‘I would give up my goals if it meant having gold medal around my neck’
Ellen White has been a World Cup star despite bitter semi-final failure, writes Luke Edwards
Ellen White did not know what she had done, the emotions were too raw to see what she will become. It offered no comfort last night, but White’s world will have changed forever. She has been one of the stars of this World Cup, she will be one of the breakout names, a person who people talk about beyond her sport.
She will walk down the street, visit her local supermarket and people will know the face and want to speak to her. She will get double takes and stares and those strange glances celebrities receive when they are out in public.
But it was not the prize she wanted. Everything has been building towards winning a major tournament, not losing in a semi-final. This will sting.
Every success is built on failure, every triumph a result of defeat. You have to know what it is like to lose to really appreciate winning. The worry is England keep losing when they reach the final four, it is starting to become a habit. They are not learning how to win the biggest of games.
And as there will not be a team prize for White to enjoy, she feels unable to appreciate the individual success she has had. Only Gary Lineker and Harry Kane have also scored six goals in a World Cup, but neither managed to score in five World Cup games in a row. White has. And she could still win the Golden Boot, tied with the United States’s Alex Morgan, who will play in Sunday’s final, the day after White plays in the third-place play-off in Nice, There is a lot at stake, with some estimating the Golden Boot winner will be a millionaire from prize money and sponsorship deals.
“It wouldn’t give me any personal satisfaction, I’d probably give all those goals up if it meant I could have that gold medal around my neck,” said White. “I’m devastated not to reach that final. That’s all I feel at the moment.
“I’m not really sure if my life is going to change, I live a quiet life
with my husband and our two cats so I’ve no idea what it will be like. But what I do know is I’m really proud to be English, I’m really proud to be part of this team and I hope everyone can see how proud we are to play for our country.”
With that she was off, an arm around her shoulder from a member of England’s backroom staff. Her voice had started to crack, she needed to be with her team-mates.
When the pain subsides, White must remember she has been brilliant and had it not been for a marginal video assistant referee call and a cynical foul, she would have done something no English player had done before at a World Cup – she would have scored seven goals. She had already equalised for England, a dart in front of the defender to be where Beth Mead’s brilliant cross was going to curl and bounce and then the skill to open up her body and guide it spinning and twirling beyond US goalkeeper Alyssa Naheer. She was denied that seventh by the toe end of the boot. Never before has “just” offside seemed so brutal. White was millimetres off before she ran in and slotted the ball home.
Still White came looking, prowling like a predator, hunting out another kill. She got one, too, Demi Stokes sprang the offside trap, White timed her run again, waiting for the cross to come. This time she was onside, this time the net would bulge … but she missed the ball completely.
Something must have happened and it had – a foul by Becky Sauerbrunn taking her foot away as she prepared to shoot.
The penalty was given. England had a lifeline. Surely England’s best finisher would be given the ball with the team’s World Cup final hopes hanging by a thread.
But White was not trusted with the crucial moment. She was left to watch as captain Steph Houghton missed. This is England, this is what always seems to happen. A hard luck story, a penalty miscue and a prolific striker denied the ultimate prize.