FOR ALL THE LIONESSES, WAKING UP ON THAT SUNDAY MORNING THE THOUGHT ‘ONCE IN A LIFETIME’ WOULD CERTAINLY HAVE RUNG TRUE
of such an occasion – assuming sleep was possible at all – and to have these words be the first thing in your head and on your lips, could be daunting for anyone.
“I am playing today in the World Cup final.”
Regardless of how many times you repeat the words, it is unlikely to make the prospect any less daunting. Or any less exciting.
Yes, England had plenty of players who had played in the Euros last summer and could claim to have the experience for the big occasion that Spain lacked.
But while the Euros is huge, nothing comes close to those three words – World Cup final. The USA have won it four times and Germany twice, so it is factually incorrect to call it a once in a lifetime opportunity, but only for the very few might it come around again.
For most, it is one shot and when it is your first, there is no telling what will come after. Grasp this opportunity.
It is probably going to be your only chance. For all England’s players waking on Sunday morning, the thought ‘once in a lifetime’ would certainly have rang true.
Kick-off at 8pm locally. What to do with the time? Keep busy, or feet up and relax? Field messages from family and many others, or switch off the phone and shut out the noise?
Eat the usual breakfast or lunch, or give in to the mangled war of nerves churning within, fearing you won’t be able to keep food down in this state?
And still those three words keep repeating – World Cup final. World Cup final. World Cup final.
A hotel team talk and the bus to the stadium would have seemed like a blessed relief. A sense of the normal on a day that is anything but.
Keeping the routines of a regular match day is vitally important on a day you know can never be regular.
No other day carries the title – World Cup final.
For all the distraction, all the noise, all the expectation, all the apprehension, Sarina Wiegman had her charges properly and professionally prepared, in their bodies and in their minds.
It is key to what regularly sets England apart from the rest of the field, even if at the final moment of reckoning, they were edged out by a
team worthy of the title of world champions. There will be no trophy on the plane home to England, but this team returns with reputations bolstered. And when their flight lands, they will step into a limelight that will leave them dazzled.
If they think they will arrive at an empty airport in a country that doesn’t care, then think again, ladies.
Even before they kicked a ball in the final, the FA was already committing to building a statue at Wembley in their honour. The triumphant Euro campaign last year merited that on its own.
While Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City side finessed their way to the Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last season, Sarina Wiegman’s team had already completed a magnificent Double – European champions and beating Brazil for the Finalissima.
The World Cup will have to wait. They can add that trophy to the statue at a later date.
But while the baubles and plaudits – not to mention a bit of longoverdue financial reward – are all very nice and satisfy a need, the true recognition for these women returning from Australia comes from those they have inspired and those they will inspire for years to come.
My 21-month-old granddaughter, Ava, donned her Oxford United kit and joined her first session at Little Kickers six weeks ago, just before England’s first game. Is she a future Lioness? Most likely not, but her or others just like her will be.
As the 2023 squad assemble for a 20-year anniversary of their thrilling journey, Ava and others in their early twenties will carry the hopes of England into the 2043 tournament in a world where the women’s game will reward its protagonists with the sort of eye-watering sums we take for granted for the men.
They will have grown up attending England games at Wembley, being told of the day the Lionesses conquered Europe in this very stadium, posing with their parents and siblings for photographs at the statue of Leah Williamson and others raising the Euro trophy.
And as they drift away from the national stadium into the night, they will glance over their shoulder for one final look at those heroes raised on a plinth and dream of themselves being the subject of a future statue because that is what legacy is about. It is about example.
It is about inspiration.
It is about baton-passing.
It is about lighting the path for those who come next.
The names of Bright and Hemp, Walsh and Bronze, Russo and James are the beacons burning brightly now for those following on.
When it comes to the statue, the inscription must include something that encapsulates how inspiring this squad has been – not just in this tournament but for the past couple of years. They have changed the landscape and the way the game is perceived and treated.
As well as the three Rs, there are three Ls that have been handed out as life tools for young admirers of England’s World Cup squad.
NO TROPHY TO BRING BACK HOME... BUT OUR LIONESSES ARE BRIGHTLY BURNING BEACONS WHO HAVE LIT THE PATH FOR THIS NATION’S STARS OF THE FUTURE