The morning after the ecstasy of the night before, and the seismic roar of England's victorious Lionesses continued to reverberate across the nation, with calls to ensure their legacy is assured.
The immensity of their achievement may not have sunk in yet, but the new European champions, sunglasses much in evidence, took their party from Wembley's pitch to Trafalgar Square in style.
Confetti cannons, giant sparklers, and a 7,000-strong crowd - many waving flags reading, simply, "Home" - cheered as the squad linked arms, belted out Sweet Caroline, and once more held aloft the coveted trophy, that could, that should, turbo-charge the women's game. To those gathered in London yesterday to celebrate England's first major football trophy in 56 years, there was the real sense the narrative had changed irreversibly.
As the long-serving England squad player Jill Scott told the crowd: "Everyone who has put the shirt on, everybody that believed in women's football, we just wanted to be 'football'. And, hopefully, now that's how it's perceived to be around the world."
"I don't think they realise what they've done, yet," said Sue Campbell, the director of women's football at the Football Association (FA). "I think it will take some time for them to realise the legacy they have created here," said Lady Campbell.
Ella Toone, who scored England's first goal in Sunday's 2-1 victory over Germany, appealed to fans who had cheered the Lionesses this summer to come and support them at Women's Super League games. "I think a lot of people have fallen in love with women's football this summer. That's what we set out to do. So hopefully the crowds that we've had... we can get into our grounds at club level and some more fans at the stadium to be on the journey with us,” she said.
This story is from the August 02, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the August 02, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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