In this issue:
Taking a while to sink in
World Cup preview listening
Malala madness
I’m writing this on Sunday morning in Sydney ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup Final. I’ve been to World Cup Finals before, but waking up knowing you’re going to be watching your team play is a strange and amazing feeling.
It still doesn’t feel real that England are in a World Cup Final. It hasn’t sunk in since the semi final game on Wednesday and I’ve been trying to work out why that might be.
It might be because I wasn’t sure if England would ever get there, especially this tournament and the injuries and players that are missing. There was also the issue of performances and form heading into this tournament. I had tempered my expectations massively so this final has come as a bit of a surprise/shock, in a good way.
But, what I think makes this whole tournament feel even more surreal is the fact that England’s journey to the final hasn’t even involved the USA. I know it’s a running joke that the USA will seek to insert themselves in the narrative any means necessary but I’m sorry to say when you’re World Cup history is that strong its bizarre that the US didn’t get a say in this.
In my mind, any road to World Cup glory had to involve defeating the USA. I also thought that England’s tournament would definitely end in a quarter final defeat to Germany. In fact, England haven’t had to play either of those teams but have played their way into a World Cup Final. It shouldn’t require two of the biggest teams in the history of the women’s game to validate England’s place in the final, but for some reason my head can’t compute that England have got there.
Maybe it will all sink in when I get to the stadium or maybe when the teams come out of the tunnel. Perhaps the stress of the game will be easier when my mind doesn’t actually realise this is a final.
What I definitely can contemplate is the phenomenal grit, determination and focus of this England team. Without three key players and two experienced heads who retired after the Euros, they have achieved a new level of greatness already.
World Cup preview pod
Jessy Parker Humphreys and I recorded a quick World Cup Final preview pod that you can get stuck into before the big game today.
Malala
Speaking of surreal moments, Jessy and I had the honour of chatting to Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and Khalida Popal, former captain of the Afghanistan women’s national team in Sydney. Khalida has been instrumental in helping members of the Afghan team escape the Taliban and some of the players are now living in Australia and still playing football.
Malala has been supporting Khalida’s campaign for the Afghan women’s team to be reinstated by Fifa so they can compete again.
We spoke to them both about the power of football, this special tournament and of course karaoke.
So, that’s it. The next newsletter will be coming after a World Cup Final. It will be heartbreak or happiness.
See you in a bit!