PAYING THE PENALTY
The strongest contender that Football Daily could find for the worst penalty shootout of all time was predictably held between two English teams. In January 1998, under-10 pair Mickleover Lightning Blue Sox and Chellaston Boys faced off in the Derby Community Cup. After the regular game finished 1-1, a total of 56 penalties failed to break the deadlock, with referee Peter Shieff even moving the spot two yards closer and offering a coin toss to decide the result (which the sides declined). Despite saving 31 consecutive spot-kicks in the sudden-death decider, Chellaston Boys’ goalkeeper Ben Hodder ended up on the losing side as Blue Sox romped home 2-1, after a grand total of 66 kicks had been taken, a world record verified by David Barber, the FA’s official statistician. A thought, then, for the parents that day 27 years ago, stood on the sidelines, outwardly encouraging their youngsters while internally being tortured and scorched with the fires of a thousand flamethrowers.
A similar feeling engulfed England and Sweden on Thursday night: after an abysmal first half left them 2-0 down, the Lionesses mounted a late comeback for the ages to force extra-time and penalties. Twice in the subsequent shootout Sweden had kicks to win the game but twice they came up short, with England somehow prevailing 3-2. Before we properly get into the drama – and oh, we will – it should be said that the actual game was as dramatic as it was full of quality. Sweden’s front two of Kosovare Asllani and Stina Blackstenius were outstanding and took their goals expertly. England’s Lauren James was moving like Zizou in the No 10 role – Football Daily hasn’t seen a roulette that devastating since our last trip to Las Vegas. Chloe Kelly’s wingplay was game-changing, providing both assists as England clawed their way back into the game.
Unfortunately the same could not be said for the shootout, as nerves, fatigue and excellent goalkeeping from both England’s Hannah Hampton and Sweden’s Jennifer Falk ensured that just five of the 14 penalties found the net. Ultimately, it was the brilliant and bloodied Hampton, along with Lucy Bronze – who scored England’s first goal, soldiered on with knack through extra time and smashed home the decisive penalty – who were England’s heroes. “Lucy Bronze is just one of a kind, I have never, ever seen this before in my life,” roared England manager Sarina Wiegman afterwards. “What defines her is that resilience, that fight. I think the only way to get her off the pitch is in a wheelchair.”
Fair play to England then, who – against all odds – found a way to win, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. As for those penalties, plenty of elite performers have failed to convert at major tournaments, from Roberto Baggio to Bukayo Saka to Diana Ross, and there is plenty of time now to practise before Tuesday’s semi-final against Italy. Leah Williamson succinctly summed up how most were feeling as the dust settled on England’s win, in a quote that could easily have also come from a Derbyshire-based parent in 1998: “That was awful to watch at the end. [Penalties] are the easiest and the hardest thing in the world.” Amen to that.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Sarah Rendell from 8pm BST for MBM coverage of Spain 0-0 Switzerland (aet; 4-2 on pens) in the Euro 2025 quarter-finals.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
There is such a feeling of sadness and disbelief around this awful tragedy that we wanted to make this tribute of our own as soon as we could. Like everyone else, we’ve been stunned by events, and we remember what a wonderful player Diogo was for Wolves during that unforgettable promotion season under Nuno and our early years back in the Premier League. His record of 44 goals at Wolves, and then 65 at Liverpool as a Premier League title winner, speaks volumes. So many fans across the game – especially in Portugal after he helped them win the Nations League this summer – are feeling his loss deeply. We saw no reason to delay this decision” – Wolves induct Diogo Jota into their hall of fame.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
The north (in the west) starts at the Cheshire/Staffordshire border. This puts Stoke in the midlands (yesterday’s Football Daily letters) and Crewe in the north. This isn’t just my opinion (I went to grammar school in Crewe) but also the opinion of a person originally from Merseyside who wrote a book about the north that started by him defining where the north started and the first chapter was him visiting Crewe” – Mike Walsh.
Looking at the James, Parker, Chapman, Jack golfing quartet (yesterday’s Memory Lane, full email edition), I couldn’t help but wonder which one of them would have the flag showing ‘Fashion, Golf, Arsenal. In that order’” – Ken Muir.
Further to Yannick Woudstra (yesterday’s letters) wondering if a move to Old Trafford could materialise for Jordan Henderson. I seem to recall that Alex Ferguson once put the kibosh on a move for Henderson in the early-2000s over concerns about his running style. Well the good news for Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s brains trust is that, at the age of 35, running won’t be something Henderson will be doing a lot of. Sign him up!” – Joel Flood.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Ken Muir. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here.
This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
