SAME OLD – BUT A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD

So as seems to always be the case England lost in a major tournament football semi-final (oh joy the 3rd / 4th place playoff here we come). It was a dramatic game in Lyon with goals, disallowed goals, VAR, a missed penalty and a sending off. To be fair to the Lionesses they gave it their all and left it on the pitch, but anyone watching the game, who isn’t biased, will realise one thing, the best side won. USA showed their matchday skills and even though the penalty miss from Steph Houghton would have drawn the teams level, it could easily have been 3 or 4 -1 to the Americans at that stage. The narrative would have been very different if that was the case. And being brutal that is three major semi-final defeats in a row, something needs to change for the better no doubt.

PROGRESS OF SORTS

The fact that, if the penalty was scored, England would have drawn level says something about where there has been some progression. Despite being second best for most of the game they fought hard to keep themselves in the match, eventually gaining a foothold in a contest they should have been well out of. On another day, they may have taken the match to an extra 30 minutes, but that is the issue, despite carving out the chance to do so, no matter whether deserved to or not, they did not take it. One things for sure if it had been the USA in the same position – the penalty is scored and they win the game however lucky they might be in a match. Manager, Phil Neville, is about winning, he knows this, he was in a dressing room for years at Manchester United where 2nd was failure. He has instilled this into his team and whilst it has been a decent World Cup the players and coaching staff will need to look at themselves and work out what they could have done better as the margins to being winners and losers can be oh so fine.

SQUAD FOR THE FUTURE

Phil Neville knows that not winning the tournament is for him a bit of a failure, especially as his team did not even get to the final match, so they actually never got the opportunity to play a game for the trophy. However the squad did perform well with the vast majority getting game time. They are a young squad too and the majority will be around for the next cycle of tournaments which incudes the Olympics next year, a European Championships on home soil in 2021 and then the 2023 World Cup. As we stand in this country Women’s football is at the height of its popularity and if the national team can push onto finals and winning trophies in these next 4 years then a legacy can be built for future success. Already the Women’s Super League in this country is doing well, the side has top players who play abroad experiencing different leagues so the basis is there, now is the time to make the breakthrough and win something tangible and get some silverware in the cabinet.

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