England’s women produced a watershed moment for football in the country by winning the European Championships for the first time. The Lionesses defeated Germany in the final of the competition at Wembley as a strike in extra-time was enough to secure victory, sparking huge celebrations across the country.
For too many years, England was the 'nearly' team at major tournaments, losing out to Germany in Euro 2009 and being knocked out at the semi-final stage of the last two World Cups. The Lionesses have endured plenty of hardship, but they have raised the profile of women’s football, especially in England. The hope for the future is that the next generation of footballers will thrive amid the success of the Lionesses breaking through the glass ceiling.
It could even change perspectives in the future, with the potential of mixed teams in championships or the Olympics. The dynamics of the game are not going to change overnight with players appearing for Manchester City in the Champions League, where they are the leading contenders with odds of 11/4 for the crown in the Champions League betting odds. There will still be huge differences between the two games, although the drive and determination to get over the line as Sarina Wiegman’s team did is a characteristic that Gareth Southgate and the men’s side would love to have in abundance ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Breaking down barriers for an event at the Olympics would allow the two sides to come together and share the different attributes that are required to succeed in both facets of the game. The Lionesses were unabashed in their style at the Euros and were encouraged to play with freedom by Wiegman, who had previously steered Netherlands women to victory, and it worked with great success.
England not only won the tournament, but they played outstanding football in the process. They hammered Norway 8-0 during the group stage and put four goals past Sweden in the semi-final. It was tense at times against Spain and Germany, but their clinical edge and resilience were on display to overcome adversity to eventually claim the European Championship crown.
The men’s team could learn a few things about style rather than success, as Southgate would argue that he has drastically improved the fortunes of the Three Lions during his tenure. However, his team have not been easy on the eye, especially at major tournaments. The two national sides have shown togetherness throughout the Euros as many of the men’s sides were in place at Wembley or provided messages of support for the women’s team ahead of the final.
This highlights the fact that attitudes are changing towards women’s football in the United Kingdom to match those reflected elsewhere in the world such as in the United States and Germany, where it has been firmly entrenched as a major part of the sport for several decades. Those outdated views have been eradicated and the notion that men and women could play together on the field feels a lot closer to reality than it was in 2009, the last time England was in a major final. The Euros could open vital cultural floodgates
