“We’re glad it’s over!” – England defender Millie Bright spelled out what everyone had seen: England were on the brink of being eliminated by Spain in the quarter-finals. The hostesses are now filled with pride and relief.
Ella Toone couldn’t get away from the reporters’ microphones. The words gushed out from the midfielder, who saved England with her 84th-minute goal against Spain: “We showed character,” beamed the 22-year-old from Manchester United, and: “We never gave up . And showed resistance. I’m proud!”
“It was a difficult game”
Her colleague Millie Bright was just relieved: “It was a difficult game. You could always see the talent of the Spanish players. We’re just happy that it’s over. And that it ended happily.” Her team captain Leah Williamson did not know such doubts: “I never had the feeling that we could be eliminated.”
Final stop for England in the quarter-finals at the tournament on their own country – but that was exactly the feeling that spectators and commentators crept over the course of the 84 minutes up to Toone’s equalizing goal. The Spaniards were strong. They played their best game of the tournament so far and obviously showed the English team the limits with their class and sophisticated technique.
Spain’s pressing too good for England
The English team, which had rushed through the preliminary round with almost frightening confidence, could not cope with the pressing of the opponents, nor with their security in the passing game. The English midfield was increasingly in vain, the top storm around leader Ellen White was almost completely eliminated by the lively southern Europeans.
And so the Spanish opening goal by Esther Gonzalez in the 54th minute came as no surprise. The Spaniards had already missed a number of good opportunities to take the lead. But then the time had come and the English women’s tournament came closer and closer in the following minutes. Spain had everything under control. Until – yes, until England coach Sarina Wiegman glanced at her substitutes’ bench and saw Alessia Russo there. She sent Russo and Chloe Kelly onto the field and suddenly the static of the game changed.
“The “mallet” turns the game around
England then brought out the mallet and put Spain under pressure with the force and determination of the substitutes. The fact that Russo had clearly supported himself in a header duel with Spain’s defense chief Irene Paredes when Toone forced the equalizer matched the game. England also had the good fortune of the capable here that referee Stephanie Frappard did not rate this foul game as such.
Sarina Wiegman didn’t care. She later praised the breadth of her squad, which was the deciding factor: “We have so much quality in the team that you can change at any time and then the performance gets even better. For us it almost doesn’t matter who starts and who later comes in. They all play at a consistently high level.”
“Hard to Take”
So while England capitalized on the momentum and future Bayern player Georgia Stanway’s extra-time goal sent them through to the semi-finals, Spain’s side were devastated. “We played really well,” said coach Jorge Vilda after the game, adding defiantly: “Even if it’s hard to take today, but we have a golden future ahead of us.”
On the ground: Spain’s hopes are gone
But the EM will continue without Spain. But with the hostesses. Who felt for the first time in the quarter-finals that winning the title, even in front of a home crowd, is by no means a sure-fire success. In the semifinals it will be against the winner from Sweden against Belgium. This game will certainly not be easier for the English women.