Passing artist Walsh can be a pain for Spain
England midfielder is key to hopes of reaching semi-finals
IT doesn’t require much imagination to deduce that the football life of Keira Walsh — the 25-year-old who is critical to England’s plans to defeat Spain in a European Championship quarter-final tomorrow night — has not always been a breeze.
She described yesterday how her father, who’s never really been one to go on about how well she’s just played, would sit her down in front of Manchester City matches and instruct her to watch how David Silva moves and drops his shoulder.
‘He’s the only player he ever talks about,’ she said a few years back, observing that this parental approach had kept her grounded.
Walsh was only 22 when asked to anchor England’s midfield at the 2019 World Cup, where the social media abuse she faced when her performance level dipped devastated her. She vowed a year later never to venture into the dark Twitter space again.
The obsession with Spanish midfielders in her household has played an indisputable part of making her England’s outstanding passer of the ball. She was the only player, it should be said, who was willing to risk passes which broke through opposition lines in the Lionesses’ game against Japan at the last World Cup. She was denigrated simply because a few of them did not come off that day.
In Brighton tomorrow, the No 4 carries another great weight of responsibility — to break down the rapid passing manoeuvres which have seen Spain dominate possession at this tournament, while despatching passes behind their high defensive line which can allow England to eliminate them.
The squad’s vastly experienced midfielder Jill Scott observed of Walsh before the tournament that there was no better holding midfielder in the world ‘in terms of intelligence and game play. Her vision for the game’.
Walsh, Scott’s Manchester City team-mate, is second only to France defender Wendie Renard in this tournament’s table for passing accuracy — with a 92.35 per cent success rate — and one of only two midfielders in the top 15.
The extremely high line Spain play is heaven sent for her to fire balls through for Beth Mead, Lauren Hemp and Ellen White.
It is thought Spain coach Jorge Vilda is minded to opt against more conservatism and again deploy a fourth forward, Barcelona’s Mariona Caldentey, in midfield.
But the passing threat resides everywhere and the greatest source of fascination is whether Walsh can cut out Aitana Bonmati, the box-to-box Spaniard who does not seem burdened with any angst about whose football example she might live up to and what anyone might have to say about her game.
Bonmati enthusiastically obliged when a UEFA journalist recently asked her to undertake an ‘English test’ on film, at Spain’s Bisham Abbey HQ. She certainly passed it, defining ‘over the moon’ and ‘park the bus’, in English, for a memorable short video. She is fearless.
The same applies on the pitch, where she is a midfield sitter who drives forward and sets the attacking tempo. She can inflict serious damage if Walsh and the England midfield fail to track her tomorrow.
Walsh’s bumpy last three years of tournament football have made her a greater beneficiary than most of England manager Sarina Wiegman’s philosophy that players should not fear the consequences of shifting the ball forward and playing a dynamic pass.
‘She always encourages us to play the ball forward,’ said Walsh, clearly revitalised by the new manager. ‘She’s not bothered that we make mistakes. She’s not going to shout at us or belittle us for making mistakes.
‘ She knows that that’s part of the process and that gives me the confidence to try those passes. I am sure a lot of the girls would say the same.’
Walsh’s challenge will pivot, perhaps in a split second, from shielding England’s defence to delivering the outstanding counter-attacking pass. ‘It’s not about your ability,‘ she reflected. ‘It’s your mindset.’
She’s been an unsung presence in England’s procession through the group stage and is coy about the image of her, illuminating the front of the National Gallery, which carries the words: ‘She uses the pitch as a canvas for some of the most striking footwork.’
Her father has played his part in making this Spanish kind of Englishwoman. ‘He always made me watch football,’ she said. ‘I think that’s how I’m able to see the game the way I do.’