Durlston
"You plonker, Rodney!"
Every English person will want extra-time and penalties.
Two days less to recover from heavy ground due to the torrential rain.
Two days less to recover from heavy ground due to the torrential rain.
But only one has looked like going in - and that was ruled out for offside!
That's the thing isn't it. Football at it's heart is not just about quality levels - it's about passion, belief, bonding, teamwork, competitiveness - and so on. Whoever it's played by.
Why is one of the pundits in their pyjamas
please put ze ball in ze goal
I absolutely love the fact that I've seen guys walking around in the England women's team replica shirts too.
I've seen some men suggesting they like it but wouldn't buy it as 'It's a women's shirt". It comes in men's fit, just as the England men's team shirt comes in women's fit, so why not (apart from the £75 price, obviously)?
So I've been to both England games at the Amex so far. Tickets for the Norway game were a Christmas present and I was quite meh about it until the day of the game. I'm writing this as somebody who's followed the Albion for over thirty years, but also as a woman who played the game for many years too. I don't mind admitting I've never found watching women's games particularly enjoyable.
The Norway game was far more fun than I'd expected, and not just because of the eight goals. Yes, the atmosphere was very different to a men's game. It's like the crowd desperately want to sing songs, but they lack the coordination and match experience to do so, which means the range of songs is quite limited, largely to Engerland, Engerland, Engerland; Football's Coming Home and the odd round of Beth Mead's On Fire from the more adventurous. On the plus side, there are no knobbers piping up with "Your Support Is ****ing Shit" or "We Pay Your Benefits", so, every cloud. I enjoyed the Norway game so much, I went after tickets for the Spain quarter final, and unexpectedly found myself bagging a pair.
The atmosphere for Spain was more ramped up, a slightly bigger crowd, with more adults and fewer school kids. When I noticed the bloody England band were present, my heart sank at first. I hate their droning dirges at England men's games: I think they actually detract from the atmosphere. But perhaps in the women's game as it currently is, they actually work much better. They lead the crowd, who follow on enthusiastically. The longer the game went on, the better the atmosphere got. There was no sense of fans getting on the players' backs even when they were losing, and you could sense the anticipation building as England managed to force the pressure back on to Spain as the second half went on. When England equalised, the whole place was on its feet. When they got the winner, it's the closest I've ever seen to limbs at a women's game: honestly it was absolutely bouncing.
It's great to see so many women and girls at the game, but you might be surprised to hear me say that the the best thing is actually how many men are starting to engage with this England team. That's far more impactive than perhaps you'll ever know. It's fantastic to see young girls looking up to Beth Mead, Alessia Russo and Lucy Bronze as role models, but it's even better for society if we see boys doing the same. For almost all of football's history, female football fans have idolised male players, so why shouldn't boys look up to Ella Toone? I absolutely love the fact that I've seen guys walking around in the England women's team replica shirts too. I've seen some men suggesting they like it but wouldn't buy it as 'It's a women's shirt". It comes in men's fit, just as the England men's team shirt comes in women's fit, so why not (apart from the £75 price, obviously)? The away shirt in particular is beautiful. It would be incredible to see men walking around with Russo 23 or Mead 7 on the backs of their shirts.
I really hope this team can really do something in this tournament. I played football for so many years, for Sussex and South East representative sides as well as my club teams, with no hope of ever making a career out of football, so it's still incredible to me to see these women making such an impact. I love the idea that kids now run up to Millie Bright and Ellen White asking for autographs. If you've never had to fight for recognition in life, then perhaps you won't understand just how much representation matters. Trust me: it really does, and I'm genuinely so thrilled to see some of these players becoming household names. I'd love to see England get to the final and win this thing, just to see how much it really draws the wider footballing public in.
Who knows: perhaps it might even inspire dull Gareth and his troops in Qatar? Go on, girls. Show us just how good you can be, and seize the opportunity to make a nation proud. Well, most of us, anyway
Looking forward to Tuesday with a mixture of excitement and anxiety as I’m desperate for them to get to the final and go on and win this thing.
Totally. They've made such an impact that it would be an anti-climax if they didn't at least reach Wembley. I still see a few blokes responding to tweets about the tournament with "nobody cares about women's football" or "they wouldn't last a second in the men's game". No, they wouldn't, but then they're not asking to play with the men. Just to be recognised as talented footballers in their own right. Nobody says Laura Kenny isn't any good because she wouldn't keep up with Jason Kenny or Chris Hoy over ten laps of the track, so why do women footballers get that treatment? And the ones tweeting that nobody cares, whilst responding to tweets about women's football...clearly they have no sense of irony or self awareness.
I'm really glad you're enjoying and feeling invested in it. Honestly, it means so much to see guys buying in to it. I really, really want to see what happens to them if they win. Will they get an invite to Downing Street (many might say that was a negative, but you get the point) and a parade if they do? Because they would deserve it. Female players in the US are nationally recognised. I'd love to see the same happen to our players. It's terrific for your daughters and granddaughters if it does.
Totally. They've made such an impact that it would be an anti-climax if they didn't at least reach Wembley. I still see a few blokes responding to tweets about the tournament with "nobody cares about women's football" or "they wouldn't last a second in the men's game". No, they wouldn't, but then they're not asking to play with the men. Just to be recognised as talented footballers in their own right. Nobody says Laura Kenny isn't any good because she wouldn't keep up with Jason Kenny or Chris Hoy over ten laps of the track, so why do women footballers get that treatment? And the ones tweeting that nobody cares, whilst responding to tweets about women's football...clearly they have no sense of irony or self awareness.
I'm really glad you're enjoying and feeling invested in it. Honestly, it means so much to see guys buying in to it. I really, really want to see what happens to them if they win. Will they get an invite to Downing Street (many might say that was a negative, but you get the point) and a parade if they do? Because they would deserve it. Female players in the US are nationally recognised. I'd love to see the same happen to our players. It's terrific for your daughters and granddaughters if it does.
So I've been to both England games at the Amex so far. Tickets for the Norway game were a Christmas present and I was quite meh about it until the day of the game. I'm writing this as somebody who's followed the Albion for over thirty years, but also as a woman who played the game for many years too. I don't mind admitting I've never found watching women's games particularly enjoyable.
The Norway game was far more fun than I'd expected, and not just because of the eight goals. Yes, the atmosphere was very different to a men's game. It's like the crowd desperately want to sing songs, but they lack the coordination and match experience to do so, which means the range of songs is quite limited, largely to Engerland, Engerland, Engerland; Football's Coming Home and the odd round of Beth Mead's On Fire from the more adventurous. On the plus side, there are no knobbers piping up with "Your Support Is ****ing Shit" or "We Pay Your Benefits", so, every cloud. I enjoyed the Norway game so much, I went after tickets for the Spain quarter final, and unexpectedly found myself bagging a pair.
The atmosphere for Spain was more ramped up, a slightly bigger crowd, with more adults and fewer school kids. When I noticed the bloody England band were present, my heart sank at first. I hate their droning dirges at England men's games: I think they actually detract from the atmosphere. But perhaps in the women's game as it currently is, they actually work much better. They lead the crowd, who follow on enthusiastically. The longer the game went on, the better the atmosphere got. There was no sense of fans getting on the players' backs even when they were losing, and you could sense the anticipation building as England managed to force the pressure back on to Spain as the second half went on. When England equalised, the whole place was on its feet. When they got the winner, it's the closest I've ever seen to limbs at a women's game: honestly it was absolutely bouncing.
It's great to see so many women and girls at the game, but you might be surprised to hear me say that the the best thing is actually how many men are starting to engage with this England team. That's far more impactive than perhaps you'll ever know. It's fantastic to see young girls looking up to Beth Mead, Alessia Russo and Lucy Bronze as role models, but it's even better for society if we see boys doing the same. For almost all of football's history, female football fans have idolised male players, so why shouldn't boys look up to Ella Toone? I absolutely love the fact that I've seen guys walking around in the England women's team replica shirts too. I've seen some men suggesting they like it but wouldn't buy it as 'It's a women's shirt". It comes in men's fit, just as the England men's team shirt comes in women's fit, so why not (apart from the £75 price, obviously)? The away shirt in particular is beautiful. It would be incredible to see men walking around with Russo 23 or Mead 7 on the backs of their shirts.
I really hope this team can really do something in this tournament. I played football for so many years, for Sussex and South East representative sides as well as my club teams, with no hope of ever making a career out of football, so it's still incredible to me to see these women making such an impact. I love the idea that kids now run up to Millie Bright and Ellen White asking for autographs. If you've never had to fight for recognition in life, then perhaps you won't understand just how much representation matters. Trust me: it really does, and I'm genuinely so thrilled to see some of these players becoming household names. I'd love to see England get to the final and win this thing, just to see how much it really draws the wider footballing public in.
Who knows: perhaps it might even inspire dull Gareth and his troops in Qatar? Go on, girls. Show us just how good you can be, and seize the opportunity to make a nation proud. Well, most of us, anyway