Neville’s squad must take heart but learn lessons from defeat
before. “I believe that we will win,” lacks lyricism but neatly described how America felt about upwardly mobile England.
Yet that belief was rocked many times by an England side who were brave and defiant to the end. Unbearably, it fell to the best and bravest of them – Steph Houghton – to miss the penalty that would have given them parity after Ellen White had a goal reversed for offside on a VAR review. England teams never take the quiet road.
The cruel beauty of tournaments is that it takes improving sides to a place they are not ready to go. They can be ready in press conferences, at the dining table and in the gym, but when your centre-back (in this case Mille Bright) is nutmegged on the edge of your penalty area in the third minute you know there is a new game in town. For the first 10 minutes, England were in danger of being buried by what we might once have called English football, or relentless pressure on a back four from curled crosses and swarming bodies following in.
This is what they wanted – last-four tournament football – and this is what they got. The most developed nation in women’s football were ready and waiting. In a PR sense England could not lose. Anyone can see progress has been made and a strong core of players found. Neville – the wrong gender to be the England women’s manager, some still believe – has struck plenty of high notes. But there was a lurking menace that was beyond his control. Bright, especially, was being asked to decide and act at a speed not comfortable to her. And once Rapinoe’s replacement, Christen Press, had put the Americans in front after 10 minutes there was the strong sense a good team were going to have to perform wonders against a better one for England to be part of the final.
The equaliser was indeed a counterpunch of great skill. Keira Walsh’s diagonal ball to Beth Mead flowed into a sweet cross for Ellen White to display her prowess in front of goal for the sixth time at this World Cup. Here was the resilience Neville has cultivated. The squad dinner in the Qatari desert was an invaluable bonding exercise, a basis for the unity of the last month. All of it though reckoned without the defending world champions advancing in red waves and playing concise, structured football.
At the risk of straying into the men’s realm, this was the second World Cup semi-final defeat featuring England in 12 months. The first, in Moscow, was a missed opportunity. This one was more reaching for the stars against a mature, organised side who might have scored six times in the first hour. For all the gains and the talk of expressive passing football, England had yet to develop a fixed tactical identity or a settled starting XI prior to the biggest game in their history. That needs to change.
The spectacle of England refusing to be shoved aside vindicated Neville’s references to “ice in their veins” and the players’ own claim to be “bad-ass women.”
England have given their fans here and back home countless reasons not only to follow them but be fascinated by their progress and their stories. The team has been more important than the “cause” of spreading word about the women’s game, yet who could overlook the lessons meted out to people with closed eyes and minds?
A phrase Neville kept using stands the test America put before them. It stands the test of Houghton missing a penalty. “We’ve got something here,” Neville said. He was right. Millie Bright (above) is dismissed for a second yellow card after a foul on Alex Morgan; (right) the US forward celebrates her goal with a tea-drinking act mocking England; captain Steph Houghton (left) is left dejected by defeat after missing a late penalty