It started at Wembley, then with an open letter to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak but more precisely, for most of the Lionesses demanding that “every young girl in the nation should be able to play football at school”, it began decades ago, when each was denied the same access to sport as boys in PE.
In the days after England’s Euro 2022 triumph, captain Leah Williamson insisted it would be her team’s “legacy” to ensure that would no longer be the case. Yet what followed was instability at Westminster – three Prime Ministers have occupied 10 Downing Street since Chloe Kelly swirled her shirt around her head following her match-winner in the final against Germany. As so often seems to be the case, women’s football fell by the wayside.
It took until 8 March – International Women’s Day – for the announcement to come. Last week, the Government confirmed that all schools will be asked to provide two hours of PE for all children per week. At present, the details are a little hazy about how it will be enforced, but the Lionesses have done their part.
“I think for us as players after the Euros we wanted to make a change to young girls in football,” England striker Alessia Russo tells i.
“We started a campaign led by [England defender] Lotte [Wubben-Moy], who decided that if there’s a time to change things it’s now after we’ve won the trophy.
“We wanted everyone to have a route in to play football, and we don’t want to miss out on any young talent coming through. For us as role models now it’s really important that we help the next generation.”
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Russo has since set about emulating another England legend, widely touted as the obvious successor to Ellen White following the retirement last summer of England’s record goalscorer. The 24-year-old did not start a game at the tournament but came on in every one, scoring four times.
Aside from White, she was England’s most physically imposing centre-forward. There are no obvious solutions, however, when it comes to the attack Sarina Wiegman will pick when the World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand in July, with England second favourites behind holders USA. Only Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw and Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly have scored more than Russo in the Women’s Super League (WSL) this season and Daly – who played at left-back throughout the Euros – is now part of the competition in the front line.
Lauren James’ emergence will almost certainly land the Chelsea winger a starting berth and Wiegman will also be looking to accommodate Chloe Kelly. If anything, despite Beth Mead’s vow that she will aim to make a shock return from her ACL tear in time for the World Cup, there are already too many forwards vying for just three spots. Ebony Salmon and Jess Park, who were not part of the Euros squad, are in contention too, which Russo believes has only added to the excitement around England’s World Cup prospects.
“Sarina coming in, she’s a true winner and it’s something that as players we’ve matched,” she says. “We’ve gone out there and put in good performances and it’s really exciting to be part of a really talented group of girls. There’s lots of tough games coming up but so far we’ve been doing really well.
“Camp is so competitive and everyone’s competing to play and show their talent but at the same time, everyone gets on with each other off the pitch and you get to go away with some of your best friends.
“Ahead of the World Cup, it’s every young boy and girls’ dream to play there, it’s a tournament everyone’s really excited about. First and foremost the competition’s going to be so high, the women’s game right now is at the highest level it’s ever been.”
Russo has become emblematic of the Lionesses’ story. A year ago, there was growing anticipation about her among the WSL’s more hardcore following, but it was at a home Euros that she became a household name. Indeed her famous backheel in the semi-final at Bramall Lane, the goal that tightened the screw on what had previously been a resolute Swedish defence, has now seen her nominated for a Puskas Award. She was one of the just three players shortlisted for the 2022 accolade, ultimately won by Polish amputee forward Marcin Oleksy for his scissor-kick against Stal Rzeszow.
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With more shots and take-ons per game than Chelsea superstar Sam Kerr and second only to Manchester City’s Bunny Shaw for attempts on target, Russo has been transformed from the reticent teenager who made her breakthrough in the Championship with Brighton, before heading to the US to play college football.
She is now just one goal off her tally of nine league goals last term thanks to her first ever hat-trick (in a 5-1 win over Leicester City last weekend), and after Manchester United rejected two world-record bids from Arsenal for their star forward in January, Russo could end the campaign with a WSL winners’ medal around her neck. United go into the weekend a point clear of second-placed Chelsea, and are at the very least poised to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.
By the end of August, that means she could be a world champion, a European champion and an English champion all at once.
Man Utd ‘can beat anyone’ but title hopes depend on matching Chelsea
Ask Emma Hayes and Marc Skinner where their respective sides are at right now and you are likely to get a starkly different answer.
Manchester United boss Skinner believes that “on our day we can beat any team in the country”. The trouble is those days rarely come against Chelsea, who have never a lost a WSL game to their current title rivals.
Hayes, meanwhile, has for the first time had cause to question Chelsea’s “hunger and desire” after comprehensively losing the Conti Cup final to Arsenal, admitting: “Sometimes you need a reality check.”
The problem, Hayes surmised – not that it went down well with Arsenal fans – was that “we’ve won a lot. They haven’t”.
Exactly the same can be said of United, who are yet to win a major trophy since turning professional four years ago, when Chelsea had already embarked on a run of four WSL titles in five years.
As the two highest-goalscoring teams in the WSL, it would be only natural to pin United and Chelsea’s hopes on Russo and Sam Kerr, but neither is that one-dimensional. Combined, United’s three top scorers – Russo, Leah Galton and Ella Toone do not even make up for half of their goal tally.
Chelsea’s attack has just as many prongs with which they will look to pierce United’s ever-present centre-back partnership of Maya Le Tissier and Millie Turner. Chelsea have continued apace despite another setback for Fran Kirby, their joint top-scorer alongside Kerr and since the winter break, they are averaging almost three goals a game.
It is perhaps United’s back four, statistically the joint-strongest in the league alongside Arsenal, that will decide the destination of the title. Nullify the champions on Sunday and they will take a considerable step towards handing a once unassailable Chelsea another big “reality check”.
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