something England will certainly need from both aspects [defence and attack].
"They would be my two stand out [players], but Lauren Hemp in particular as a young exciting player that we can all get behind. Hopefully she'll be putting a few in the top corner."
Although England are expected to challenge for the trophy, they aren’t the bookies’ favourites. Spain, who’ve got reigning Ballon d’Or holder Alexia Putellas to call on, boast that honour.
Smith is expecting England to endure a difficult road to Wembley. "If you look at the group stage, Norway is going to be a tough game… Ada Hegerberg is back for them, that's going to give them a boost. Her and [Caroline Graham] Hansen up top, what a frontline. Add in [Guro] Reiten and they can certainly cause teams problems. That's going to be a tough game for England, a test for them.
"But my team to watch is Sweden and I don't think enough people are talking about them. We're talking about Spain, the favourites, and England because they're the home nation and how they've performed - and rightly so.
"But I just think Sweden [have a great chance]. They're second in the world rankings, they did really well in the Olympics [winning silver]. They don't seem to have a weakness. Defensively, they're very strong and they're brilliant going forward. They've got experience, youth and impact from the bench – like England."
The women’s game has grown significantly since the World Cup in France three years ago and Euro 2022 could capture the imagination like no tournament before. More than 75,000 fans are set to attend Wednesday’s opener at Old Trafford and Wembley will be full for the final on July 31, regardless of England’s progress.
Smith is excited to see what impact the upcoming tournament will have on the women’s game. "People want to be involved, even before a ball has been kicked. There's been so much exposure and interest… and that's huge for the game.
"The fact the girls are on billboards and bus stops, their pictures are everywhere. They are household names. I think that's what we've always wanted in women's football. It's football. If you enjoy men's football, you enjoy women's football… whatever it is, it's football.
"If England can be there [the final], it makes it extra special. To have a sell-out crowd at Wembley and watching some of the players that we see in the WSL week in, week out playing for their national team… hopefully, that has a knock-on effect for next season and we’ll have sell-out crowds in the WSL.
"I think that's the next step. It's alright for the big occasions, but can we have huge crowds wanting to watch women's football every week?
"It's to inspire the next generation, as well. The young boys and girls growing up – they look and go 'I want to be a footballer' or 'I want to be a referee' or 'I want to be a manager' or whatever it might be.
"They watch it. Whether it's a men's tournament or women's tournament, it still inspires those youngsters to get their boots on and play at whatever level they want to play at.
"When I was younger, all of my role models were male footballers and all of the tournaments I watched were men's tournaments. It's nice now the girls say 'we watched the men's tournament and that inspired us and then we watched the women's tournament and that also inspired us'.
"Going into schools now is so much different from when I used to go into schools. You're doing assemblies and motivational talks, trying to get kids involved in sport.
"You used to say, 'who's your favourite player?' And it was always a men's player. Whereas now, boys and girls will pick a men's and women's player. That's the difference – it's now seen as the norm that women play football and anyone can play. It's a great space to be in."
Although Smith believes Euro 2022 will capture the public’s imagination regardless of England’s progress, she recognises the importance a strong showing can have on society and the economy.
"Imagine England at Wembley in front of a packed crowd… it can't get much better, can it? [Only] if England then go on to win the trophy.
"You just feel the nation will get behind them. You see that football brings people together, doesn't it? It gives you that feel-good factor, which I think is so important. It's the first time there's no Covid restrictions [for a major football tournament in Europe], so that's another huge boost.
"And I think what's been interesting for me to see is VoucherCodes' Women's Euro 2022 spending report. That showed £1.2billion is going to be spent across the tournament, which is a huge number. If England keep progressing, the fans will throw more parties, barbecues and things like that. It'll be fantastic from a footballing perspective, but the economy will also win.
"And because of the cost of living [crisis] – which a lot of people are experiencing at the minute – 17million fans are going to be watching it [the tournament] from home. But again, that's [encouraging people to throw] barbecues and other things. It's still a boost to the economy in terms of food and drinks retailers.
"It's a win-win having a home tournament – the economy gets a boost and England have a great chance to win. Can't ask for more!"
* Sue Smith is working with VoucherCodes.co.uk to launch its Women’s EURO 2022 Spending Report. For more information visit: https://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/savings-guides/guides-reports/womens-euros-2022-report
