Women’s World Cup: A brief history of English football’s half-century of heartbreak

English soccer endured exactly 56 years of harm between Alf Ramsey’s World Cup victory over Germany at Wembley in 1966 and Chloe Kelly stabbing house the winner on the identical venue towards the identical opponents final summer season to safe the Euros for Sarina Wiegman’s aspect.

Now, England’s girls’s crew has earned the prospect to emulate Geoff Hurst’s exploits on the best stage of all once they tackle Spain within the World Cup ultimate at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Sunday morning.

While the Three Lions have come near glory within the interim – often struggling misfortune, often letting themselves down badly – Wiegman’s Lionesses have introduced nothing however pleasure since she took over as supervisor in September 2021, their achievements on the pitch doing the profile of the ladies’s sport the facility of good off it.

While England breezed their approach to the trophy a 12 months in the past, taking part in free-flowing soccer with a settled first-team lineup, they’ve needed to present one other aspect to themselves in Australia and New Zealand, digging deep to grind out wins over opponents within the group stage like Haiti and Denmark and discovering methods to win towards Nigeria, Colombia and Australia within the knockouts with out at all times being at their finest.

There have been accidents too – to Leah Williamson and Beth Mead earlier than the match started and to Kiera Walsh throughout it – and self-inflicted setbacks like star winger Lauren James’s naive pink card within the spherical of 16, incomes her a really avoidable two-match suspension.

There is not any query the Lionesses have every part they should triumph on Sunday, nonetheless, as long as they keep centered, stay true to themselves – and recall a number of well timed warnings from history.

Here’s a fast look again at England’s largest match disappointments between 1967 and 2021, ought to Sarina Wiegman’s aspect require any additional motivation forward of the large one.

World Cup 1990 semi-final

One of essentially the most storied World Cups of latest occasions, Italia 90 will eternally reside on in English nightmares, with Gazza’s tears as unforgettable as Luciano Pavarotti straining on the cummerbund to belt out “Nessun Dorma”.

After 20 years of worldwide underachievement, England had emerged from the group stage to see off Belgium and Cameroon and arrange a mouth-watering semi with previous rivals Germany on the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin.

On the evening, Bobby Robson’s crew performed out a torrid 1-1 draw and an especially tense, goalless interval of extra-time earlier than inevitably dealing with a penalty shoot-out.

Gary Lineker, Peter Beardsley and David Platt all transformed from the spot however the normally impeccable Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle couldn’t on a night as emotional and operatic as its soundtrack that will be relived in agony for a few years to return.

Euro 1996 semi-final

While there was a lot to relish concerning the first worldwide soccer match to be held on English soil since 1966, with the nation united by Frank Skinner and David Baddiel’s immortal anthem “Three Lions”, all of it resulted in grimly acquainted circumstances underneath Terry Venables.

Paul Gascoigne’s magnificent strike towards Scotland, an uncharacteristically medical 4-1 trouncing of the Netherlands courtesy of Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham and Pearce’s livid redemption from the penalty spot towards Spain had introduced real perception that victory was in sight earlier than Germany reared their ugly head once more, forcing penalties after one other 1-1 draw.

This time, a sure Gareth Southgate was the unfortunate man from the spot.

World Cup 1998 spherical of 16

It was penalties but once more that did for Glenn Hoddle’s England at France 98, this time towards Argentina after a dramatic 2-2 draw that had seen a younger Michael Owen break free to attain a career-defining surprise objective and David Beckham despatched off for a petulant kick out at Diego Simeone (a foul not dissimilar to Lauren James’s towards Nigeria).

Paul Ince and David Batty missed the essential kicks in Saint-Etienne however the shame was Beckham’s, who was hounded by opposition followers when he returned to motion for Manchester United a month later and was solely belatedly forgiven.

World Cup 2002 quarter-finals

Four years later, in Japan and South Korea, the Three Lions had emerged impressively from a tough group and crushed Denmark 3-0 within the spherical of 16 earlier than developing towards eventual winners Brazil within the quarters.

Having taken the lead by Owen, England ended up happening 2-1 to objectives from Ronaldinho and Rivaldo in what was a fairly classic South American aspect, additionally together with the likes of Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Golden Boot winner Ronaldo, O Fenomeno himself, again with some extent to show.

The completely filthy lob Ronaldinho drifted over David Seaman for the equaliser in Shizuoka was very like the objective Colombia’s Leicy Santos scored towards Mary Earps within the quarters of the present match final weekend.

World Cup 2018 semi-final

After a string of disappointing tournaments – ending with losses to Portugal in 2006, to Germany in 2010 (with the assistance of at the least one dodgy determination to disclaim Frank Lampard a wonderfully legitimate objective) and a failure to even escape their group in 2014 – new supervisor Gareth Southgate discovered private redemption and impressed an unlikely run on M&S waistcoats in Russia 5 years in the past.

After a workmanlike development by the teams, England noticed off Colombia earlier than pleasure actually reached fever pitch once they beat Sweden 2-0 within the quarters, inspiring at the least one set of overly-refreshed patriots to smash up a department of Ikea in euphoria.

Despite taking an early lead within the semi-finals due to Kieran Trippier, England have been step by step worn down by an excellent Croatian aspect orchestrated by Luka Modric, conceding first an equaliser to Ivan Perisic after which the winner to Mario Manzukic in extra-time.

Football didn’t come house in any case however, only for a second, it had felt like its return was written within the stars.

Women’s World Cup 2019 semi-final

Just a 12 months later, the identical destiny struck the Lionesses in France when their spectacular run to the semis was ended by the reigning champions, the US Women’s National Team, led by Alex Morgan and a very imperious Megan Rapinoe, who discovered time to have a blazing row with Donald Trump along with scoring within the ultimate and selecting up each the Golden Boot and Golden Ball.

Christen Press gave the Americans an early lead within the semi earlier than Ellen White pulled it degree, just for Morgan to internet the winner and provoke the gang with a mocking tea-sipping celebration that she later insisted had been misinterpreted.

Euro 2020 ultimate

This one continues to be a bit of uncooked. Southgate’s males had emerged, not particularly excitingly, from the teams of this Covid-delayed match with two wins and a draw – scoring solely twice however maintaining three clear sheets – earlier than beating Germany, Ukraine and Denmark to arrange an encounter with Italy at Wembley on a very rowdy summer season Sunday night.

Again taking an early lead, as they’d towards Croatia in Moscow – this time courtesy of Luke Shaw – England’s nerves acquired the higher of them they usually allowed the Italians again into it. The Azzurri duly equalised by Leonardo Bonnucci, dragging the match to additional time after which penalties.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bakayo Saka all missed their kicks, inspiring some totally appalling racist abuse on social media afterwards however then a really heartening outcry of public assist in response.

If there’s a lesson in all of this for the Lionesses, it’s that their very own penalty file of late is reasonably higher than that of their male counterparts.

Earps beautifully stored out the Brazilians to win the Finalissima in April this 12 months as England received the shootout 4-2 and Bethany England, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and the mighty Chloe Kelly (at all times a participant for the large event) all hammered house their spot-kicks within the latest victory over Nigeria, suggesting they could be much less inclined to crack underneath stress.