As Mary Earps emerged from a stellar performance against Sweden with England having qualified for the final of the Euros, she received a message of commendation from one of the world’s best goalkeepers.
“[David De Gea]’s just messaged me saying congratulations,” she revealed. “We message back and forth about results and clean sheets and stuff so that’s always nice to have his support.
“Obviously at Manchester United he’s really supportive of the women’s game.”
De Gea is one of Earps’ club teammates, but the crossover and atmosphere of mutual respect between the men’s and women’s games has been a hallmark of this tournament.
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Wiegman’s side produced an entertaining performance of the highest order and one befitting of the big names who came along to watch.
Yet this hasn’t been an endeavour undertaken by men’s players who feel they are attending out of a sense of responsibility and to further their own image; there has been a distinct sense of togetherness between the men’s and women’s game.
There is perhaps no better way to see that in action than to take to social media during a match and see male stars watching and enjoying the Euros.
As England triumphed, Reece James tweeted “Let’s go Lionesses”. Declan Rice honed in on the performance of a player akin to his own style with a succinct message: “Keira Walsh”, coupled with an emoji of a freezing cold face which from its digital parlance translates to “ice cold”.
Rice has proven to be one of the Lionesses’ greatest male allies, continually expressing the talents of the team on social media while also getting involved behind closed doors.
As Wiegman’s side trained for their June warmup camp, the beginning coincided with the men’s team’s Nations League campaign and the FA took advantage of that.
“It’s special and I’m buzzing for them,” Rice said of England’s Euros run in a recent interview with Sky Sports. “Whilst we were away with England in June we got to spend a lot of time with them because they were at St George’s Park as well.
“On one of the nights me and Kieran Trippier did a talk to them on our experiences at the Euros, and what a top group of people they have.
“The banter was flying, great conversation, and just watching them play has been really special.”
Wiegman is a collected operator who has helped foster a relaxed atmosphere in this squad and she shed more light on the talk the two gave her side.
“I think sharing experiences help; what they experienced on the pitch, off the pitch,” the England boss said.
“And there was a little formal thing and then an informal thing and in the informal thing players got into chats. That gives, first, a connection between men’s and women’s teams but also sharing things.
“That’s always good because you can pick out things. Maybe you don’t hear any new things but there may be one thing that helps you one or two per cent during the tournaments.
“There were lots of things about social media, about the fans, about a penalty shoot-out, how you prepare. I think social media is a big thing and the media.”
This isn’t a phenomenon which has been limited to England either. Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva travelled to Leigh Sports Village to watch Portugal; German men’s players including Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz (whose older sister also plays for the club) have been a part of magazine FUMS’ Euros predictions.
Wiegman’s side speaks for itself in the eyes of the nation, but the support of major men’s players could help get more people interested in their journey.
More importantly, this doesn’t seem to be a token gesture. From an England point of view, Gareth Southgate’s men know how to cope with the pressure of a tournament on home soil and they’ve been able to impart that important knowledge.
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