It could be a tactic to downplay the imminent disaster, or perhaps the English population genuinely believes it.
With just one day remaining until the biggest national sporting event in Australia, the tabloids in the UK have taken a cautious approach in hyping up the Lionesses.
Although the Matildas have already surpassed their previous World Cup performance by reaching the semi-finals, a victory on Wednesday would be a historic achievement for England’s women’s team, surpassing their third-place finish in 2015.
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England, the reigning European champion and ranked fourth in the world, is up against Australia, which ranks 10th.
After Sunday’s victory over Colombia, many UK tabloids were brimming with confidence.
Some front pages read: “Golden Girls!”, “Roaring into the Semis”, “Heart of a lioness”, “Now Bring on the Aussies”, “Goal Power: Lionesses in semi-final”, “How the Lionesses can waltz past the Matildas”.
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However, as the semi-final approaches, the tune has slightly changed.
In fact, The Sun newspaper has labeled the English squad as the underdogs for the upcoming match.
“England may go into the game as underdogs… they will not be overawed despite the hostile reception awaiting them in Sydney,” the tabloid wrote.
“There will be another 26 million across the country baying for the Lionesses’ blood, with an electric atmosphere in Sydney in the raucous build-up to the biggest football match in the country’s history.”
Perhaps they are also considering the fact that the Matildas won a friendly match 2-0 in April, and that England is dealing with injuries to captain Leah Williamson, forwards Fran Kirby and Beth Mead, as well as the absence of young star Lauren James who was suspended for two games.
Ian Herbert, The Mail’s football columnist, also acknowledged the overwhelming support the Matildas have received and the difficulty of overcoming that energy. He also highlighted Australia’s recent success against England in other sports.
“Australia has retained the Ashes and beaten England in netball’s World
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Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
Denial of responsibility! Samachar Central is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
