Kartik Krishnaiyer
England’s run to the semifinals of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup has been met by adulation back home and record television viewership.
The women’s game and the Three Lionesses are mainstream these days, but it wasn’t always like this. Even when advancing deep in previous tournaments the English women often toiled in relative obscurity needing to convince a somewhat chauvinistic public of their value. That bridge was finally crossed this decade, and as England prepares for an epic clash with the United States, we look back on how this current side was constructed and the struggles they’ve been through.
For years, the English women were the black sheep of the footballing setup at home. Ignored in a culture where football was considered a “man’s game” more than in just about any other western nation, they labored on in obscurity. During the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup when England reached the Quarterfinals before bowing out to the USA, outside The Guardian, you found virtually no coverage in U.K.’s daily papers, and no discussion of the tournament on football call-in shows. That the English women were doing as well in a World Cup as the English men had done seemed to barely make a dent at home– few noticed and fewer cared.
Aspiring young women’s footballers had to slog through underfunded tough conditions like Faye White did or go to the United States for both college and professional play like Kelly Smith. This trend continued even as England continued to improve from a results standpoint.
When Hope Powell’s England ladies made the Euro 2009 finals, it was overshadowed by a men’s youth tournament going on at the same time in the British press. The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup where England again reached the quarterfinals was again hardly noticed.
However, by the time the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada rolled around, the FA’s efforts to get the biggest football clubs in England more engaged in the women’s game had paid off and the Three Lionesses, now led by Mark Sampson, had a significant press following. Despite these gains, for much of the British public, women’s football remained a curiosity.
England’s showing in Canada where they finished third after a tragic late own goal put them out to Japan in the semifinals, brought optimism domestically. The WSL, the highest level of women’s football in England, began to see more corporate investment and with it, an ability to attract players from abroad. Critically, between 2012 and 2015, in the lead up to the World Cup in Canada, many top English players playing in the US or other locales returned home.
After England’s semifinal appearance in Canada, the media built up expectations for the 2017 European Championships held in the Netherlands. England again played well but were undone by the hosts in the semifinals. The drama that followed, however, would try the great strides that had been made in the women’s game through the years.
Longtime manager Mark Sampson was accused of racism by multiple England players. The Football Association conducted a clumsy investigation of the allegations and after months of back and forth ultimately opted to terminate the manager. Then, complicating matters, it took months for the FA to hire a new manager and when the appointment of Phil Neville was made in early 2018, many around the game were not happy.
Neville’s coaching qualifications before being named England manager were thin: a short stint as an assistant at Valencia first under Nuno Espirito Santos and then under his brother, Gary. Phil Neville’s analytical side, however, was frequently on display for Premier League fans, especially in the US as he was quite often tapped as a co-commentator when the American broadcaster needed extra hands on deck in critical weekends during Premier League play. Neville also showed off soccer mind in the popular documentary about Salford City FC, the lower division club he and several of his former Manchester United teammates bought.
Neville’s appointment was controversial, but since taking the post, he has proven the right fit for the job. He’s embraced women’s football, encouraged his players and critically has imparted a style of play and attitude uniquely suited to England’s personnel. Much of the style is borrowed from Nick Cushing’s successful Manchester City women’s team, a club which the majority of regular contributors for England either currently play or have previously played.
Entering the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the hype around the tournament resembled that of many men’s events.
The commitment of the BBC made the women mainstream on terrestrial television. Thus far, the tournament has outdrawn the ongoing Cricket World Cup which is being hosted by England and Wales on a per match basis in the UK. The traditional call-in programs dedicated to men’s football have been flooded by callers talking about the women’s game, the Lionesses and inevitably, given the way this tournament has proceeded, VAR as well. For the first time, a major women’s tournament feels like a major men’s tournament in the U.K., something as Americans we are long accustomed to.
Captain Steph Houghton salutes the crowd after England’s World Cup quarterfinal victory.
Neville’s team is led by Steph Houghton, captaining England in her second World Cup. Houghton has also captained Manchester City to five major domestic honors, though continental glory has remained elusive for the Blues as well as other top English sides. Houghton knows the expectation has grown for this World Cup back home.
Speaking to TYAC in March, Houghton indicated nothing short of making the final would be acceptable.
“At the World Cup, anything short of our first appearance in a final is failure. We won the SheBelieves Cup, which was great, but fell short at the Euros. So it’s about consistency. We have to develop the mentality of a serial winner. There’s a ruthlessness to that but we must think that way if we’re going to go home winners.”
The mentality of Houghton has impressed Neville, who told TYAC in March, “She’s grown as a player, which is remarkable because she was already so good. She hates losing, maybe more than she enjoys winning. That drives her. She’s a true leader, a player of class and character.”
Houghton has a solid central defensive partnership with Millie Bright, playing right in front of Karen Bardsley. The American-born Bardsley has been a longtime Manchester City teammate of Houghton’s and is arguably the best shot stopper in the women’s game anywhere in the world.
But England’s backline is as much about fullbacks as anything. Rachel Daly is a familiar face to NWSL watchers and right-back Lucy Bronze is arguably the best attacking fullback the women’s game has seen in years.
Bronze’s development as an attacking right back was on display with Manchester City from 2014 to 2017. In her first two seasons, her timely runs forward and ability to link-up with attacking players including England teammates Jill Scott and Tony Duggan were a critical part in how Cushing molded the City side, something Neville a former fullback himself as incorporated into the England tactics.
In 2017, Bronze moved to Lyon, the most decorated and powerful club side in the women’s game. The move has made Bronze an even more complete player and since her move, Lyon have continued their dominance of European women’s football, winning successive UEFA Champions League crowns. Neville, who knows a thing or two about fullback play, has touted Bronze as the best player in the world. Whether she is or is not, a consensus has developed that she is almost without a peer in her quality as an attacking full back in the modern game.
In March, Bronze talked to TYAC about the accolades she’s received as the best fullback in the world.
“I don’t worry about that. Wherever I play, I work hard. I prefer defending to scoring, prefer the part of the game happening in the middle of pitch and deeper to where the forwards play, so the position suited me. But I’ve played midfield too. I think that’s made me a better player with the ball, so I’m more than just someone who likes to defend and tackle.”
The modern game is filled with attacking fullbacks who tend to neglect defensive responsibilities. But Bronze takes genuine pride in her defending and is an integral reason England has not conceded in four successive World Cup matches entering the semifinals.
Ellen White celebrates a goal against Scotland.
Going forward England also has loads of quality.
The players at Neville’s disposal are so numerous that he’s used a rotation policy in this World Cup. While that rotation has led to criticism by some pundits back home, it’s kept the squad happy and fresh during a deep tournament run. The rotation has allowed younger players like Beth Mead and Georgia Stanaway to really wet their feet in the highest level of competition without having the burden of needing to carry a team. Another benefit of the rotation has been the freshness of Ellen White, who is suddenly a potent goal-scorer to go along with her legendary work rate. The rotation has also helped stars Fran Kirby and Jill Scott show little sign of fatigue or mental wear-and-tear in this tournament.
Neville’s philosophy was shaped largely by his own experiences as a player.
Explaining the 23-deep philosophy to TYAC in March, the England Manager said “We are a full team. You don’t build togetherness with eleven players. I learn(ed) that in my career, because anyone that watched knows I wasn’t one of the eleven players all the time. We were only as good as the bench, true strength comes from the bench.Everyone has to trust everyone, believe in the system, believe in each other. The difference between us at (the SheBelieves Cup) and prior teams is that bench and belief that it will perform.”
Jodie Taylor, who has spent much of her career here in the United States explains the transformation of England’s mentality under Neville.
“We have a winning culture, accountability, and respect, and he demands that. People fear us now, but every moment is earned in football, you can’t take any of it for granted,” Taylor said. “(Neville) prepares us with an urgency that emphasizes that, which we will need this summer,” Taylor told TYAC ahead of the World Cup.
The England team sheet oozes quality but it has taken a special sort of manager with his own ideas to bring the Three Lionesses to the brink of greatness.
While time can be spent looking at individual matchups in the semifinal Tuesday, like how will Crystal Dunn and Megan Rapinoe deal with Bronze and Nikitta Parris in wide areas, for me, as a longtime observer of England’s women’s setup, the key change under Neville is mentality. Past failures are seen as building blocks for a side that is now poised to breakthrough in the biggest way imaginable – and give a public back home starved of national team glory since 1966 something to shout about.
Kartik Krishnaiyer is Associate Editor and Content Director of The Yanks Are Coming. The author of multiple books about the beautiful game, he has served as Communications Director for the NASL, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and worked in the front office with The Miami FC. His work has appeared in numerous publications and podcasts. Follow him on Twitter at @kkfla737.