Finally – Lionesses given chance to wow Wembley
Almost 100 years after the England men’s team first played at Wembley, Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses will today line up for their first competitive fixture at the stadium.
Chelsea striker Beth England has spoken of the need to avoid getting “hung up on the emotion” of the occasion and the crowd when England face Northern Ireland for the televised World Cup qualifier.
She was an unused substitute the last time England played at Wembley, where a record British attendance for a women’s international of 77,768 turned out for the 2-1 loss to Germany in November 2019.
For today’s match, around 30,000 tickets have been issued, with more expected to be sold on the day.
“Wembley is Wembley, even being able to walk out of that tunnel into the stadium itself is phenomenal,” England said. “But it’s very important we don’t get too high on emotions with the stadium and the crowd noise and everything. We’re ultimately here to do a job – there’s a good balance between excitement of being able to play on this wonderful pitch and knowing that we’re there to get a job done.”
The 27-year-old was in attendance for the men’s European Championship semi-final extra-time win over Denmark this summer and had her appetite whetted.
“That was probably one of the best games I’ve ever been to, if not the best – the crowd, the atmostoday’s phere, the whole day itself was phenomenal.”
Manchester United midfielder Katie Zelem, who watched the men’s group-stage victory over the Czech Republic at Wembley, said: “The atmosphere there was incredible and seemed to grow and get better and better. I guess I’ve not really processed that yet, that I was sitting in the stand just a couple of months ago and now I’m going to be playing on the pitch, I think it’s incredible and a real proud moment.
“It’s a huge stepping stone for us, and you can see what direction women’s football is going in. Playing in front of our friends, family and fans at Wembley is incredible, it’s something you dream of as a kid, and it being England’s first competitive game at Wembley makes it even more special for us.”
Zelem’s United team-mate Ella Toone, 22, said: “It’s huge, I’ve never played at Wembley before so it’s going to be even more special. The girls have spoken a lot about Wembley and how amazing it is, and I just can’t wait to step out onto the pitch.
“Going out into big stadiums and playing in front of big crowds, that’s what you dream of when you’re younger. I’m just going to embrace every moment I can and enjoy it.”
match will be England’s third under Wiegman, who has overseen huge wins over minnows North Macedonia (8-0) and Luxembourg (10-0). Northern Ireland, who have qualified for next summer’s delayed Euros in England, have also won both their World Cup qualifiers in Group D and are likely to offer the toughest test of the Dutch coach’s tenure, even though England were 6-0 winners when the sides last met, in a friendly at St George’s Park in February.
Arsenal’s Leah Williamson will again captain England in the absence of the injured Steph Houghton, but Wiegman says she is “not close yet” to deciding her permanent captain, adding: “We haven’t had Steph [Houghton] and Lucy Bronze and the other ones [fit yet], so we’ll take a little time, and when everyone is fit, performs well and comes into the squad, I can see what’s best for the team, but for now, Leah is doing a very good job.”
The women’s game is still reeling from the shocking allegations of abuse in the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States, and England are planning a show of support at Wembley.
Williamson said: “We’ve discussed it as a team and we want to show our solidarity if we can. There’ll be a meeting tomorrow. It has to be official.
“We’ll speak to Northern Ireland and Uefa and the officials and see what can be done. But it’s definitely something that obviously is on our radars and something that the girls believe in.”