History has been made. History was made last Monday too but that is history now. This was bigger, more recent history.
The first time England women’s team has reached a semi-final of a World Cup, the first time an England senior team has got this far in a tournament since 1990.
A tense match
Whether you stayed up to watch it or you saved it for the following morning, if you weren’t moved by any of it then you’re as unfeeling as the stone sculpted statue in Vancouver Bay that was bedecked in a Canada women’s soccer shirt in the days leading up to the game. Regardless of whether you wanted England or Canada to win, it was as tense and compelling as football matches ever get. I nearly had kittens. Several litters of them. Penalties might have finished a few of us off. (Apparently, according to an American friend who tweeted me, Fox Sports TV who were in the commentary booth next to myself & 5 Live’s Caroline Barker made reference to our noise levels and reactions to every little piece of match action in the dying minutes. Oops.)
I was trying to distract myself a little and tweeted: “Is ANYONE enjoying this? #justasking” and hundreds of people replied detailing the various states of anxiety (and fatigue & number of drinks) they were going through. Having such late kick off times may be bad for the masses, though 1.6 million people still managed to watch BBC1, but it adds something extra to the narrative of this ongoing story.
There’s no need for me to go over the details of the game, of mistakes and goals and goalkeeper substitutions and heroic defending, or rehash a match report for you. We’re more than 24 hours on and the newspapers and popular people have printed and tweeted their admiration and approval. It’s brilliant and fitting that they are getting the recognition that they deserve for their efforts and determination, it’s always difficult when you are in a different country and can’t watch the coverage on the BBC or pick up the papers but it seems like they really are ‘inspiring a nation’.
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Bluefin Sport have partnered with She Kicks to bring you a unique perspective on events happening at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 in Canada. For more information and other news from Canada visit www.bluefinsport.co.uk/womens-world-cup-2015 or follow them on twitter: @Bluefin_Ins
SHE KICKS – the online community for women’s football
