The England Lionesses are two games away from being crowned World Champions. They have to dispatch Australia in the semis and then Sweden or Spain in the final like the other teams they’ve faced in this year’s Women’s World Cup, which kicked off on July 20th. Arsenal Women are well represented in the Lionesses camp, with Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben Moy, but had Beth Mead and their Euros captain Leah Williamson not been injured (both ACL injuries but at different times last season), they for sure would have played a huge part in the Lionesses World Cup campaign.
Barcelona midfielder Keira Walsh recently chatted with BBC about England’s World Cup run. Among the many things she spoke about was her injured Euros captain Williamson taking her time travelling to Australia to watch them make history again. Walsh noted how hard it must be for Williamson to miss out on the World Cup and still be there for them, but she lauds the Arsenal defender’s character and love for the team to be there for them.
“It’s a massive boost for the team to see her supporting,” Walsh said, as quoted by Goal, after suffering a knee injury scare of her own during the group stage. “It’s the other side of the world; it’s not an easy flight, and that shows what she feels about this team. The first time I saw her, she was outside my hotel window, waving. She didn’t want to distract us on game day. It was nice to get the win and celebrate after. I can imagine it’s not easy for her to watch; she would have wanted to be playing, so we appreciate her support. It shows what a good character she is to be able to that for us.”
It was frustrating for many to know that Leah Williamson would miss this year’s World Cup. But credit goes to the Lionesses for thriving even in her absence. They are now set to play the semi-finals against the hosts Australia in front of an 81,000-strong crowd in Sydney on Wednesday. All the best to them when they come up against Arsenal’s Catley and Foord tomorrow.
Michelle Maxwell
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