The Euro 2022 final will be the biggest moment of their lives but the Lionesses have the chance to turn old vices into new virtues
It was rampant, it was dominant, it was refined and frankly – to anyone remotely conversant in the argot of English football – it was just a little bit weird. England, the host nation, have swept into the final of Euro 2022, schooling and subduing the world’s No 2-ranked nation Sweden in a 4-0 rout at Bramall Lane. No angst, no stage fright, no bitter heartache. Just fluid, expressive one-touch football and the sort of goals you score in your dreams. Quick, check their passports.
England expects: for so long this inflated expectation has felt like a lead weight on this team, freighting their every step with meaning, setting them up for inevitable failure. England’s women have never won a major tournament in their history. On Sunday evening, at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, against either Germany or France, they will get the chance to turn old vices into new virtues.
