When Manchester United played their first home European match, Bobby Charlton was completing his national service in Shrewsbury. He was driven to Maine Road by Sgt. Maj. White (Old Trafford’s first floodlights were still being erected) and witnessed Matt Busby’s young side defeat Anderlecht 10-0 to complete a 12-0 aggregate victory. The next day, it was nearly impossible for Charlton to persuade anyone that United had played brilliantly: the 10-0 score, they maintained, was less indicative of United’s brilliance than of how feeble the Belgian champions must be.
This is the issue with decisive victories: they can practically devalue themselves, especially when they occur in relatively new conditions. Nobody questioned that Germany’s 7-1 victory over Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2014 men’s World Cup was a shocking result because, as infected as Brazil was by the excitement of the moment, and regardless of how ridiculously they defended, they were still Brazil.
What did England’s 8-0 victory over Norway at Euro 2022 on Monday signifies? Women’s football remains so new to the general public that it is met with comparable skepticism as United’s victory over Anderlecht. But Norway, like Anderlecht, is unquestionably not minnows, despite Friday’s loss to Austria suggesting this is a pretty weak team by their standards.
This was not Thailand’s 13-0 loss to the United States at the 2019 World Cup, a result and game that would have made anyone uneasy due to the contrast in talent. Nor was it England’s much more expected 5-0 victory over Northern Ireland. Norway is ranked eleventh globally, three spots behind England. They have won the World Cup, two European Championships, and the Olympic gold medal.
Simultaneously, Norway defended poorly. The central defender Maria Thorisdottir and Maren Mjelde were consistently hesitant in the challenge, unable to handle Ellen White’s aggressiveness and movement. Both fullbacks, but particularly the left fullback, Julie Blakstad, were repeatedly isolated.
What happened to the wide midfielders? Where were the defensive-minded midfielders? Where was any form of organization? It resembled attempting to identify the snow leopard in one of those photographs of the Himalayan cliff face. A tactical breakdown of this extent is uncommon in football tournaments.
The question, therefore, is the extent to which England induced the meltdown: the score has caused Norway to conduct extensive soul-searching, but what does it entail for the hosts? A large number of victories in the group stage is never a negative thing, but it is not necessarily indicative of probable champions.
In the past 40 years of the men’s World Cup and European Championships, there have been 10 instances in which a team scored six or more goals. Only Germany in 2014 went on to win the tournament, while only two of the others (Germany in 2002 and England in 2018) reached the semi-finals (both were considered to have punched above their weight, in part due to a favorable draw).
Women’s football presents a slightly different picture: there have been 19 women’s World Cups in which a team has scored at least six goals (five of which were won by Norway), and 15 of those teams have reached at least the semifinals.
It was the second time in Euro history that a team scored six or more goals, the first being England versus Scotland in 2017 when they went on to lose to the Netherlands in the semifinals. This may imply nothing more than the fact that historically there have been greater discrepancies in the women’s game than in the men’s; one major win is still insufficient to label a team as likely victors.
England’s performance, though, undoubtedly did. In the past six months, the difference between the Phil Neville version of England – never appearing totally at ease with itself, reactive, with talent, frequently appearing to chafe against an unnecessarily rigid system – has been increasingly apparent. Given the very short amount of time national coaches have with their teams, Sarina Wiegman employs a daringly aggressive pressing strategy.
Take the first shot on Monday. It would be easy to dwell on the dubiousness of the penalty decision, but arguably more relevant, at least in terms of evaluating England’s performance, was how White was put in the position of driving by Thorisdottir.
It began with a press that resulted in Millie Bright advancing from central defense to challenge Guro Reiten near the right touchline. Caroline Graham Hansen was immediately put under pressure by Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh when she got the ball from the subsequent throw: Stanway nicked the ball, and Walsh immediately passed it to White.
Norway, who appeared to be in a promising position to counter after Stanway overhit a pass, first failed to mount a breakaway and then lost possession and became off-balance following a turnover. This pressure, this feeling of suffocation, was undoubtedly a major cause of Norway’s collapse.
However, England did not merely threaten in transition. Their wide forwards, Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp kept wide, stretching the Norway back-four and creating space between the full-backs and their respective central defenders, which Stanway exploited with relish.
Norway should have been able to adapt, and their capitulation implies a basic organizational breakdown, but England took full advantage of the situation due to their synergy in and out of possession.
Other sides will not crumble in the same manner. Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, or France will undoubtedly present a much greater challenge. However, even though the collapse was more dramatic than anticipated, it was the result of a clear plan, and England defeated Germany and the Netherlands convincingly this season.
It is understandable to be skeptical of large score lines and to wonder if they reflect one of those days when everything the losers do goes wrong or everything the victors do goes right, but last Monday’s results did not break significantly from the pattern of the preceding months. This England team is organized, disciplined, and merciless; they have the look of champions.
