GO ON GIRLS ... END THE MISERY
England haven’t had a team (female or male) in a World Cup semi since 1990
IT IS 25 years sincence Bobby Robson’sn’s England made it to the semi-finals of Italia 90, capturing the imagination n of the entire country y and giving birth to a new generation of football fans.
No Three Lions team since ince has made it to the last four of f a World Cup.
Tonight, England’s women men can bring relief to that sorry stretch, tretch, a quarter of a century of mbarrassing underachievement which,hich at the men’s level at least, shows no sign of letting up.
Mark Sampson’s Lionesses, however, are just one game away from writing their own piece of World Cup history by progressing beyond the quarter-finals for the first time.
Indeed, England’s women had never won a knockout match at any finals before their come- frombehind 2-1 victory over Norway in Ottawa on Monday.
And now for Canada, a team inferior to England in terms of quality but installed as favourites with the bookies by virtue of home advantage — 54,000 partisan Canucks will be inside Vancouver’s BC Place stadium just after midnight tonight.
The stingy hosts — led by County Durham-born coach head John Herdman — have conceded just once so far and would probably settle for a draw which goes the distance.
It was 25 years ago yesterday that David Platt scored in the 119th minute of the second-round match against Belgium, and England could well be looking for another last-gasp hero.
Manchester City striker Toni Duggan is the most likely source. The Liverpool fan, who started her career at Everton, is yet to score at the finals but the 23-year-old has 14 international goals and will be the girl with the task of breaking down Canadian resistance.
Duggan is one of a new generation of female players benefiting from the professional surrounds of the summer- based Super League, which was introduced five years ago.
The women’s game has made unimaginable progress since their first World Cup appearance in 1995. Then, the players, many of them on unpaid leave, hurtled across Sweden on trains to fulfil a gruelling schedule. They beat Canada at that tournament in front of just 655 fans. Tonight, a capacity crowd awaits.
The players are now stars in their own right; they travel first class, have sponsorship deals and some, such as England captain Steph Houghton, earn as much as £65,000 per year.
And, unlike the men’s national team, progress off the park has been married to improvement on it.
Now they are on the verge of making history. Sampson admits the match is a chance to catapult their sport to the next level.
‘This is not a nation that is used to being successful at World Cups, so we’re fully aware of the opportunities and the challenges faced,’ said the 32- year- old Welshman.
‘Look at the facts in terms of us beating Norway. That was — at men’s or women’s level — only our third World Cup knockout win since 1990, and that’s a big statement for this team.
‘Whether we’re the men’s team, the 21s’ team, the women’s team, England’s progress at a World Cup gives a unique opportunity to promote the sport back home.
‘It’s an opportunity for us to progress as far as we can in this tournament and give the women’s game a huge boost.’
Manchester City midfielder Jill Scott came from the bench to swing the game in England’s favour against Norway.
The 28-year- old, however, has been part of England’s two previous last-eight defeats at World Cups. A third choke would raise questions over the mental make-up of the team.
‘It’s very depressing to lose a big match like a quarter-final,’ she said.
‘Whether it’s one of the new girls, or one of the players that have been to two World Cups before, we know this is a big game.
‘We all want to be in the semifinal. To be in the last four of a World Cup would be a fantastic feeling.’
Sampson has used all 20 of his outfield players so far and has started with a different system in each game, changing his formation throughout the 90 minutes.
In terms of squad depth, few can rival England.
Scott, for example, has started the last two matches as a substitute, as has Chelsea striker Eniola Aluko — sister of Hull forward Sone
— who has 32 goals for her country.
Scott said: ‘I actually think we could field two teams of 11 in this tournament and they would both get to at least the quarters, that’s how good I think this squad is.
‘I think we have proved we can play in a number of different ways and a number of different formations, and that’s quite pleasing.
‘ Canada won’t know what England team is going to show up.’
The problem for England at this stage over the past 25 years is that too often they don’t know what team is going to show up, never mind the opposition.
But Sampson’s girls have the chance to right those wrongs and make history this evening.
They could yet go one step further than Bobby’s boys of 1990.