The Lionesses played at the new Wembley for the first time, against a top side – what an amazing event to be at, writes NATALIE CLARKE.
Now in case you hadn’t already gathered who the “fierce European champions” are- have a think about what country currently dominates the men’s game… It’s GERMANY of course! For those of you who already knew who England was facing, we all knew we were in for a test right?! With Germany being two time world cup winners and winning eight out of eleven European championships, they are one of the most, if not the most successful team in women’s football writes NATALIE CLARKE.
So for me my initial score line prediction was 3-1 to Germany. Playing at the home of English football was a huge occasion and historical day for not only the players but for the sport as a whole. I just hope with the slightly disappointing score line of 3-0 to the Germans have not dented the legacy in which Women’s football in the UK is hoping to achieve in future. With a record of a whopping 55,000 tickets being sold for the match the attendance number was 10,000 short. Now there are a few theories behind this being that the disruptions of trains and tubes could have stopped people venturing out to witness history; or more than likely because of the grotty weather- watching the match in the comfort of your own living room in front of the fire could sound more appealing to some! However, 45,000 is still great!
This was the first time I’ve ever been to Wembley… When I first took to my seat I couldn’t quite believe how small the pitch looked, I thought it would be humongous! That was my first initial thought- ha ha. With the stands filling up I was also surprised, yet impressed with the number of men which had come out to watch England Women play. It just gave me a sense of feeling that women’s football in the UK really is on the up! As for the atmosphere, it succeeded my expectations- with a band in the crowd playing all sorts of instruments including the drums and trumpets gave a familiar feeling of being at a men’s national game. With people singing/ chanting along to the band and of course cheering on England really added to the atmosphere! What an amazing even to be at!
For me I thought that all the England players found it hard to perform to their maximum ability because of the opposition they were up against. No one really had the chance to stand out because Germany were onto them in seconds. Germany are better than England in many ways- you can see that Germany possess a must win attitude, they are stronger, quicker and fitter as a whole.
Too many times England were getting pushed off the ball or beat to the ball. Their body types seemed to be similar; they all had real broad shoulders! Germany’s passes were virtually perfect every time and it seemed as though they were one step ahead of the game. Of course England’s passes were not good enough, in terms of precision, many times the ball would go into the path of the Germans which then aided them to counter attack.
The Germans were very intelligent players, they knew who the threats were and rarely gave them time to play. I noticed that when Lianne Sanderson was in possession of the ball, two players would press her and stopped her many times from creating anything. They also did this with Fara Williams, as a holding midfielder she tends to dictate play and releases the ball into the path of the attacking players in front of her. I also thought Captain Steph Houghton was solid at the back, dealing with forward Celia Sasic and distributing some faultless passes in transition play.
Although England improved their game in the second half, with conceding no goals and appearing more fearless it still was not good enough if they are going to compete with the best nations in the world! Now England know they have a lot to learn from the match, they have not been tested at this standard at all throughout the WC qualifiers with thrashing teams into double figures! Mark Sampson is an exceptional coach/manager in which I believe will get the best out of the girls and hopefully success at the World Cup in Canada this summer!
Bring on more friendlies against top class opposition, I say!!
Follow Natalie on twitter: @natclarkey
(Images: The FA via Getty)
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Want to read previous blogs on this subject?
Blog 1 is HERE.
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