IT'S.......... HOME 🦁🦁🦁
IT'S.......... HOME 🦁🦁🦁
The Week In Ball
We did it. They did it. The wonderful, brilliant, inspiring Lionesses have won the 2022 Women's Euros. And how!
An entire tournament where only two goals were conceded. Where 22 were scored. Where one of the team got the Golden Boot and the Player of the Tournament trophies. With a manager who's taken two separate and very different nations to the pinnacle of the championship in consecutive tournaments.
I was lucky enough to be at Wembley and it was amazing. The crowd was so loud, so enthusiastic, so happy and gleeful. As I wrote both in this newsletter and in my Metro piece, the women's game as a fan is much more accessible, welcoming and less threatening than the men's game. There were none of the scenes we saw at Wembley last year for the Men's Final and it seemed that for the most part (aside from accessibility issues which I'm not going to go into here) entry was smooth and easy.
As for the game itself, as I type I'm watching the broadcast of it and it's clear that it was exactly as it felt in the stadium. It was passionate, fast, scrappy, full of needle and fight.
In the first half England had the better of the chances but lacked that clinical finish. There were also a number of questionable refereeing decisions and a couple of soft yellows.
When the teams returned for the second half Germany, with a couple of pairs of fresh legs, looked far more dangerous. Luckily for England, Mary Earps was in beastmode and made some fantastic saves.
Then on the 62nd minute it happened. Ella Toone scored and the stadium went wild (I'm pretty sure it was this goal where I got an unidentified liquid on me, presumably thrown from behind).
She broke through and, it makes me choke up to write this as it's my personal hobby horse, chipped the keeper. "They're shouting Toourns!" I yelled to my friend as a chorus of 'TOOOOOOOOOOONE' rang around the ground. I felt like I'd yelled my voice box out of my throat. It was brilliant.
Unfortunately legs started to tire in the England camp and Germany pressed and pressed and pressed and eventually they were rewarded with a 79th minute Lena Magull goal. We could all see it coming but it didn't mean the atmosphere became any less subdued.
It was a slog then. We got to 90 minutes with still no breakthrough so it was time for Extra Time. The dreaded Extra Time. Oh how I hate it.
The first half was awful. I was hot, sweaty, hungry, thirsty and desperately needed a wee but I had to hold on. The deadlock couldn't be broken at either end though and so into the second half we went, still at loggerheads.
Again it was tight. Both teams fighting hard for the prize.
And then it happened.
At 110 minutes England got a corner. It was pumped in by Lucy Bronze. There was a scramble but I knew, I knew it was coming and there she was, Chloe Kelly pouncing on a rebound and toe-poking the ball home.
She wheeled away, grabbed the hem of her shirt then paused, looked at the ref. It was a good goal. The top came off and she was gone, whirling it around her head in glee.
Ten minutes was all we had to hang on for then. It was tense, my god it was tense but the game management was exemplary and made my heart sing.
I yelled and cackled and clasped my hands as England kept the ball in the corner, winning throw after throw. It was, to coin a cliché, a masterclass.
Now I don't know if you're aware but in the stadium they stop the clock at 90/120 and just display the number of extra minutes so there were two minutes of being completely unaware how close we were to the win.
Then the whistle went.
I leapt up, yelled so hard and loud that I had to sit down again immediately as I thought I was going to pass out, then I burst into tears. When I composed myself I got up again and good lord. It was beautiful. An iconic, powerful, amazing moment.
We sang, we cried, we laughed, we took pic after pic and shaky videos and helped strangers take group shots and it was beautiful. BEAUTIFUL. My heart was full.
My gang stayed deep into the celebrations, chair dancing to the banging tunes and watching the stragglers running around the pitch celebrating and the brilliant German support staying and waving their flags. Indeed we stayed so long we were asked to leave by the security staff.
The atmosphere outside Wembley was fabulous. I left my friends to find somewhere to get a cab and stumbled upon a busker (the lovely Lucy May Walker who found me on Twitter after) playing a gorgeous version of Sweet Caroline, accompanied by the passing crowds as the sun dipped over the arches.
As I waited for my taxi and finally procured a drink, I listened to the bar round the corner and the punters belting out the England version of Whole Again (Sarina you're the one; football's coming home again) and watched supporters making their way home. Few moments will top that.
Football 'eritage
Women's Football, as I'm sure you're aware, has a patchy history. From the wild successes of the late 1800s to the early 1900s it was extremely popular, until 1921 when it was banned by the FA. So up until 1971 when the ban was lifted there wasn't much to see.
It has since that time been an uphill struggle for recognition and funding.
What we need to do now is to ensure that this never happens again. That this incredible momentum is kept and that all, ALL, girls are given the opportunities they deserve to get into football at whatever level they want. Whether they want to play at school and become a professional footballer, whether they want to simply have that option without any serious ambitions, for all the women who may not like or be able to participate in physical activity but love the game and want to be involved somehow, we need to keep opening doors and breaking down barriers.
Petition here if you don't want to click through to the tweet.
The {Offside} Thirst Trap
It hit me suddenly and irretrievably the other day. It's not an unusual or controversial crush but boy is it fierce.
Beautiful, funny, fit, strong, with great moves and a sharp sense of humour, how can you not love her.
It is of course Lucy Bronze.
She shook her hair out during the match yesterday to put it back up and hoo boy. Even from the eaves of the stadium I was mesmerised.
Cannot wait to see her balling out for Barcelona next season.
Merch Stand
Just a head's up in this section this week that I will be doing my Premier League Kit Ratings Thread on Twitter in time for the new season starting on Friday evening, so keep an eye out for that!
Extra Time
It's all about the Lionesses right now.
If you really like the newsletter, please feel free to buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/emilyoram, or donate via my Tip Jar on Twitter
If your bag is Footballer Instagram content and even more regular thirst traps, follow the newsletter’s Instagram on thewayutalkaboutball
And finally, if you want more real-time football nonsense and frankly all sorts of other nonsense, and you don’t already, follow me on Twitter @_emilyoram.