The last time England’s women’s football team played a championship final on home soil, it was on a mud-bath pitch in front of near-empty stands.
But today, the nation’s new-found darlings, the Lionesses, are expected to be watched by 15 million TV viewers.
The difference between a team that will be introduced to Prince William at Wembley and their predecessors who played in that game in 1984 at an unheralded ground in south Bedfordshire is symbolic, too, of the immense changes that have taken place in British society. Women’s football has captured the public’s imagination.
In fact, the joy the Lionesses have brought recently could be said to have matched the reaction to anything the men’s squad has done.
Boris Johnson encapsulated the feelgood factor yesterday when he praised the team in a message ahead of today’s Euro 2022 final against Germany.
FLYING THE FLAG: Forward Beth Mead, who scored against Sweden on Tuesday, at the England camp yesterday
Alessia Russo of England celebrates after scoring her side’s third goal during the UEFA Women’s Euro England 2022 Semi Final match between England and Sweden/Belgium at Bramall Lane on July 26, 2022 in Sheffield
He said: ‘Your passion for the game, your tenacity in tricky spots and above all your astounding talent on the pitch have already created a summer of fantastic memories for millions of us.
‘In any pride it is the lionesses who ruthlessly hunt as a team and bring their prize back home, and I am sure that will be the case against Germany.
‘But whatever happens at Wembley, I know that, the next morning, the pitches and playgrounds and parks of this country will be filled as never before with girls and women who know beyond any shadow of a doubt that football is not just for boys – it really is for everyone.’
Tickets for the final sold out before the tournament began. Some have since been resold for almost 20 times their original price.
Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge are expected at the game with daughter Princess Charlotte, seven – a keen player who is said to be ‘really good in goal’.
After England’s semi-final win, Prince William congratulated the team, saying: ‘The entire country is so proud of everything you’re achieving. We believe in you and will be with you all the way!’
When England, who have never won the tournament, played that final in 1984, some players’ husbands were unable to join the crowd of 2,500 at Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road ground because they could not afford the transport. The game only had halves of 35 minutes instead of 45 and a smaller ball than that played with by men was used.
Former England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain describes tonight’s game as ‘the most romantic final as a football fan that you could wish for’.
Football fan Amelia Sowden from Ilkley inside the Fan zone on June 26
The Sander-Powell family from Taughton are photographed from inside the Fan zone
Tess Dolan, 8, has become an Internet sensation after being filmed dancing at the England Women’s game last night in Sheffield, pictured at her home in West Yorks, July 27
Numerous celebrities and sportspeople have sent their best wishes to the Lionesses. Formula 1’s Lewis Hamilton said: ‘Thank you so much for all of the incredible, inspirational work that you’re doing. Everything you’re doing is so empowering for young girls, for young people in general. It’s so inspiring.’
The British Beer and Pub Association predict that ten million pints, worth £40 million, will be drunk today as the nation prays for the end of the proverbial ‘56 years of hurt’ – the period since Bobby Moore’s England team won the World Cup in 1966.
Despite clamour in some quarters for a special one-off bank holiday if the Lionesses win, the Government has ruled that out.
More than 11 million watched England’s semi-final win over Sweden on Tuesday. At half-time today, the National Grid Electricity System Operator expects a surge in demand to 400 megawatts as viewers turn on kettles for a cuppa, and then another 550MW at full-time – the equivalent of 144,000 lightbulbs being turned on at once.
The game kicks off at 5pm and will be broadcast on free-to-air TV on BBC1, on BBC iPlayer or on the BBC Sport website.