There were mixed emotions on show from the players as they made their way along the lines of interviewers in the press zone at the very depths of Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
They were clearly disappointed to have lost 3-0 to Germany on such a historic day for women’s football in England. But they still managed to take positives from the game. Here’s what a few of them – and the manager Mark Sampson – had to say:
England manager Mark Sampson
On what the match can do for women’s football:
I hope it’s part of a legacy. Today was a special day for everyone involved in women’s sport. Hopefully that can be the platform now to move on to the next level. I hope people enjoyed the occasion and the game and we want to say a huge thank you to every supporter who came out and made it such a special day for everyone involved.
On what he can take from the performance:
I thought we were positive, for large parts of the game we dominated possession and were in control of the game but in those breakdown moments the Germans are the best in the world and if you don’t get yourselves right they are going to punish you with clinical finishing. We have taken so much from the game and are in such a better place now.
On what he has learnt:
As a manager every game is an opportunity to learn about your team and I’ve learnt today that they don’t fear these teams, they want to give it a go and try to play eye-to-eye and be positive. The biggest lesson is they’ve got some character and spirit this group of players – to be 2-0 down against a world class team in this type of arena after 15 minutes, you’ve got to show some backbone to keep going.
On what he can take from watching the match again:
Coaches are naturally boring people and we’ll be sat down analysing that game over and over again to make sure that when we get together with the players we just tidy up a bit. One of the things the players did great was, some of the mistakes they made in the first half, they corrected at half-time. In the second half we were far less vulnerable to counter attacks. We created more opportunities ourselves, we had far more territory and possession of the ball.
England skipper Steph Houghton
On the scoreline reflecting the game:
The Germans are very clinical, they took their chances when they had them and we’ve come off the pitch a little bit disappointed. But I think that especially in the second half we grew into the game. Overall in the second half the team can be very proud, we showed a lot of passion.
On her pride at captaining England at Wembley:
It’s been amazing. I wish the result had gone a different way but it’s every girl’s dream to lead your country out but to do it in front of 45,000 at Wembley Stadium is definitely something that I will remember and so will my family and friends.
On whether England can challenge for Women’s World Cup honours:
We have to believe that we can. We’ve been beaten 3-0 by the best team in the world but we now know we can compete with them to a certain extent, we just need to tidy up on a few things, be a little bit more clinical in front of goal but defensively remain focused and switched on for the 90 minutes.
On the mood in the camp:
It’s a bit of a weird mood but you’ve got to look at the bigger picture. We’ve had a really successful season under Mark Sampson, we’ve had lots of changes – the way we play, we’ve brought youngsters in and are beginning to become a team that wants to play for each other. Of course you want to win and beat Germany but you have to give them credit. They are a world class team and they performed, especially in the first half, better than us and we have to take that on the chin.
On being out of season:
Obviously the Germans are in their season and we are at the end of a very long WSL season and World Cup qualification campaign but we had a 10-day camp prior to meeting up and two weeks in between and I think a lot of the girls have been training with their clubs. Of course you miss playing matches but I can’t use that as an excuse. We know that we’ve been beaten 3-0 and we know what we need to improve on.
Midfielder Jill Scott
On watching from the bench:
I think you are emotionally into it so your heart is going and it’s as if you’re playing because obviously they are your friends out there at the end of the day and you don’t want the team to lose.
On how she played:
I think I did alright. It’s always frustrating being on the bench but you have to respect the manager’s decision and just be ready when you are called upon. It was nice to get 20 minutes and play at Wembley and now I’ve just got to push on and keep trying to push into that starting XI.
On the game:
It was good to put ourselves up against one of the best teams in the world because we’ll learn so much from this, it’ll set us in good stead for Canada next year. I think we showed good attitude and it was a 0-0 second half. We could easily have let our heads go down and it could’ve been a bigger defeat but I think we showed good character and that’s something we can certainly build on for the future.
On the main differences between the two sides:
Just watching from the sides, I think Germany seemed bigger and stronger than us and they kept it simple with their touches and passes. We showed that in spells but it wasn’t often enough whereas they did it consistently. Hopefully if we can get that consistency then we can still hurt teams like Germany.
On the mood in the team before kick-off:
I think everyone was just excited to get out there. What a fantastic experience. Everyone’s families were there and everyone wanted to go out there and do their best. Hopefully it was a good experience for the fans and they’ll come back and keep producing crowds like that.
Striker Jodie Taylor
On the experience:
It was awesome minus the score. I’m glad that I got the opportunity to play in front of a big crowd at Wembley against one of the best teams in the world. I felt we were getting on top of the game so it was exciting to come on and bring that energy and start creating chances but unfortunately we ran out of time. I would’ve loved the game to have gone on longer.
On her performance:
I felt good. I had a couple of chances and played a little part in creating a couple of chances. It was good to threaten the back line and play my game.
On what was going through her head as she prepared to come off the bench:
Nothing really! I was just like: Yes. I’m ready to play. Watching, the Germans were physical, competitive, really athletic and I love that. It’s something I bring to a team as well. I always want to test myself and be the best I can be and I think playing against the top teams that is what is going to challenge you so I was waiting the whole game hoping that I’d get a chance and it was a great experience.
On the mood in the dressing room:
A bit mixed. We didn’t want to lose 3-0 especially when we’ve had such a good year but at the same time it’s kind of a benchmark. It shows the areas that we can improve on. We almost needed this to take us to another level because it’s easy to cruise when you are just winning and this highlighted some areas individually and collectively that we need to work on.
On the differences between the sides:
If we took too many touches they would swarm on us, defensively, as soon as we took over two touches, they just swarmed us. They were ruthless and they took their chances. Second half we were more successful because we limited our touches a bit and didn’t give them a chance to swarm us. It was 3-0 but for us to put that much pressure on them in the second half and end the game positively and get the crowd going again towards the end was really important as well. There are positives to take from it.
Striker Lianne Sanderson
On the result:
Losing always hurts but we shouldn’t be too downhearted because we’ve not really been tested that much in qualification and I think it’s important for us to test ourselves against the best teams. They are a quality team, the way they keep the ball and they are strong. I think we’ll learn from this and come back stronger.
On the huddle after the second goal:
Sometimes you have to regroup and remind yourselves of the game plan and I think it was important for Steph to bring us in like she did and give us a bit of information like keep the ball and relax and stick to our game plan. I think in the second half it could’ve gone two ways, we could have been completely steamrollered and lost about 6-0 but we came out fighting and that was testimony to everyone involved.
On the atmosphere:
It’s great. Let’s hope this can be one of many games at Wembley and it can continue as opposed to having one game and everybody forgetting about it. Hopefully we can have many more games here and get big crowds.
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