So another campaign ends at the quarter final stage for England. The brave lionesses were sent out of the Women's World Cup last night after misses by Rafferty and White in a tense penalty shoot out. It was a huge blow. After drawing 1-1 against France in the first ninety minutes and hanging on by a thread through extra time because of injuries to Smith and White I began to think that maybe, just maybe, we might snatch victory especially after Bardsley saved the first penalty. Then there was Smith's conversion to boost hope further. For half an hour she'd been limping, barely able to move to the ball but remaining on the pitch because we had no more subs left. When she walked up to take the third penalty I was amazed. 'Come on! Surely someone else will take it? But I should have had more faith and I should have known the psychology of football better. No way was Smith going to give up this opportunity. This was her Stuart 'Psycho' Pearce moment. She buried it, no messing.
But our two misses to France's one ended the dream of progressing to the semis.
From a neutral's perspective the right team won. France had played the better football, created more chances and shown more flare but England never gave up. They dug in. Bardsley had been fantastic - man of the match for me - saving everything that came at her. So much so that France's equaliser, in the 88th minute, came as a shock. Deserved but a shock nevertheless.
A bigger shock came in the next quarter final. Germany, the hosts and favourites to win, lost to Japan a team England had beaten 2-0 in the group stages. Japan were so tenacious, doggedly absorbing everything the German side threw at them.
The remaining quarter finals are Sweden v Australia and Brazil v USA. Prepare for more upsets!
This Women's World Cup has been a joy. The standard of football has improved drastically over the last few years; so much so that it is now a spectacle worth watching. Gone are the days of heavy defeats and embarrassing moments. These women can play as crowds of over 20,000 per match (72,000 in the opener) testify.
No comments:
Post a Comment