Watching England in a major tournament final was once the stuff of legends and dreams. Now it’s about to happen for the second time in just over 12 months.
The men’s side captivated the nation as they hit the Euro 2020 flagship show at Wembley last summer, only to endure the cruellest of heartbreak of losing to Italy on penalties.
Hoping to take it one step further and finally take home their first major senior-level honor since 1966, the England women will face Germany in the Euro 2022 final on Sunday.
The Lionesses have progressed through the tournament on home soil and a television audience of 9.3 million tuned in to watch them beat Sweden 4-0 in the semi-finals on Tuesday.
But can Sarina Wiegman’s team succeed where Gareth Southgate failed? Sports post looks at what the Lionesses can learn from last summer’s final.
England’s hearts were broken in the Euro 2020 final when the Three Lions lost to Italy on penalties
Now it’s the Lionesses’ turn to try and win a major tournament final at Wembley Stadium
Don’t lean back!
When Luke Shaw scored after 117 seconds against Italy last summer, it felt like it couldn’t get any better. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the case.
As was the case in the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia, England’s early lead proved to be more of a curse than a blessing as it meant they sat back, applied pressure and eventually Italy tied the score.
The Three Lions recorded their lowest possession in a game at Wembley (34.4%) for nearly five years as they let their opponents dictate the game when they should have gone on to end the game. Making such a quick start and not building further felt like a huge missed opportunity.
Luke Shaw gave England the perfect start to the Euro 2020 final with a goal in 117 seconds
Fortunately, the Lionesses have shown that attacking is their central mantra this summer. They crossed eight past Norway in the group stage and then scored four against world number two Sweden in the semi-finals.
Leading just 1-0 at halftime against the Swedes, Wiegman could have easily told her team to just defend the second 45 minutes. But Lucy Bronze scored just three minutes after the restart and they continued to attack relentlessly. Maybe it’s the men who can learn something.
Beware of the ‘bring it home’ pressure
Sven-Goran Eriksson called it ‘the ghost of 66’. Every major tournament puts unspoken pressure on English teams to emulate Sir Alf Ramsey’s heroes and win another trophy. That pressure has proved too much for all parties in the past 56 years.
Playing on home soil – the case last summer and this summer – creates expectation, while Baddiel & Skinner’s three lions song ringing in stadiums can often bring pressure from other countries as ‘It’s coming home’ can be misconstrued as arrogance.
Can Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman help the English nation end their 56 years of pain?
For the most part, England’s men thrived under the weight of history last summer, but then collapsed into their shells when it came to the final.
The Lionesses must be careful not to suffer the same fate. Their dazzling displays deserve to finish in glory.
Don’t replace a player just for the shootout
Penalty shootouts can generally be categorized as a lottery, but if not prepared enough, they can go horribly wrong.
Gareth Southgate found that out in the final last summer when he made the bizarre decision to bring in Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho in the 120th minute for the sole purpose of the penalty shootout.
Both substitutes only touched the ball twice before the final whistle sounded, and they kept thinking about the biggest kicks of their career.
Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were brought in in the 120th minute of the Euro 2020 final
As we all know, the pair missed their attempts from 12 yards before Bukayo Saka suffered the same fate to hand Italy the trophy. Meanwhile, players like Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish were waiting in the wings.
The England women have only played in two penalties in previous major tournaments and lost both of them, including in the 1984 European Championship final.
“We have prepared and discussed every scenario that could happen,” Wiegman said before the Lionesses’ semi-final victory over Sweden.
Be tactically flexible
Southgate’s tactical prowess as a manager remains the biggest question mark hanging over the 51-year-old and his flaws were exposed in the Euro 2020 final.
England’s perfect start justified his decision to use a wing-back system, but Italy soon found out and wiped out the threat from the Three Lions by pinning Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw back.
Gareth Southgate’s tactical ability remains the biggest question mark hanging over him
It was only after Leonardo Bonucci equalized that Southgate switched to a 4-3-3 formation by replacing Trippier with Saka, but by then England had already wasted the best time of the game to lead two or three goals.
The Lionesses have so far stuck to a 4-2-3-1 system with the same staff at Euro 2022 and haven’t needed too many adjustments as they have dominated most teams.
However, Wiegman showed she is not afraid to change things up as England fell behind Spain in the quarter-final for the second time in her tenure.
Alessia Russo, Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly were all called in within six minutes and turned the tide of the game. Toone equalized and then Georgia Stanway found the winner in extra time.
Alessia Russo has come off the bench to score against Norway, Northern Ireland and Sweden
Russo in particular is England’s go-to plan B, coming off the bench to replace Ellen White in all five games to date. After scoring against Norway, Northern Ireland and Sweden, the Manchester United star could be the hero in the final.
Don’t isolate your striker
Harry Kane got off to a slow start at Euro 2020 last summer, but played a crucial role in England’s run-up to the final with the second goal against Germany in the last 16 and an extra time penalty to beat Denmark in the semi-final.
Against Italy, however, the Three Lions skipper was virtually anonymous. Only for the second game of his career in England, Kane failed to attempt a shot or create a chance for a teammate.
England women’s record scorer Ellen White should once again lead Sunday’s final
That wasn’t entirely the striker’s fault, though, as he was out of service as Southgate’s side leaned back. So the message is pretty clear: if you have a productive striker on your team, use it.
The Lionesses have one such player in record scorer Ellen White, who has only scored twice in the tournament so far, but has been a relentless hard worker and vital to the team’s success.
The 33-year-old earns another start on Sunday, before supersub Russo comes in for a famous win…