Georgia Stanway knew what she was doing, even if nobody else did. As she strode forward with the ball, the pass outside to an overlapping teammate presented itself.
“Pass it,” you screamed at the television. “Pass it,” hundreds of people in Brighton’s Amex Stadium shouted involuntarily, because passing was the obvious thing to do. Stanway thrashed the ball past Sandra Panos instead.
There is no better feeling than urging one of your players to do something only for them to ignore you and produce something wondrous. Screw your percentages; Georgia Stanway does not care for them.
A brilliant individual goal was created by the power of the team. It is easy to miss it, given the purity of the strike. But Lauren Hemp gets the assist without touching the ball. It is her run, stretching the game and placing doubt in the mind of Spain’s defenders, that creates the time that creates the space that creates the danger. From the touchline, Sarina Wiegman remembers to congratulate both of them.
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Spain had ummed and ahhed their way through the group stage, doing just enough but nothing to suggest that they were deserving favourites, but they had also dominated possession in every game. That made them a little one-dimensional: pass, pass, pass, okay fair enough someone has scored a header, pass, pass pass.
Here England knew that they could not simply sit off and allow Spain to dominate the ball. They were the hosts, they had another bumper crowd in to watch them and they were intent on making a statement that they merited taking over Spain’s mantle as tournament favourites partway through last week.
But it suited Spain. For when possession is more balanced, Spain are able to enjoy some space when they win back the ball. Their tiki-taka, short passing style is not done for its own sake, but done with purpose: a winger demanding possession out wide, a forward dropping deep into space, a midfielder demanding it off a defender and looking forward.
And it spooked England. They struggled to make connections in midfield, fearing the pressure from behind and rushing first touches. They were frequently pushed onto their weaker foot by intelligent opponents. They were sucked towards the ball and then passed around. Sarina Wiegman’s team were not humbled, but they were certainly hurried. Keira Walsh, supreme in her first three matches, was swamped and flailing in the first half. Rachel Daly, a winger playing at left-back, looked like a winger playing at left-back.
At 1-0 down, England stared down the demons that we never quite seem to shake off, merely meet for unpleasant rendezvous in far-flung lands or stadiums too close to home. They defeated Spain, but they defeated the doubts too. They saw the headlines on the back pages, bemoaning a group of just-not-quites. They probably envisaged the social media backlash; never forget that this isn’t easy for them.
This England team are a group of fighters. The squad is deep, substitutes familiar with their roles. Wiegman was brave, taking off Ellen White and Beth Mead – criticism would have flowed if it had not worked. They knew that Spain, eventually, would sit deep and try and defend what they had. The pressing would drop, the intensity subside just a little for those with clear heads to make the difference. Step forward Ella Toone, who kept England dreaming. Step forward Stanway, who means we’ll dream for another week yet.
Player ratings
By Kat Lucas
Earps 7 – Made some big saves and collected well when tested by Mariona Caldentey and again when England were cut through down the left
Bronze 7 – Again had more joy combining with England’s wingers, but was beaten by Caldentey on more than one occasion. Impressive blocks on Olga Carmona
Bright 8 – Had the biggest job battling the returning Esther Gonzalez in the air, but won most of her aerial battles
Williamson 6.5 – It became increasingly difficult to keep track of Gonzalez’s runs in behind but she does look like she’s adapting back into her role at centre-half
Daly 5 – Given one of England’s toughest assignments dealing with Spain’s wide players. Started well but Gonzalez’s goal came from her being beaten and had a pretty torrid night after that
Stanway 8 – Tried to be aggressive, but had to adapt to having far less movement than she enjoyed in the groups. A spectacular winner
Walsh 7 – In a midfield when England might have lost their heads, her greatest asset was in restarting moves once they’d been snuffed out by Spain again and again
Kirby 4 – Her influence was always going to be subdued when England have comparatively little of the ball. Dropped far deeper than she would have liked
Mead 6 – Combined well with Hemp as always but had so much less time on the ball than usual as England struggled to reach the final third
Hemp 6 – Spain’s full-backs had not fared well in the groups, so Hemp’s pace was always going to challenge them. Like Mead, though, her opportunities were scarcer
White 5 – A goal disallowed for offside and despite her trying to press early – getting a ball to the face in the first 10 seconds – she was largely left isolated
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