The masters of dribbling and the European champions are fighting for the title for the first time
Operation Lioness, like a TV series that is keeping many glued to the screen. And who knows how many will be cheering from afar this morning in England, while her Majesty’s lionesses will try to beat the Spanish, debutants like them in a world final. There is a small, so to speak, difference, however, between the two teams competing for the title. Because the English team led by Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh come to us as European champions and are trying to win a double unimaginable a few years ago, while the Spanish have not won anything, but many are European champions with Barcelona (club in which Bronze and Walsh also play) and even without being able to count on Alexia Putellas full-time they managed to get to the final act, not without ups and downs.
sexes
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It’s a match without favorites and above all a confrontation of styles: the balance, experience and aggressiveness of the British against the dribble and technique of the Spanish. Thanks to Arsenal striker Alessia Russo, there will also be a minimum of Italy on the pitch, given that the girl is of clear Italian origins (her grandfather emigrated from Sicily to England in the 1950s). Beyond the game systems and the choices (and the doubts, which are never lacking on the eve of a world final) this final also certifies the success of two nations that have grown dramatically in recent years. A capillary work has been done right from the base, that is, by the girls, and this is what the football federation intends to do in an increasingly decisive way in the coming years, after the failure of the blue expedition to Australia and New Zealand. Italy still without coach is at the window and is very interested, not only for the quality of the show that England and Spain are able to offer: in September they return to the field for the first edition of the women’s Nations League, which distributes the latest Olympic passes, and in Italy’s group there are both third-placed Sweden and Spain, as well as Switzerland. It seems – and in the end it is – an impossible group, but it could also be the starting point, the launching pad for the new generation selected by the now ex coach Milena Bertolini.
the battle of the sexes
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For now, all eyes are on Sydney and the last act of a tournament defined by FIFA president Infantino as “the greatest ever”. And full of surprises: in this regard, in the eliminated and traumatized United States the eternal debate is raging, whether or not it is appropriate for a coach to coach a team of girls. The Spanish mutinied months ago against coach Jorge Vilda, yet they reached the final. The English had a male coach, Phil Neville, but they started winning with the Dutch Sarina Wiegman, the first coach capable of taking two different national teams to the World Cup final. There is no certain model. Words from Jill Ellis, the coach (bi) outgoing champion: «Gender has nothing to do with it, as long as it is a capable person». Today we will know who was more between Jorge and Sarina.
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