They have been singing it for 26 years, that football is going home. Golden generations have tried their hand. Stars have come and gone, from Alan Shearer to David Beckham and Harry Kane. Most people have assumed that it was the gentlemen who were supposed to fix the steak. But on Sunday it was the ladies who brought home England’s first EC title. They have succeeded where the men failed – at home in 1996 and in 2021. Throughout this playoff, the fans have been singing the famous chorus from “Three Lions”. As soon as the final was over, the whole of Wembley declared “football’s coming home”. With that, not only England’s wait was over. In a way, the two national teams were also united. Photo: JOHN SIBLEY / Reuters Victory for the whole nation For the mere fact that this triumph is now regarded as the return of football means that it is not just England’s women’s national team that has won. This feat simply belongs to England. All of England. And that is important. If this had happened 40 years ago, no one would have registered it. When England reached the first women’s European Championship final in 1984, interest was so low that only 2,567 turned up for the second match, played at Kenilworth Road in Luton, a small town north of London. The track was so muddy that there was hardly any grass in the center circle. The players used a four-ball, and the innings lasted 35 minutes. Sweden won, and the next day the players had to go to work. The final was hardly mentioned in English newspapers. Had England won, few would care. No one would feel that it made up for the gentlemen’s disappointments. But now on Sunday, in the final at Wembley, with green grass and 87,192 spectators, victory belonged not just to an unknown women’s team, but to the entire nation. Behind this triumph lie several factors that other countries can learn from. Photo: Frank Augstein / AP Style Study This has been a style study in how to win the EC. So many forces are behind the result, from the FA’s plans to the league’s progress. Since 2017 alone, England’s Football Association has taken steps to increase the number of female players, teams and training centres. The domestic Women’s Super League has become one of the best in the world, with heavy sponsors, matches on national television and financial muscle. All these promises have increased the quality of the coaches and facilities, which in turn has been reflected in the level England have shown throughout the EC. In parallel, the national team has got a brilliant national team coach in Sarina Wiegman. With his predecessor Phil Neville, the name was always greater than the competence. Instead of having a former Manchester United player who had barely achieved anything as a coach, England simply hired the best candidate they could find. Wiegman led the Netherlands to European Championship victory in 2017 and the final of the World Cup two years later. It was just a matter of getting her in. Now, almost a year after her appointment, she has become the first coach to win the EC with two countries. No one can say that this is not deserved. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino / AP Always had answers Even before the European Championships, you could see that England had something big going on. They have now played 20 games under Wiegman and are yet to lose. At every obstacle, England have had an answer, from the difficult opener against Austria to the thriller against Spain and the battle against Sweden. They have often struck late in games, especially in the playoffs. In addition, England’s enormous width has made itself felt. They have had seven goals from substitutes, four more than anyone else. In the final it was Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly who came in from the bench and decided. A few minutes later, England were the big winners. The same can be said about football as a whole. Photo: Rui Vieira / AP Higher quality As many expected, the EC has been another giant step forward. One thing is the number of spectators, which has more than doubled since 2017. But the quality has also improved by far. We have seen interplay in a class of its own, rock-solid defences, adventurous individual performances and a number of feverish saves. The players have scored more goals and hit more passes than five years ago. There have been fewer errors leading to goals. If you had seen nothing else but the final, Toone’s scoring showed where the list lies: An exquisite stick from Keira Walsh, and a lob over the goalkeeper that any striker in the world would have cheered extra for. Such performances – and the statistics in general – testify to higher precision, better technique and more patient attacking play. The top teams in particular have shown an enormous level. Norway knew before the tournament that it was a long way up. Now we know how huge the gap is. Photo: DYLAN MARTINEZ / Reuters New adventure Have there been any disappointments in the EC? Outside of Norway, one can mention the injury to Alexia Putellas before the championship. Most had also looked forward to Alexandra Popp, who was injured during the warm-up, leading Germany out at Wembley. Then we have the empty seats, despite the fact that many of the matches were sold out. But it is a mistake on the part of the organisers, and not a sign of a lack of interest. It will be exciting to see if the next EC will break a new record. Those who haven’t been following this championship have really missed out. Especially those who cheer for England in general, and who must have been very down when the men lost the final on penalties against Italy last year. At the time, it seemed that football would never come home. Photo: AP But the ladies had a plan. They never needed penalties. Now they have beaten Germany in extra time at Wembley, just as the men did in the World Cup in 1966. That triumph has long been legendary in England. So are the names behind it. Now these ladies also belong to an English football adventure that will be told over and over again.
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