Morning all.
What a night in the women’s Euros, certainly for England who went from looking down and out of the competition to being involved in a penalty shootout which a few Sweden and England players will want to forget.
England women were 2-0 down with 20 minutes of ordinary time to play. But for goalkeeper Hannah Hampton’s saves and a superb challenge from Leah Williamson, the scoreline would have been worse. Lauren Hemp had Englands only real chance in the first half which hit the crossbar.
After a dreadful first half performance, England improved in the second half. To be honest, it would have been difficult not to but it was Sarina Wiegman’s three changes late in the game which made the difference. Beth Mead and Michelle Agyemang came on at the 70 minute mark and then 8 minutes later, Chloe Kelly replaced Lauren Hemp.
It was Kelly who inspired the England comeback with a peach of a cross from the left towards the back post which Lucy Bronze headed powerfully past the Swedish goalkeeper. Then 130 seconds later, Kelly was at it again with another ball into the box which after a touch from Mead, Agyemang hit home.
Extra time came and went with both sides unable to take any the chances created and with that, who progressed into the semi-final came down to penalties. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many dreadful spot kicks in one shootout. Twice Sweden had the chance to win the game but failed and after Kelly had thumped her spot kick home, Bronze followed up with a thunderous strike into the roof of the net. Sweden missed their next penalty and England were through. Remarkable.
Hopefully the injury Leah Williamson sustained proves to be nothing serious and she’s fit to face Italy in a few days time. Lucy Bronze too who played the finals minutes of the game with a heavily strapped thigh.
I thought the officials weren’t the best, especially when Hemp was elbowed in the face. It looked deliberate to me and was worthy of at least a yellow card although I doubt anyone would have been surprised if a red card had been produced.
It’s great that so many Arsenal players are in the England squad – Williamson, Wubben-Moy, Mead, Kelly, Russo and Agyemang.
The men are catching up too with Saka, Rice, Lewis-Skelly and in all likelihood, White and Nwaneri to come. Maybe Eze too.
The transfer window is in full flow and over £1billion has been spent on 218 new players already, yet there’s still 45 days to go until deadline day. Staggering really.
The Athletic have an article about how’s it’s not just money which seals a deal. An agent who has Premier League players on his client roster, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, told the newspaper:
“The higher up the chain you go, the more outlandish the demands get. It can be something very specific — like helping to bring their pet into the country if they’re moving from overseas to England — or something fairly normal, like a corporate box for their family and friends in the stadium, which is a pretty common stipulation. The vast majority of the time, it’s the player instigating these perks, and it’s always better to bring them up early in my experience, especially if it’s really important to them.”
Why not though, I’d certainly want my dog to be transported safely and comfortably long before I signed on the dotted line. Preferably sat on my lap or in a seat of her own next to me. But the best story, which I’ve not heard of before, comes from Paul Gascgoine:
“When Spurs offered my family a house and they (United) wouldn’t match it, I wanted to look after my mum and dad. They offered my sister a sunbed — a sunbed in the contract — which she got. It was probably my sister’s sunbed they (United) couldn’t afford. She should have got a spray tan and I would have a few more medals.”
Just a bit of fun but if you were a professional footballer embarking on a big transfer move, what would seal the deal for you? Other than money of course….
Catch up in the comments.
For those who missed the ridiculous penalty shootout.
Morning Rico,
Well where does one start .Carter was woeful to the extent that she was mainly responsible for both goals and nearly a third.
I thought it was extremely risky leaving it so late to make subs despite the fact England drew level thanks to the introduction of Kelly ,who I thought would start.
One would think at International level the players would be better at taking penalties as it was a near farce but yet again I mention Kelly who mastered the art.
Only 24K in the stadium (or maybe it doesn’t hold more .)
from what I have seen of Italy I give our girls every chance.
Morning Kelsey, well, it proved to be the perfect timing to make the changes.
Honestly, I’ve never seen so many poor penalties from England. Really out of character.
Morning Rico, after two hours of football many of those players were probably exhausted so I’m not surprised at how soft some of those penalties were. Maybe the powers that be should scrap extra-time in women’s football and go straight to penalties, maybe they should do it in men’s football as well because fatigue obviously affects the quality, technique and power in a players’ ability to score.
Morning Kev, that’s not a bad idea. I agree too, 120 minutes in that kind of temperature is energy sapping. Saying that, Bronze didn’t let it stop her, nor Russo.
Russo and Bronze were both excellent penalties Rico, the rest easily forgettable, one Swedish girl took a lovely penalty into the roof of the net but most of them were grass-cutters
It was a cracking game with Hannah H making vital saves. Well deserved Woman of the Match. I thought it was over when they went 2-0 down BUT we should know by now that Serena knows how to turn a game around and she did exactly that with the team, so Ellen White shouldn’t be questioning Serena, especially as she wouldn’t have known what to do!! However, I think the women need to practice taking penalties! 🥴 just in case they find themselves in that situation again.
Will we be seeing Gyokeres this weekend/next week? Getting very boring now 😴
Agreed Kev.
Russo forgot her shooting boots in ordinary time though.. lol
I thought Kelly won the motm award Laura..
Roof of the net and top corners are a must in Ladies football , with keepers 5 foot 7 & 5 foot 8 the goal is gaping . When you sometimes look at the men’s game it’s hard to know where to put the ball with 6 foot plus keepers who naturally are bulkier . Both of the girls last night were small and slight by comparison. It would pay to practice the higher kick and risk the over the bar shot rather than trying to roll it into a bottom corner.
motm? In a women’s game Rico! Tut tut. 😉
I think the Americans have it right M V P. Most Valuable Player.
BPOM = Best player of match
I’d humbly suggest Women of the Match, but nobody seems to know what a woman is these days? 😉
Depends how long they have been married . The only way to tell is to say ” my fault “
I don’t care Cicero. 😂
Arsenal’s new keeper is 5’ 11”, hopefully it’ll make a difference.
🤣🤣 Kev/Potter.
How about ‘matchless woman or lady’ of the game ?
Just suggesting!
Cracking game last night, generally speaking, especially if you were hoping for a cardiac arrest! Think I may have had about 11 during the penalty kicking side show. Right result but I’ve never seen so many absolutely abject penalty attempts. However, I take Kev’s point that there were signs of severe exhaustion with the exception of the last Swedish performer who had only just come on. Over the bar we go…….what a miss!