Former captain Faye White says the lack of media attention after England’s run to the European Championship final in 2009 was “soul destroying”.
The 45-year-old, who skippered the Lionesses for their 6-2 defeat to Germany in the final in Helsinki, was present on Monday to unveil a message of support laid out beneath the flight path out of Heathrow Airport for Sarina Wiegman’s side before they fly to Australia for the Women’s World Cup on Wednesday.
The message, large enough to be visible to the England party as their plane ascends over west London, reads “Lionesses, you’re our pride,” and is tagged with thousands of smaller messages of support submitted by fans across the country.
The move, which has been organised by one of the Football Association’s commercial partners Kind Snacks, marks the strides made in terms of backing for the women’s game, following the lack of media presence at the airport for the team’s return from Finland 14 years ago despite them having become the first England side since 1966 to reach a major tournament final.
“We always knew there was a community out there that wanted to support women’s football,” White, who won 90 caps and played at five major tournaments for England, told the PA news agency.
“But it wasn’t in the mainstream. In 2009, we came back expecting that there might be a few press at the airport. There was no-one. It was soul destroying really.
“What more did we need to do? No other England team had got to a final for decades. We just had, but just because we’re women it didn’t seem to matter.
“But I always knew there was a community of people, and of young girls who wanted to play. That’s what drove us on to become better and to push for this. In our time, we were saying ‘this has to change’. Now we’re seeing it. There are millions of girls who want to play this sport and who love it.”
The Lionesses are looking to build on their triumphant Euro 2022 campaign last summer by becoming the first England team since 1966 to be crowned world champions, and they kick off their tournament against Haiti on July 22.
Wiegman’ side completed their preparations on home soil with a goalless draw against Portugal in Milton Keynes on Saturday, a result the manager described as “disappointing” before insisting the European champions are on track to be ready for their World Cup opener in Brisbane.
They are among the favourites to win a first Women’s World Cup title, a tag which would have seemed unlikely during White’s 15-year international career.
Prior to reaching the semi-final in 2015, losing agonisingly to a stoppage-time own goal from defender Laura Bassett against Japan, the Lionesses had never made the last four of a World Cup.
They repeated the feat four years later, losing out to eventual winners the United States but cementing the team’s reputation as a rising power in the international game.
“From my experience, we always overachieved,” said White of her generation. “How we were supported and funded compared to other nations we were competing against; Germany, America, Sweden – their federations had always had a bigger budget, bigger support.
“In the last few years, getting to a World Cup semi-final was an achievement, but again an over-achievement. In my time, we always got to the latter stages when we weren’t even expected to get out of the group.
“As the game’s grown we’re getting further and further. It just shows what happens when you back it, when you support it – and that’s not just federations but companies, partners like Kind who have put this message on and shown what the England team means to the country and to so many people.
“There are thousands of messages on there that show how much other people, normal people with children who love the game, are supporting.
“I know what a message like this will mean to the players sitting on that plane. It’s an extra piece of the puzzle, that can bring more out of you, even when you’re trying 100 per cent. That extra bit of fight and resilience.”
::KIND Snacks have created a GIANT message of support for the Lionesses as they head off to Australia for the first game in the tournament. The 100m wide sign was made out of thousands of messages of support from the public, including ex-Lionesses Rachel Yankey and Faye White.
Fabian aiming for 'historic' Euro 2024 after impressive Spain comeback
Fabian Ruiz wants to "do something historic" for Spain after booking a place in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals with a 4-1 victory over Georgia in Cologne.
La Roja found themselves behind due to Robin Le Normand's 18th-minute own goal, but came from behind to register the biggest win margin from a losing position in the competition’s history.
Rodri got the equaliser in the first half, before Fabian, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo sealed the victory, with an eye-catching quarter-final against Germany next up for Spain.
Fabian praised Spain's spirit to come from behind and is already looking past their last-eight meeting with Germany.
"We played a great second half, the team gave everything on the pitch," Ruiz said.
"Germany? Any opponent is difficult. We know what a great team they are, that they play at home... but we are confident in ourselves, we are very excited, and we want to do something historic for our country."
Williams scored his first European Championships goal for the national team, also getting an assist in a standout performance.
Like Fabian, he has his sights firmly set on the big prize after making it four wins from four in the tournament.
"We are very happy to get through to the quarter-finals, very excited," he said.
"Step-by-step, we have shown that we are a great team and if we continue at this level, we can do great things.
"Their goal was a mistake, it was unintentional, we all cheered [Spain's own goalscorer] Robin [Le Normand] on and, in the end, we are all pleased and happy.
"[Germany will be] very difficult, they're a tough nut to crack, but we have a wonderful, well-structured team and if we play at this level we can win."
Euro 2024 Data Dive: England scrape through after late drama, Spain make statement
It was another dramatic day in the Euro 2024 knockout rounds, as two more teams booked their places in the quarter-finals.
England fought back from the jaws of defeat as they secured an extra-time win over Slovakia to set up a meeting with Switzerland in the last eight.
Meanwhile, Spain broke Georgia hearts with their comeback victory, and will play Germany in an eye-catching last-eight tie.
Here, we round up the best Opta statistics from the second day of the last 16.
England 2-1 Slovakia (aet): Bellingham, Kane prove late heroes
It looked like England were going to make an embarrassing early exit from the tournament, until Jude Bellingham stepped up with a spectacular overhead kick in stoppage time before Harry Kane netted the winner.
Timed at 94 minutes and 34 seconds, Bellingham's goal was the latest ever for England in normal time at the Euros, coming from the Three Lions' first shot on target after a largely toothless performance.
Kane, on his record-breaking 79th competitive appearance for England, got the timing right too, heading home just 50 seconds into extra time for the fastest goal scored in that period in the competition's history.
The England captain has now scored 14 goals at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros), with only four European players netting more than him – Cristiano Ronaldo (22), Miroslav Klose (19), Gerd Muller (18) and Jurgen Klinsmann (16).
It marked the fourth game that England have won from a losing position at the European Championships as well, after losing their first six such matches.
Only France (five) have ever won more matches when conceding first in the competition, and that late, late show left Slovakia stunned after being just moments from a famous victory in Gelsenkirchen.
Ivan Schranz's third goal at this Euros seemed set to take the headlines, with only Robert Vittek (four) at the 2010 World Cup ever scoring more at a single major tournament for Slovakia, but the forward will not get a chance to equal that record.
Spain 4-1 Georgia: La Roja march on with comeback win
Spain are the only team in the tournament to win all of their games so far, and survived an early scare to come out on top in Cologne thanks to second-half goals from Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo.
Robin Le Normand's 18th-minute own goal saw Luis de la Fuente's side concede for the first time at Euro 2024, only for Spain to rally to the biggest margin of victory by a team that conceded first in the competition.
Spain amassed 17 shots on goal in the first half but only Rodri's first major tournament goal hit the net. It is the most on record (since 1980) by a team in the opening half of a European Championship knockout game.
Indeed, La Roja's 35 shots overall were their most in a single match at either the World Cup (since 1966) or the Euros.
It was the youngsters who stole the spotlight once more as Lamine Yamal got his second assist at the Euros, with Cristiano Ronaldo the last teenager to tee up multiple goals at a single edition (Euro 2004 when he helped Portugal reach the final).
Williams, meanwhile, became the first player on record at the European Championships (since 1980) to score a goal, assist another and complete 100% of his passes (46/46) in a game he started.
Georgia's fairytale was ended by a familiar, formidable foe as they have now lost all seven of their competitive meetings with Spain, conceding 23 goals and netting just four of their own.
Mbappe expecting broken nose to act as 'target' for Belgium at Euro 2024
Kylian Mbappe expects his broken nose to make him a "target" for Belgium at Euro 2024 on Monday.
France meet the Red Devils in Dusseldorf for their last-16 meeting, with Mbappe still not fully recovered from a nose injury sustained against Austria.
The Real Madrid-bound forward subsequently missed the Group D draw with the Netherlands before returning – armed with a new face mask – to score from the penalty spot against Poland.
Mbappe acknowledged his facial injury and subsequent protection makes him likely to face physical challenges in the knockout stages.
"I think that if you're playing with a broken nose and you haven't had your nose operated yet, you're a target," Mbappe told a pre-match press conference on Sunday.
"I knew what I was signing up for when I decided that I wasn't going to go home and that I wasn't going to get the operation done and that I was going to play.
"And maybe I'll get muscled a little bit and it might hurt. But I'm ready to give everything I can for this jersey and to help France go as far as possible.
"If this means that someone's going to hit my nose, so be it. It's already broken."
Mbappe's injury came from a clash in the Austria area as France scraped past Ralf Rangnick's side with a 1-0 win in their opener – Les Bleus' only victory so far at this Euros.
The France captain was left concerned whether he would feature again in Germany after the incident.
"When I got the blow to the face, I didn't really understand what was going on," Mbappe added. "I didn't feel that my nose was broken.
"It was when I looked at the goalkeeper and I saw his face and I thought 'something's wrong here'.
"When I got back to the dressing room, with everything that was happening around me, I thought that I was going home.
"Initially, it was difficult for me because there was a lot of information, lots of appointments, I didn't really sleep that much. I spent two nights without sleeping.
"And it was really difficult to sit on the bench against the Netherlands knowing that you're incapable of helping. I felt quite helpless. But, thankfully, I was able to play against Poland."
As for the face mask, Mbappe is still getting to grips with the protection ahead of the meeting with Belgium.
"Actually it's awful, horrible playing with a mask," he added. "I keep changing masks because every time there's something that bothers me, there's something that's not quite right.
"It's quite difficult to play with a mask because it limits your field of vision, your sweat clogs up. The first few days I felt like I was wearing 3D glasses.
"As soon as I can get rid of that mask, I will. But now I don't have a choice. I can't play without it. I hate it. It's really annoying and I've changed it more than five times.
"But I'm not making excuses because this is the only way I can play."
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