From star turn to the conductor. Five minutes have passed since the full-time whistle and Ellen White is leading the crowd in their now anthemic post-match version of Sweet Caroline.
Each of the duh-duh-duhs – you know the bit I mean – were greeted with a punch forward of which a middleweight boxer would be proud. Tears in her eyes, White was basking in sights and sounds she probably never believed she would experience.
Who knows if those moments were the best of White’s life. When you are closing in on becoming the record senior goalscorer for your country there are plenty to choose from.
Sunday’s final might eclipse it anyway; that is the plan. But for at least two or three minutes she is in a trance, at one with the crowd that are proud to be at one with her. So good? You better believe it.
White’s match statistics from England’s glorious semi-final night in Sheffield: two shots, one of which was on target and dribbled towards the goalkeeper. No chances created. No incidents in which she won possession. One header won. Four passes completed. Thirteen touches of the ball.
Were you inclined to judge a player by their data, which some are prone to do, you would think that White had been anonymous.
So use your eyes. White was everywhere. During those first 30 minutes, when England were under serious pressure, she effectively played the role of defensive centre forward.
She sprinted at Swedish defenders in possession of the ball in the manner of a small child that has no concept of its own fatigue. She shoved into opponents and hurried them into touch. At least two of her touches were tackles by her own corner flag.
White has arguably the most expressive face in sport, fuelled by uber-competitiveness. Every lost throw-in decision provokes a scream to the heavens.
But White also had a significant role – again selfless – in England seizing the advantage. In the last 15 minutes of the first half she dropped deep to show for the ball. She rarely received it; that wasn’t the point.
With defenders drawn to White, the wingers and full-backs pushed high and suddenly had space. Rather than the ball being passed to White, it bypassed her. England’s biggest predicted pre-tournament goal threat had become a decoy.
White’s role marks an extraordinary transformation in England’s attack. She entered this tournament as the great goalscoring hope – how could they hope to win without her in prolific form? But Sarina Wiegman has created a team that provides goals from everywhere; everywhere other than White.
She has scored two of England’s 20 – both in an 8-0 win – a total matched or eclipsed by four of her teammates. Rather than a goalscorer, White is the focal point around which an elite band of attackers fizzes – Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead, Fran Kirby, Georgia Stanway.
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In the build up to the quarter- and semi-finals, Wiegman was asked repeatedly whether she was considering starting Alessia Russo instead of White. Each time, she responded with a look that conveyed, in the nicest possible way, that we just didn’t get it. The plan worked, you see.
This wasn’t about first-teamers and substitutes, only starters and finishers. There was no hierarchy. White knackers out the central defenders and then Russo comes on to exploit their tiredness. England have two teams and Wiegman figures that that gives them two chances to win the match.
Two years ago, then coach Phil Neville explained that he had demanded White become a little more self-serving when she admitted she didn’t even keep count of the number of international goals she had scored. “We’ve worked really hard on her staying between the goalposts, being really selfish, having that – and I don’t like comparisons – Shearer, Michael Owen, Ruud van Nistelrooy type of ruthlessness,” Neville said.
Fast forward, and Wiegman clearly has a different plan for White. Selflessness and humility aren’t things to change – they are ingredients in England’s success.
For years, young England players have thrived off the way White has trained, prepared herself for matches and fought to squeeze everything out of her own ability. Now they are reaping the rewards of her work on the pitch.
And if she gets to lead the crowd in one more victory song, nobody will care less about goal records and individual praise than her.
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