Excellent play by England so far.
Not an avid watcher of women’s football but I do catch the world cups when they come round. The quality and tactical play always massively improves with each World Cup.
I felt last time the quality had improved but the general structure of the game including the build up play and tactics were incomparable to the men’s game. It was basically a different sport, which isn’t a sleight, it just meant you had to adjust your mindset when watching it as you weren’t looking for the same things. More tight knit pockets that moved around the pitch rather than expansive play.
This performance however is completely comparable to the men’s game from both sides. The speed of evolution is remarkable, long may it continue.
I think the development of the women’s game won’t have been dissimilar to how the men’s developed, except there is a set preconceived notion of how the game should look, which has damned the game in a lot of people’s eyes as something lesser. I just can’t see that. It’s just at a different point in its maturity. And whilst the men’s game is tweaked, the women’s game comes on leaps and bounds. Seeing a sport develop like that is something we rarely get to see, and is really exciting to see.
One of the major aspects that has improved and will change the game is the fitness and strength of the players. With more money comes more training and higher quality instruction. You can see the pay off from both sides here.
