England seems to believe that they can do anything and everything. Which, for those who know a thing or two about England’s male side, should fill you with a sense of abject doom; no team has grown more accustomed to collapsing under the weight of enormous expectations that the Men’s English National Team. But fear not, the Lionesses do not operate under a cloud of quasi-self fulfilling prophecies. Their belief is, as redundant as it is to say, not tainted by disbelief.
Sure, they have only qualified for half of the World Cups in the history of the competition, and they have been knocked out in the quarterfinals in all of those, but those losses couldn’t be any more in the past. After a controversial managerial stint by Hope Powell — one which saw public outcries for her resignation and the alienation of some talented players — new coach Mark Sampson has instilled belief his players and preached the same to the media.
“We’re ranked sixth in the world, we are a good team and we’ve got some exceptional players,” Sampson has said. “We’ve got a very compact, resolute unit and we’ve got a real togetherness in the group so we’ll certainly be a difficult opponent for anyone in Canada.”
And he told Sky Sports News, “We feel we are a team that are difficult to play against and on our day we can beat anyone.”
His players believe that they can not only win, but that in winning they can change perceptions of Women’s soccer for all of England. No small triumph, that’s for sure.
All this belief is a strikingly good sign from the team, and has manifested itself on the field in qualifying as well. England have climbed all the way up to the 6th spot in the FIFA World Rankings after winning every single one of their qualifying matches, including two wins over Montenegro by a combined score of 19-0. That’s the kind of score that gets entire national team programs overhauled.
Unsurprisingly, England is a favorite to get out of Group F. They will face stiff competition from France (Ranked #3) for the number 1 spot, but it will be truly shocking if they lost out to Columbia(#28) or Mexico(#25) for the second.
England has talent and experience up and down its roster, even with the retirement of its record goal scorer: Kelly Smith. Lianne Sanderson has 15 goals in 46 appearances despite leaving the team during Powell’s tenure, and will likely be joined by Eniola Aluko, scorer of 32 goals in 90 appearances, up top. Fara Williams and Karen Carney have 242 games and 60 goals between them in midfield. Sampson’s England is somewhat of an unknown quantity at a tournament the status of the World Cup, and these proven players will go a long way when England faces a true challenge at Canada 2015, something that they arguably avoided all throughout qualification.
It is hard to gauge what to expect from England this Summer in Canada. The belief, talent, and experience are all there. And if Lianne Sanderson’s words are anything to go by, so is an appreciation for where the team stands at this moment:
"People can expect a team that is going to be ready. We have been preparing even before we qualified. If we don’t get out of the group I think people will see it as a negative thing, but we can only play against the teams we’ve been handed to in the group. We will put ourselves individually in the best physical, mental and technical shape. Mark and his staff give us the best opportunities to be at the best we can be. That shows in the games we’ve already played.”
But what will happen when all of these good attributes are tested against France in the group stages, or Germany, the USA, Japan, Brazil, or Sweden in the knockout rounds?
The Lionesses are not burdened with the label of choke artists like their male counterparts, in fact they hardly have a reputation in England at all, and that makes this summer all the more intriguing. The talk of changing the way women’s soccer is perceived can really be more than just talk if they go on to win the trophy this Summer. The field is open enough for them to do it. I see them getting knocked out in the quarterfinals, and who knows, maybe predicted failure is exactly what England needs to go all the way.
