England vs. Sweden - Women's Euros 2022 Semi-Final

As it turned out, the rails were too hot to run trains on (what a thing to write), so I had to miss the Italy-Belgium game in Group D that I had a ticket for – however, advanced planning has got me all excited today (again, what a thing to write), as I’m at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane to watch a Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final – and it’s only England vs. Sweden!

Before the tickets went on sale for the tournament, I plotted England’s route through if they won all their games – winning their group and the subsequent quarter-final would see them here while finishing as runners-up and a win in the quarters would have seen them play in Milton Keynes. So, with much hope, I applied and managed to obtain a ticket for a game in Sheffield that no confirmed teams playing in it. Thankfully, England DID win their group and got through their first knockout game, so now I could see them potentially get through to the final tonight, as they take on Sweden – who I saw in my last game, as they took apart Portugal five-nil.

However, this fixture very nearly didn’t happen – Spain were just a couple of minutes away from beating England in the last round before Ella Toone popped up with a late equaliser; volleying in from an Alessia Russo-headed knock-down. The nature of Russo’s header caused controversy within the Spanish camp – they believe that Russo had elbowed their defender as she jumped. I would say this as an England supporter BUT it wasn’t a foul in my book; her arm ‘gently brushed’ her opponent after she had won the header, so no advantage was gained. Would I be saying this if it was the other way round? Honestly, I can’t say – I would like to think so; with V.A.R. in place, I guess we have to give it the benefit of the doubt. They didn’t think it was worthy of bringing the incident to the referee’s attention, so what else can you say? If several referring professionals don’t think it’s a foul, then

The match was very gripping to watch – after a first half in which both sides traded large periods of possession, Spain grew into it and dominated the second half; their goal being a well-worked move that has become a trademark of Spanish teams at all levels. They very nearly sealed the game not long later, when a cross looped towards the top corner of the net, which Mary Earps did brilliantly to claw away (especially with her having to back-pedal to reach the ball). Just as it seemed hopeless, England put in a cross, Russo produced a brilliant knock-down (with no hint of a foul whatsoever), and Toone volleyed in to force extra-time. Spain were 5 minutes from winning and this seemed to put them on the back-foot at the start of ET – Georgia Stanway received the ball in the centre of the park, took a great touch into space, she wasn’t challenged as she approached the area and let out a shot from 20 yards that rocketed into the top corner. A brilliant goal, worthy of winning any game – which it did! England beating one of the favourites to seal a place in the semi-final here tonight.

As you might imagine, a rush for tickets kicked off as soon as the match was over – people desperately clamouring for information on how to get a hold of the few remaining tickets that were held back for sale. This wasn’t an issue for me of course – I had booked my ticket and hotel months ago, but it was somewhat heartening to see so many people interested in wanting to be part of cheering the England women’s team to a potential final. And some would have you believe that nobody cares about women’s football.

Once I arrive in Sheffield and check-in, I go for a potter about (to find a pub) and already see plenty of people – adults, kids, families – walking around with England tops on. We’re still five hours before kick-off at this point! Choosing Bramall Lane as a semi-final venue is very apt – it’s the oldest ground to continuously host professional football. So, if England do get through tonight, it will have witnessed another major milestone in the development of women’s football in this country.

I’m sat in the Kop Stand, which I’ve been to before during my ‘doing the 92’ series, ‘Playing Offside’ (yes, it’s an obvious plug!) This is one of the most unique stands still left in English football – the stand is built on a hill, so the walk up to it is done via a steep staircase, with the smells of old pipe smoke, beer and greasy chip butties enveloping you. The catering facilities and toilets are at the bottom of the hill, so I’d imagine this helps to keep people in their seats for the majority of a match – no quick and easy visits to the toilet during play. In today’s era of ‘super mega stadiums’, it’s easy to see some bright spark licking their lips at the prospect of landscaping this area and redeveloping it into a brand-new stand with corporate facilities – there’s certainly room for it. However, despite Sheffield Unite’s flirts with the Premier League, the stand remains, hopefully for another hundred years – standing as a reminder of how football used to be, while still being part of its future.

The atmosphere, as you would expect, is fantastic pre-kick-off – most people wearing white England shirts, brandishing flags and singing songs. It’s badly needed, as the opening half hour is very tense – Sweden having the better of the play, playing very much like I saw them in Leigh the other week. Earps has to react quickly to save her side on two occasions – she’s also beaten from a corner when an attack gets in front of her and heads onto the bar. England, however, started to take a grip on the game, dominating the play – and their pressure tells on 35 minutes. England break down the left, towards the Kop and put in a cross – which missed everyone in the area. Lucy Bronze has caught up on the opposite flank though, and the right-back collects the ball, plays it to Beth Mead in the centre, back-to-goal, she takes a touch, turns and volleys the ball into the corner. It was a great finish – happening right in front of me, and even I couldn’t help but jump up with everyone as it hit the back of the net. Don’t think I even did that at Old Trafford!

Half-time arrives and England manage to control the game to go in 1-up – it’s still tense though; Sweden have been putting pressure on the England backline, who seem to enjoy passing it around, almost daring their opponents to press them so they’ll leave gaps in-behind. That’s how England’s goal was scored, to be fair – but all it takes is one slip and the Swedes will be on top again. I nip down the hill to use the facilities but before I head back into the stand, I stand atop the hill and take in the sights of Sheffield that are visible – I doubt there are many UEFA-standard stadiums whose city you can see whilst standing inside it!

Any tension that may have been exorcised in those toilets at half-time (again, what a sentence to write!) will not be making a comeback thanks to England’s early actions in the second half. They win a corner which is hit beyond the crowd of players in the middle, towards Bronze – who for some reason is unmarked – and she gets her full forehead onto the ball, and it ends up finding its way into the corner, across goal. For me, it’s a clear goal – I don’t understand why she was unmarked or how the ball found its way in – but there’s a V.A.R. check for an apparent offside/obstruction of the keeper. After a nervous wait, the goal stands, and everyone jumps up in excited celebration once again – not me though, I’m very much a ‘two goal lead is a dangerous lead type of person!’. We need at least another five here for me to be certain!

The start of second half’s are usually pretty quiet in terms of atmosphere – everyone’s just come back from a break, so it takes a bit to get things going (this applies to the players as well as the supporters!) Thanks to the early goal, it has generated the same sort of atmosphere that I experienced in the first half, only it’s slightly more frantic now the England supporters believe that their team has one boot in the final. There’s a large contingent of Swedes here too – dotted around the ground (they’re wearing yellow, so very easy to see amongst the England white!), but there’s also a concentrated ground in the corner of the stand to my left. They’re singing ‘Sverige’ (Sweden) along with the unique tune that I heard in Leigh – a progressively up-tempo clapping of hands, in the vein of Iceland’s ‘thunderclap’. It’s very impressive to still hear them loud and clear, amongst all the England supporters.

Another impressive entity during this tournament has been Mary Earps. She’s very much a ‘no nonsense’ type of goalkeeper – doesn’t believe in that ‘zonal marking’ stuff; when she sees the ball, she comes for it. She’s at it again now – Sweden put some pressure on the England goal, force a corner and after the kick is flicked on, they look like they’re going to put it in at the back post. Nope, Earps, all 5ft 7in of her, somehow springs across the goal to tip the ball over. I’ve plenty of ‘critics’ of the women’s game cite the quality of goalkeeping as a major issue, but when you watch Earps making saves like that – in a goal whose dimensions were designed for men, by the way – it makes a mockery of their complaints, really.

As if to address another common complaint that people have of the women’s game – it doesn’t contain a large degree of technical brilliance – the next big moment of the match makes a mockery of that too. England are advancing on the Sweden defence with Georgia Stanway carrying the ball – she slips the ball beyond the defence towards Fran Kirby. The attacking midfielder carries on to the six-yard box before playing it across to Russo – she shoots, but the Sweden keeper saves with her legs. The ball goes to the right where Russo follows it; she holds off two defenders before backheeling it towards goal – and through the keeper’s legs and into the back of the net! It was a brilliant finish – an unexpected moment that nobody expected – least of all the Swedish keeper! My favourite thing about this moment though was that Russo went sprinting over to Earps to celebrate with her; without her save a few moments ago, the score could so easily have been 2-1, instead it’s 3-0 – the margins of football, which Russo clearly recognised. ‘Football’s Coming Home’ is now ringing around Bramall Lane, as everyone believes this is the clincher. Not me though – JUST CALM DOWN! (I think to myself).

However, even I’m inspired to celebrate a bit not long later as England get a fourth – and in some style, once again. With Sweden pushing players as high as they can, there are large gaps of space opening up, so when England turn the ball over, they quickly find Kirby in space, who’s being tracked by two defenders. From just outside the area, she takes a touch before dinking it over the goalkeeper, who – despite getting a big hand on the ball – cannot prevent it from dropping into the corner. Kirby runs off to knee-slide in front of the jubilant supporters, and she’s quickly mobbed by her teammates.

England see the game out masterfully from there, sparking more chants of Three Lions and ‘Sweet Caroline’ (which I’ll never understand how that became an England anthem!) Just to sum up the feelings inside the ground, the majority of the crowd stayed for a good fifteen minutes after the final whistle to applaud both sides – feels weird to say this, especially after your team has just won 4-0, but my player of the match was the goalkeeper. Those early saves – and the one later, while England were defending that ‘dangerous lead’ – gave the team a platform from which to build from.

So, England are into the final – their first appearance in the Euros final since 2009, when the all-conquering Germany swept them aside, 6-2. Their opponents in the 2022 final? It’s only Germany! However, we have home advantage this time – can football finally ‘come home’? I’m delighted to say that I’ll be there to witness it, anyway.

Come on England!

England 4
(Mead, 34. Bronze, 48. Russo, 68. Kirby, 76)

Sweden 0

Attendance: 28,624

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England vs. Austria - Women's Euros 2022

I’m stood close to the top of the Stretford End, the famous home section behind one of the goals where the Manchester United faithful usually try and roar the ball into the back of the net. Today however, there are people of all ages here – not just the usual LADS ‘getting the [Stone Island] badge in’ or tourists clutching megastore bags – but equal numbers of men, women and children waving England flags, blowing air horns, flapping paper rattles and just generally making a nuisance of themselves. This wouldn’t do in men’s football – but this isn’t men’s football. It’s the opening game of the Women’s 2022 UEFA European Championships and I’m at Old Trafford to see hosts England take on Austria.

Earlier, I had made my way to Trafford Bar Metrolink, with the tram filling up with increasing numbers of England supporters at each stop. When I arrived, the streets were already awash with people, and it was a good one-and-a-half before kick-off! I popped into the pub immediately opposite the station, The Tollgate, which I would imagine would be difficult to do on a usual Old Trafford matchday. I get served straight away but in fairness, there was a decent enough number of people in there too, many of whom are women sporting the new England women’s away kit, which is orange (a reference to the Dutch manager, Sarina Wiegman, perhaps?)

This new kit caused chaos amongst viewers during England’s recent friendly with The Netherlands as The Dutch wore their white away shirts! Not only that – but get this – their manager, Mark Parsons, is English! So, we had a situation in which England, managed by a Dutchwoman, wore orange – traditionally the colours of The Netherlands – and The Netherlands, managed by an Englishman, wore white – traditionally the colours of England! Confusion aside, I like the orange away kit – aside from it looking striking (which you would imagine would be ideal if you want to pick out a teammate!), it’s a departure from what the men’s team have and therefore gives the women’s team something that I hope all women’s teams eventually strive for – their own identity. 

There are signs on the way to the ground directing to a ‘Fan Party’ – there’s going to be Fan Zones near each ground to build up the atmosphere for the game. These event spaces, usually taking place in a disused car park, have been growing within the English game in the last few years; offering a safe environment for supporters to enjoy themselves before the game, as well as for clubs to make an additional income stream. Being a miserable bugger, I give it a swerve (I also couldn’t find it, despite the signs), so I go straight to the stand I’m sitting in – and on the way in, notice there’s a nice atmosphere building outside too. There are banners of each host city tied to a fence facing the Stretford End of the stadium, and the ONLY one that was obscured, thanks to a French TV crew being stood in front of it, conducting interviews, was the Wigan & Leigh one! That’s right – despite Leigh Sports Village being one of the host stadiums, my town of Wigan has got itself involved thanks to Leigh being situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan! It isn’t Wigan (just like how ‘Greater Manchester’ does not = Manchester) and Leythers aren’t best pleased with having their party crashed, but being from Wigan, I naturally find it very funny. Plus, council taxes from Wiganers did go towards building the stadium, so they should be grateful, really!

My seat is in the upper echelons of the Stretford End, and it takes me an age to get there – the last time I was this high, I was on a plane to Tenerife. The DJ is whipping up the crowd with some nightclub classics – Whitney Houston's 'I Want To Dance With Somebody' gets a raucous reception and sing and dance along. Sadly, Old Trafford doesn’t sell pints of whisky to cope with such things, so I stew in my despondency. Looking around, the number of women here becomes more apparent as they get up and boogie with each dance classic that plays – and it truly is great to see them attracted to see a football match in an atmosphere that’s far more comfortable for them. Even the average of men’s matches can see idiots in the crowd bawling out obscenities and aggressive nonsense, so it’s refreshing to see such an upbeat atmosphere. However, for me, the standout positive to so many women being here, is that there was no queue for the Gents.

The opening ceremony was decent enough – mercifully short, as most football tournament opening ceremonies are – but there was some slick dancing (I’ve seen Strictly Come Dancing, once, so I know what I’m talking about), and flag waving before the unfurling of banners detailing all teams and host cities (Wigan & Leigh lol), before a plethora of pyrotechnics went off, earning wonderous ‘ooohs’ from the crowd as they exploded into the sky (the fireworks, not the crowd).

The teams come out, anthems are played, and the match kicks off – and the crowd continue with the jovial atmosphere that was building up before. Air horns, clapping and waving of paper rattles accompanying England chants. Both sides play it tidily, as the ball sticks to the floor. One thing you might notice when you first watch a women’s game is that physicality isn’t as prevalent as it is in the men’s – you don’t often see a target woman stuck up front waiting for balls to be lobbed up at her, for example. As a result, the players seem to be more versatile – a great example is on display here, as Rachel Daly, who plays as a centre-forward for her club side in the US, is playing as a left-back for her country tonight. Another example is right-back Lucy Bronze, who had a spell playing in central midfield for England in recent years. Not saying this doesn’t happen in the men’s game, but certain positions and roles require certain attributes, so you don’t often male players playing in such differing positions.

The pivotal point of the match occurs 16 minutes in, as forward Beth Mead springs the Austrian offside trap and proceeds to lob the ball over the goalkeeper and in. But is it in? A defender seemed to get back in time to hook it off the line (and onto the bar before it bounced away) – I don’t know if the ref got a signal on her watch from the goal line technology that’s presumably installed, but the decision goes to V.A.R anyway – and it’s given. The Austrians aren’t pleased, but they don’t have any basis to argue!

After a somewhat tense start, with both sides exchanging periods of possession without creating much in the way of chances, we’re hoping England can settle down now and play some of the rapid back-to-front attacking football they’ve shown under Wiegman so far. To ‘help’ push them along, the supporters decide to start a Mexican Wave, and I notice people start to inch towards the edge of their seats in anticipation of it hitting where we’re sat. It arrives and everyone joyfully stands up – except me, of course. It’s all good fun and all, but it’s an English tradition to not join in with this kind of collectiveness, so I’m too set in my ways/miserable to join in.

The first half was decent enough – England dominated the ball after the goal, but Austria still look handy on the break. Lauren Hemp did have a great chance when put through one-on-one, but the Austrian keeper pulled off a good save, throwing her arm at the ball to divert it over. A finely poised game, then; hopefully we’ll see more goals – these are thoughts that I’m pondering while taking my sweet time in the men’s toilets, thanks to the plethora of space that’s afforded to me. As it turned out, nothing much happened in the second half, as both sides continued to struggle to create anything – the best chance being an Austrian shot from the left that England keeper, Mary Earps, was well-placed to turn around the post.

England largely managed to control the second half and despite looking threatening from set pieces, Austria couldn’t fashion any more chances. It was a hard-fought win for the hosts, who will be looking to be far more fluent in their play as the tournament progresses – they’re certainly capable of a lot more. You know what they say about tournament football – you have to ‘grow’ into it; start from a low base and work your way forwards. I hope for the sake of the tournament – and England in general – that we do indeed see this in the next few weeks.

The vast majority of the 68,000 crowd go home happy though – England have three points on the board, which is all that matters. As it turned out, this was a record crowd for the women’s European Championships, some 27,000 more than the previous record set in Germany in 2013. The prices have been fantastic and there have been some great deals for families attending – which has been criticised by some, which I find odd. Imagine criticising cheap ticket prices for a football match in 2022, especially considering the unaffordability of top level – and even some EFL clubs – in the men’s game. The crowd today exemplified what supporting a football team should be like – everyone enjoying the atmosphere, getting involved with songs, cheering on their team in tense desperation; it’s what watching football should be about.

They can leave the Mexican Wave alone though, no room for that.

England 1
(Mead, 16)

Austria 0

Attendance: 68,871

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