Did you think I had forgotten about you?

Not a chance. As if you could ever slip from my mind! Writing these blogs? Well, I love it.

I have not posted anything new to the “sensational, evocative and fun” * DadLadAndThe Lionesses blog simply because I have been so very busy. Just like a bee. Buzz, buzz, buzz.

*The New York Times (Not really. But that is what I believe they would write if they knew about this blog.)

Anyway, it is Easter Monday and here is a little Easter blog treat for you. As befits any respectable Bank Holiday – what you American readers call a public holiday – the weather is miserable. It is damp and drizzly and really quite chilly outside. So, here I am, sat at my laptop with a cuppa in hand, jotting yet another pointless – and only vaguely Euro 2025 connected – blog post. It’s all for your enjoyment, you know. I write these simply because I love you. All half-dozen of you who bother reading these (and I quote, once again, from The New York Times*) “sensational, evocative and fun” words that I pen. (I’ve seen the DadLad site stats – soooooo depressingly low!) Don’t forget to tell everyone you know about the treasures and delights they can find here.

* Again, not really.

Okay…to business. What has been happening since I last wrote on the 28^th March?

Well. The Lionesses have played two Nations League matches against Belgium.

The first encounter, at Ashton Gate, the home of Bristol City, saw our heroines put in a scintillating performance in which we triumphed 5-0. Alessia Russo ran the opposition absolutely ragged during the 73 minutes she was on the pitch. The Belgium players simply could not cope with her pace, positioning or energy and Russo received some – shall we be generous and say – “rugged” challenges before the tackles eventually had their desired effect and she was replaced by Nikita Parris.

Lucy Bronze, making her 130^th appearance for The Lionesses, began the scoring in the 21^st minute. Her defensive partner at Chelsea, Millie Bright, joined in the fun and England led 2-0 at the break. It should have been more. Aggie Beever-Jones – yet another Chelsea player – scored her first goal for The Lionesses midway through the second-half before Manchester City’s Jess Park added to her growing reputation at both club and international level with her third Lioness goal and England’s fourth of the game.

Perhaps the biggest cheer of the night – and certainly the moment that gave rise to the brightest smiles among the England players – came two-minutes from time when Keira Walsh scored her very first England goal. It has only taken the former Barcelona and current Chelsea (the fourth Chelsea starlet to score tonight) midfielder 83 appearances to net her first international goal. She really should try harder! 🙂

Upsides: a convincing win and England top the group ahead of Spain.

Keira Walsh nets her first England goal.

Downsides: Russo and James both injured.

England 5 – 0 Belgium    Friday 4^th April 20025    Ashton Gate, Bristol

Fast forward to the return fixture at the Den Dreef Stadion in Leuven, Belgium on the following Tuesday. What a difference those few days made. Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir, the Belgium head coach, had obviously had some stern words to say to her charges over the weekend. The Belgium tackling was even fiercer than we saw on the Friday at Bristol. A fact not helped by some “interesting” refereeing.

But, referee issues aside, Belgium fully deserved to be three goals to the good inside 29 minutes. England were outplayed, outmuscled and outclassed in the opening stages of this match. Maybe Friday’s comprehensive victory meant The Lionesses lacked focus and thought that another win was merely a formality for them? I don’t know. I am simply surmising. Whatever the reason for the poor start, The Lionesses, Sarina – and fans watching at the game and from home – were stunned by the Belgium response to Friday’s battering.

To be fair, Russo and James were both missing through injury. Beever-Jones made her first start. Hannah Hampton continued in goal ahead of Mary Earps; the former Manchester United keeper and BBC SPOTY winner must be fuming.

Beth Mead was fouled in the box and stepped up to take the resulting penalty. England now back in the match in the 35^th minute. Some semblance of order finally restored as The Lionesses began to assert control of proceedings. But still, Belgium led 3-1 at the break.

Though I am writing this brief review of the match several weeks after watching it and my memory remains as scatty as I have previously alluded to, I am convinced that England dominated the second forty-five. Belgium did have a few opportunities at our end but it seemed only a matter of time before we turned the match in our favour. Sadly, that didn’t happen.

We did score again. Just two goals on the night for The Lionesses. Not a third and then a fourth as we desperately needed. BUT WHAT A GOAL!

Michelle Agyemang – a nineteen-year-old Arsenal striker currently on loan to Brighton and Hove Albion in the WSL – rose from the substitutes bench to make her debut as a Lioness. The youngster replaced Jess Park – herself only a few years older – in the 80^th minute. Just 41 seconds after coming on, Agyemang controlled a cross into the box on her chest and fired a first-time volley past the Belgium goalie. Stunning stuff. As in my previous paragraph…WHAT A GOAL!

Had that been me, I would have gone absolutely ape; imagine scoring immediately after coming on for your debut! I would have raced all over the pitch – probably up into the stands too – with my shirt off and twirling over my head. Yellow card shenanigans all day long, you know the drill. But young Michelle was composed, mature and dignified with her celebrations. It’s early days but she looks like she can handle the pressure of being a Lioness. Perhaps she might even make the squad for this year’s Euros? It’s possibly too early in her development as an international player but, if injuries to other players occur, then you never know.

The young striker has already made twenty-five appearances at various levels for England and had just scored in a 5-1 victory for the u-19s against Austria on the Saturday before. Then, on the Sunday evening, Agyemang learned she would be travelling to Belgium as a late replacement for Alessia Russo, her team mate at Arsenal. What a weekend for the youngster!

Belgium 3 – 2 England    Tuesday 8^th April 20025    Den Dreef Stadion, Leuven

Upsides: A much better second half. Brilliant debut goal from Agyemang.

Downsides: We lost! Conceded three goals. Spain battered Portugal 7-1 on the same night and now top our group.

What else has occurred since my last post?

Well, the FA (Football Association) has made several major announcements.

Firstly, it was revealed, on April 3^rd, that England (and the other home nations) were the sole “valid” bidders to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035. That is excellent news! Should still be around in another the-years and #GrandDaughterNo1 will be the ideal age – eleven – to enjoy the tournament. All that I left to know is, when do tickets go on sale?

Secondly….not such good news this time….Sarina Wiegman’s assistant, Arjan Veurink, will be leaving the England setup after EURO2025 to become the head coach of the Netherlands. That should add some extra spice to the Group D match between the two nations in Zürich on 9^th July. Thankfully, Liam (#SonInLawNo1) and I will be there in person to witness that zesty encounter.

And the third snippet of info revealed is that England Women will host Jamaica on Sunday 29^th June. It will be the “send-off” game for The Lionesses ahead of the EUROs and will kick-off at 1700 hours at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium. I hope that Bunny Shaw, Manchester City’s Jamaican international is fit in time for this game. She is such a wonderful player to watch and I would like to see her against England. I just hope that Shaw isn’t fit too soon – after all, I don’t want her to play against my United girls in the upcoming derby game at Old Trafford.

I am considering going to this EURO send-off game. After all, I was in Leicester just this last Saturday to watch England’s Red Roses play Scotland in the W6N (Women’s 6 Nations – rugby union. England won 59-7, if anyone is interested) so I know the drive isn’t to onerous and I know where to park quite inexpensively. Morrison’s, if you are interested, is just a short walk from both Leicester City and Wellford Road (the home of Leicester Tigers RFU – where the Red Roses played on Saturday) and you can prepay for parking.

It would be a cracking way to start our EURO holiday adventure.

Though, I might need to run that suggestion past the missus.