England is well into its Euro. Carried by their public and a superb atmosphere, the “Lionesses” took the 1-0 measure of Austria at Old Trafford in a complicated opening match.
FIRE ATMOSPHERE. The event was expected, the party was at the rendezvous in the mythical “theater of dreams” Mancunian. The opening ceremony, launched in a “so British” atmosphere, animated the crowd with flames, fireworks and thus perfectly fulfilled its purpose. White-hot, the public carried their team into a difficult match where the English, failing to take shelter, remained under threat from the Austrians.
IGNITION DELAY. “We just want it to start,” England manager Sarina Wiegman said before kick-off. This desire, this impatience was translated on the ground by a rather tense entry into the matter by the players of the Dutch technician. But Lauren Hemp and her teammates gradually set their claws on a meeting that they largely dominated as soon as they opened the scoring.
The opening match of this Euro Ladies was sold out in the Old Trafford stadium. [LUDVIG THUNMAN – Imago]
THEATER D’UN REVE. Beth Mead will be remembered as the tournament’s first goalscorer. And how ! The teammate of Lia Wälti at Arsenal, but also of the Austrian goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger, made a magnificent amortization of the chest on a delight of pass from Fran Kirby over the Austrian defense and lobbed her teammate in club (16th). Despite the clearing of the opposing defense, the ball crossed the line well.
AFFLUENCE RECORD. With 68,871 spectators, this opening match crushed the attendance record during a Euro. During the final of the 2013 edition, the poster between Germany and Norway (1-0 victory for the Germans) brought together 41,301 fans in Stockholm. This new record will be beaten on July 31 with the 87,000 expected at Wembley for a final that the “Lionesses” finally hope to reach after their failures in the semi-finals at the 2015 and 2019 Worlds as well as at Euro 2017.
Manchester, Ludovic Perruchoud