From the shopkeeper who spent five minutes explaining to me why Australia captain Sam Kerr was missed at the Jul 27 match against Nigeria, to the thousands of supporters packing into fan zones for the Matildas, this festival of football is elevating the women’s game to the next level.
NO MORE LAZY STEREOTYPES
Refreshingly, the lazy stereotyping around women’s football has been absent from this World Cup.
Instead, the action has been enjoyed and analysed on its own merit, rather than subjected to constant comparisons with the men’s game. The ever-increasing standard of women’s football has certainly helped to even the playing field.
There’s an infamous clip of two football pundits laughing on live television at highlights of the 1998 Women’s FA Cup final between Arsenal and Croydon.
It’s a scene that is almost unimaginable today. The 1998 final was littered with mistakes, poor goalkeeping, mis-hit shots and physics-defying deflections. What we are witnessing at this World Cup is, quite literally, a different ball game.
I may be a biased Englishman, but the Lionesses’ 6-1 dismantling of China in the group stages was a fantastic example of how good women’s football can be.
Some of England’s goals were nothing short of sensational, with Lauren James showing what she can do with her feet when she’s not sticking them into the back of Nigerian defender Michelle Alozie.
And if you’re still doubtful about the standard of women’s football, then please go and watch Marta Cox’s free kick goal for Panama against France.
#Commentary #shortage #drama #excellent #football #Womens #World #Cup
