Mead insists she’s not focused on Golden Boot
BETH MEAD says the Euro 2022 Golden Boot is not something she has been thinking about, with the in-form winger simply focusing on “enjoying my football”.
Mead continued her international scoring streak on Wednesday with the only goal of the contest as hosts England opened the Euros with a 1-0 victory over Austria at Old
Trafford. It was a 15th Lionesses goal for Mead since Sarina Wiegman took charge of the team last September.
England’s Jodie Taylor won the Golden Boot at Euro 2017, netting five times, and Ellen White was the joint-highest scorer at the 2019 World Cup with six. Asked if she was aiming for the Golden Boot this summer, Mead said: “I think it’s not something I’ve thought about. There’s some incredible scorers in this competition. I just want to enjoy my football and hopefully the goals, or assists, or whatever it may be will come.”
Meanwhile, Spain overcame the shock of conceding in the first minute to open their Euro 2022 campaign with a convincing 4-1 win over Finland in Milton Keynes.
The much-fancied Spaniards were stunned when Linda Sallstrom struck with just 50 seconds on the clock in the Group B opener yesterday. Yet they soon hit back through captain Irene Paredes and Aitana Bonmati before half-time. Lucia Garcia made victory safe after the break and Mariona Caldentey added gloss with an injury-time penalty.
In the other Group B clash, Germany made light work of Denmark in a 4-0 win at the Brentford Community Stadium. Lina Magull opened the scoring after 21 minutes and it took until the 57th minute for Lea Schuller to double the lead. Lena Lattwein made sure of the points with 22 minutes remaining and Alexandra Popp added a fourth with four minutes to go.