Fara Williams reflects on England's road to final and Women's World Cup fever
It’s been nearly two weeks since the Lionesses made history as Women's World Cup finalists - and Fara Williams has reflected on the journey.
Indeed, it was a bittersweet moment, proud of their legacy yet distraught at the result. Sarina Wiegman ’s side watched the World Championship trophy slip from their grasp in a 1-0 loss to Spain at the half-hour mark, unable to find the reply.
Despite their tremendous achievement to reach the final stage, England's road to the final ultimately ended in defeat. “If I was a player and I didn't perform well but we won, I’d be happy," Williams told Mirror Football.
“I felt they were lucky with their results. As a fan and a former Lioness and knowing the abilities of the players I wanted more from them - I wanted performances to go alongside the result.
Williams is the highest-capped England player from both the men’s and women’s sides with 177 to her name before retirement in 2021. The 39-year-old former Lioness-turned-BBC pundit looked on, sometimes nervously at her fellow international teammates in the Land Down Under.
Earps reacts to FIFA Best nomination and on season so far with Man UtdShe said: “I felt like Nigeria was certainly a game they [England] should’ve lost and against Columbia, two defensive mistakes. One from the goalkeeper and one from the centre half letting Columbia go through.
“I think our best performance was probably under the most amount of pressure against Australia and then, they [England] lost in the final which, I think, was only a matter of time. Coming up against big teams and not performing… and that's what happened in the final.”
And she would know, the former midfielder was part of the England set-up from 2001 to 2019 making appearances at the 2007, 2011 and 2015 Women’s World Cups - only to be dropped by Phil Neville for the 2019 tournament.
Undeterred by the Neville snub, Williams continues to devote her life to the beautiful game travelling across the globe for punditry duties. Williams captured a moment of World Cup fever, something never before seen in the Women’s game.
She said: “I was in a lift after the England-Australia game and a little boy was crying his eyes out and it was just one of those things … did I ever think I’d witness a dad and his son crying at the fact the Women’s team got knocked out of the world cup? … probably not.
“So that was probably the moment I went ‘Wow okay this is real’. But, to be fair to them, when I landed every billboard, train or bus or whatever had the girls pasted all over it, everyone was wearing the shirt, there was just yellow everywhere.
“I spoke to a couple of people in the street who had never been to a women’s game before and the fact that they came back [to watch another game] and they didn't come back alone. These are guys taking their little boys and daughters back. I think that was powerful with what the Matildas did there.”
The tournament saw a flurry of younger players take the helm and quash the status quo of the Women’s football rankings, Williams commented: “I didn't know too much about [Linda] Caicedo going into the tournament and I thought she was exceptional.
“Sophia Smith, the American. I’d heard about her, didn't know too much and felt she did really well. We all knew about [Aitana] Bon Mati but she’s still young.
“[Salma] Paralluelo! An unbelievable performance from her winning the u17’s World Cup, 20’s World Cup and then the senior World Cup not bad for a 19-year-old right!” she added laughing. “Especially when I’ve spent 23 years in the game it's like, what?!
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