Women’s World Cup 2019: Even in defeat, England are creating a lasting identity to rival USA

The Independent‘s World Cup columnist analyses the Lionesses’ semi-final exit and where it has left them

As the dust settles on England’s painful defeat to the USA, the pain and scars of the semi-final will linger, but the Lionesses will have no regrets. It was a razor-tight match, a truly magnificent spectacle for women’s football, challengers versus champions. Ultimately the result told of the finest of margins between winning and losing but it also revealed how close we are to catching up to the USA. Even in defeat, we’re there breathing down their necks.

The USA got off to a magnificent start, they pushed us onto the back foot and we struggled to recover in that lopsided opening 20 minutes. Ellen White gave us our belief back with the equaliser, but everything that’s been said about the reigning champions came to fruition. They may not have always been the better team throughout the game, in fact, they may have been second best in some aspects, but they’re clinical and ruthless.

Obviously, the girls will still be devastated. There’s no point dressing it up or making it sound prettier than it is. It’s incredibly tough to re-motivate yourself after defeat at this stage of the tournament. They’d probably much rather be going on holiday than competing for a bronze medal to be brutally honest.

We didn’t make the final, that was our goal, and Phil Neville was very public in saying anything else would be classed as a ‘failure’. But when we’re out there later today, it’ll be a special occasion being Karen Carney’s last game in an England shirt and the desire will always be there to win.

At the 2015 World Cup, we were also knocked out in a 2-1 loss at the semi-final stage, but you can’t just analyse where this England team is by stats. The growth over the past four years has been astronomical. We went toe-to-toe with the USA, I don’t think we’d have ever done that before. Of course, it’s always about winning, and we’re always living for the now, but there is also a longer-term goal.

People always talk about the USA having an identity. They’ve got an incredible mentality, they’re so physically strong. Take Alex Morgan’s celebration. If you’re the opposition, of course it’s going to irritate you, but it’s the American’s confidence and belief. As Megan Rapinoe said, this is the pinnacle of our sport and we’ve seen two iconic American players produce iconic celebrations. It’s clever, it’s impressive and it’s by no means arrogant.

I really believe that the Lionesses have taken massive strides to cementing their own lasting identity at this World Cup. They pushed the USA further than anyone else and, even after the final tomorrow, there’s no doubt in my mind that England-USA will be remembered as the best match of this tournament. There’s no need to do anything rash; no need to change strategy or do anything dramatic. The progress on and off the field is there for all to see. Now it’s about improving on those foundations.

The Lionesses react after the full-time whistle (Getty)

People often ask if we as players think about inspiring people when we play. The truth is, when we take to that pitch, we’re only thinking about winning. But the by-product of success is that the interest will follow. England captivated the nation during this campaign. That 11.7m people watched the semi-final speaks for itself. If the Lionesses can continue this progression, it’ll be 12.7m next time.

I fully expect the USA to defeat Netherlands in the final. In some senses, it would be a great shame if they didn’t win. Credit where it’s due, they haven’t sustained it throughout the whole tournament, but they’ve been absolutely incredible at times.

The USA celebrate their semi-final victory (Getty)

The Netherlands set up in a very similar style to England. They’ve got a clinical No 9 in Vivianne Miedema, a skilful No 10 in Danielle van de Donk and two lightning-quick wingers. They’re almost like-for-like through the midfield and the attack. They play with a very similar setup and style so the USA don’t need to adjust. Jill Ellis will just go out and tell them to stick with their same gameplan. If they can do that, they’ll win their fourth World Cup and nobody can truthfully claim that they don’t deserve it.