Wright backs ‘fantastic’ Mead for starting spot after hat-trick
Snubbed for Great Britain’s Olympic squad, and publicly questioned by Hege Riise, 2021 was threatening to be an annus horribilis for Beth Mead. But after striking a rich seam of form for Arsenal, the striker wasted no time on Saturday in proving that she is a formidable force at international level – just 23 seconds.
That was how long it took for her to open the scoring against Northern Ireland with an acrobatic effort, and 14 minutes after that she had completed a hat-trick, becoming the first woman to achieve the feat at Wembley for England, in only the Lionesses’ seventh appearance at the home of English football and their first in a competitive fixture.
Her contribution received an immediate double thumbs up from Sarina Wiegman on the touchline and a broad smile, and the plaudits soon followed, amid calls for the 26-year-old – who has netted eight times for club and country so far this season – to start. “She was left out of the Olympics and she’s proving a point to England that ‘I need to be in that starting line-up’,” former England striker Eni Aluko suggested. “A hat-trick in 14 minutes at Wembley is the stuff of dreams.”
In February though, things were very different. Mead had been dropped from the England squad by Riise – who was plugging the gap between Phil Neville’s early exit and Wiegman’s arrival in September – and did so with the damning words: “Her player report has not been that great.” Now seemingly revived under new Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall, this season in the Women’s Super League Mead has created an average of three chances per match and provided three assists as well as scoring three times in the league leaders’ first five games, to help them maintain a 100 per cent winning start.
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright joined the calls for Mead to start more frequently, saying: “Form matters. I went to watch Arsenal’s game against Everton and she was on the bench, I can’t understand it, when you’re playing as well as she’s playing. She’s showing, when you’re in this kind of form, you should be playing. She’s in that mode, she’s in that mood. The way she reacts, turns and finishes, it’s fantastic.”
Wiegman, who has won all three of her games in charge in England’s attempt to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, said of Mead: “She’s a very good footballer. She’s in a very good place at the moment, [and] it shows on the pitch and for Arsenal. This team has depth – if we need to change and bring new energy, we can do that too.”
Wiegman’s substitutions were key to the 4-0 victory, as the introduction of Keira Walsh, Mead and Beth England – who also got on the scoresheet – led to the Lionesses unlocking a stubborn Northern Ireland defence.