UEFA Women's Euro 2022, Group A
Brighton Community Stadium, Falmer
Admission: £15.00
Programme: £8.00 (covering whole tournament)
Attendance: 28,847
With the Women's Euro 2022 tournament being held in England this summer, I always wanted to make sure to take advantage of watching plenty of competition football on my virtual doorstep. I certainly wanted to take in all of the games being played at my most local host venue, in Brighton, with the added appeal of this game being that I knew that England would be featuring, although I did not who they would be facing at the time of booking last July.
Along with England, Norway, Austria and Northern Ireland were also drawn in Group A, and on paper, it appeared that this match would be England's toughest in the group, with the winners probably going on to win the group. In the FIFA world rankings, England were in eighth place, whilst Norway were in eleventh. Since Sarina Wiegman started her work as England Head Coach in September 2021, England's form has been remarkable, overseeing 14 wins and 2 draws from the 16 games. Having led her native Netherlands to glory at Euro 2017, winning a competition that they hosted, she would be hoping to repeat the trick with her adopted country this summer, and for England to get one better than they reached in each of their last three major tournament finals - the World Cups in 2015 and 2019, and Euro 2017. Norway have traditionally been one of the powerhouses of women's football, winning the World Cup in 1995, the Olympics in 2000, and European competitions in 1987 and 1993. Times have been somewhat leaner in recent years, but still they qualified impressively for this tournament, with a 100% record from their six qualifying group games, and are well on their way to qualifying for the World Cup in 2023, and will seal their place with a win against Belgium in their next and penultimate group game. On their opening games of this tournament, England won 1-0 against Austria, while Norway won 4-1 against Northern Ireland.
On a very warm and sunny evening, this turned out to be one of the most remarkable matches I have ever watched, as far from the close “could go either way” encounter that I was expecting. The first ten minutes were quite even, but the game completely changed when England were awarded a penalty which looked extremely generous, as Ellen White threw herself to the floor after a Norwegian play grabbed her midriff. Georgia Stanway powered the ball into the top left corner, just beyond the keeper’s dive. Three minutes later and England found the net again, Lauren Hemp tapping home from a couple of yards out after Beth Mead rolled the ball across the six yard box, and although the assistant referee signalled offside, the goal was given after a VAR check. White made it three on 29 minutes, showing greater strength to muscle Maria Thorisdottir off the ball, before running forward and then coolly slotting the ball past the keeper. On 34 minutes again White used her strength to win possession of the ball, before passing back to Lauren Hemp, who swung the ball into the box and Beth Mead headed the ball powerfully into the net, brushing the keeper’s hands en route. Mead then showed excellent footwork in dancing past defenders in the penalty area before slotting the ball past the keeper on 38 minutes to make it 5-0, and it really was becoming fantasy football for England on 41 minutes when they scored their sixth, White stretched out a boot to tap in from close range following Fran Kirby’s inviting cross.
It really was a devastating performance by England, full of energy, high intensity, closing players down and always seeming to be first to the ball and were clinical going forward. They sinply blew the Norwegians away, although it was surprising how their defence was so easily breached time and again. Inevitably, the second half was a little less intense, as Norway finally changed their formation to become tighter at the back. But England still managed to break through and increase their margin of victory. On 66 minutes, Lucy Bronze swung the ball into the box and second half sub Alessia Russo headed the ball home, and on 75 minutes, another sub Alex Greenwood saw a curling shot from just outside the area come past off the bar, but England did score their eighth on 81 minutes when Mead completed her hat-trick, tapping home after Kiera Walsh’s long range shot from just outside the area could only be parried into Mead’s path.
So an astonishing result for England against a team considered dark horses to do well in this tournament, and the win now ensures that England will top the group regardless of the outcome of their final group game against Northern Ireland and return to Brighton for a quarter final tie, most likely against Spain. Norway will have to win against Austria in their final group game on Friday evening, also at Brighton, to progress. Mention should also be made of the excellent atmosphere in the stadium, loud and positive at all times, without the negative or hostile elements that prevail in the men’s game. All in all, this was a most enjoyable evening, witnessing a barely believable performance and result by the home nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment