Football is coming home. Really this time. After the 8:0 against the co-favorites from Norway, a whole nation is dreaming of the European Championship title in their own country. The players still can't believe it at all.
Three-packer Beth Mead pressed one teammate after the other very tightly, the English fans euphorically agreed to their "Football's Coming Home" - and the island press went overboard with hymns of praise: The motherland of football dreams more than after the historic European Championship triumph against Norway ever from the first major title in women.
"Deadly warning to the rivals," sounded the tabloid "Sun" after the brilliant 8-0 (6-0) in the second preliminary round game. The "Daily Star" wrote of the "GrEIGHTest Show", a "sizzling England" saw the Daily Mail. "Rampant lionesses fire the EURO signal", was the headline in "The Times" after the biggest win in the history of the European Championship.
Coach Sarina Wiegman, who already won the European Championships at home with the Dutch women in 2017, put on the brakes on euphoria despite the demonstration of power. "We always try to play our best game and this time we succeeded. It makes no difference whether you win 1-0 or 8-0. We haven't won anything yet," emphasized the 52-year-old energetically. The Lionesses secured group victory with six points before the final against Northern Ireland on Friday. In the quarter-finals it is against the runners-up in German Group B.
And no one wants to meet this unleashed England so early in the knockout stages. High-intensity pressing, lightning-fast combination football and enormous wit drove the Norwegian team around ex-world footballer Ada Hegerberg to despair. "I don't think I even dreamed of this," said Mead, "I can't put it into words."
The winning goal scorer from the opening game against Austria also stood out in the supposed group top game against the two-time European champions in front of almost 29,000 fans in Brighton with three goals (34th/38th/81st). "Mead is a goal monster," enthused former England international Ian Wright. "It's an incredible feeling to feel something like this," Mead said, shaking his head in disbelief over and over again.
Since star striker Ellen White with her double pack (29th/41st) and future Munich player Georgia Stanway (12th, penalty kick), Lauren Hemp (16th) and Alessia Russo (66th) showed themselves to be accurate, the English team inevitably moved in the role of the top favorite.
"It was a very special evening and we're really happy. We showed how good we are," said Wiegman: "At the same time it's just a game." A game that has certainly left a lasting impression on the competition.
