Players from the England women’s football team that became European champions in July were among the sports figures recognised in Britain’s New Year public Honours List published Friday.
Team captain Leah Williamson, who lifted the Women’s Euro trophy after a 2-1 victory over Germany at Wembley, has been made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).
Her team-mates Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead and Ellen White all received an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), which is a level below an OBE on an honours ‘ladder’ designed mainly to recognise the contributions to public life across a variety of fields by British and Commonwealth nationals.
The England women’s team’s Dutch head coach Sarina Wiegman received the higher-ranking CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) on the overseas list.
Mead was the tournament’s top scorer and was voted its best player.
England’s highest profile woman footballer
White had been a key figure in England’s attack for more than a decade until her retirement in August, while Barcelona defender Bronze is arguably most highest-profile England women’s footballer, having been voted the best player in the world in 2020.
Britain’s Denise Lewis, the heptathlon champion at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was awarded a damehood, the female equivalent of a knighthood.
The European Championship victory was the first major tournament success for a senior England football team since the men’s side won the 1966 World Cup.
There had been calls for all the England players involved to receive honours.
That approach, however, led to controversy when all the players in the England 2005 men’s Ashes cricket victory received honours, with Paul Collingwood, who made a mere 17 runs in his lone appearance of the series success against Australia, awarded an MBE.
Hugh Robertson, the chairman of the honours sport committee and a former UK sports minister, said: “The approach that we’ve tried to take with this is when we have these events there is a danger in sort of carpet bombing the entire squad because then you get people who’ve done five minutes on the pitch and get an award.”
Rachel Daly, 32, is a key player for the Lionesses and has an outstanding record of 84 caps has called it quits. She played a major role in England’s successful Euro campaign and their incredible run to the World Cup final last summer.
Her legendary career with the national team came to an end on Tuesday when she made a farewell cameo appearance as a substitute against the Republic of Ireland.
‘It has been a privilege’ – Rachel Daly receives this heart-warming message from Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman after the shock decision to call it quit after a glittering international career
Daly retired from her Lionesses journey on Wednesday, shortly after contributing to England’s 2-0 Euro 2025 qualifying victory against the Republic of Ireland.
The 32-year-old acknowledged the challenge of this choice but expressed profound gratitude for her 84 caps and 16 goals for the national team. Following heartfelt tributes from teammates, England coach Wiegman echoed the sentiment, lauding Daly as the most “adaptable” player she has encountered in her career.
Daly will be missed
“She’ll be missed not just by me but all the other staff members, players, and of course the fans.” Wiegman said to Skysports.
Daly says it is certainly bittersweet to announce her retirement from the world stage. Although saying goodbye to wearing the England jersey is difficult, it’s an occasion filled with reflection and deep gratitude, she says.
When talking about footballers, we tend to talk about the male counterparts such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Football is usually centred on the games that are played by men as it has been the norm to do so for more than a century.
However, the Women’s Football Association has been around since the 1880s and it is apparent that females have played it for more than a century as well. The first women’s football matches being included in the Olympics only happened in 1996.
Furthermore, back in the 1920s, women’s football gained traction in the United Kingdom. In 1926 a women’s football match managed to garner around 50,000 spectators. Women were not allowed to speak at the FIFA congress until 1986 and the first FIFA’s women’s cup commenced only in 1991.
Now, we have written about the most handsomest footballers, but here’s the list of the most beautiful female footballers done by vbetnews.
Top 5 most beautiful footballers
Number 5, Adriana Leon
Image of Adriana Leon, from her Instagram page.
Adriana, who is 30-years-old, plays in the Women’s English super league cup, representing Manchester United. She also represents the Canadian National team. Her football skills led her to win the Olympic Gold Medal in 2020 while representing Canada.
She has been playing football since she was 15-years-old, possibly even longer. She won as the top scorer for the Canada Summer Games.
Number 4, Alex Morgan
Image of Alex Morgan, from Wikipedia.
Alex, who is 33-years-old and is the same age as Taylor Swift, has a remarkable career in football.
She is a player for both The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the top level of women’s professional soccer in the US, and the US women’s national soccer team. The American professional was named the highest-paid American women’s soccer player in 2015 by Time.
Number 3, Alisha Lehmann
Image of Alisha Lehmann, from Wikipedia.
Alisha, at only 23-years-old, is a footballer for the Swiss national team. She also plays as the forward for Aston Villa.
In October 2017, she received her first cap for the Switzerland women’s national football team. She scored her first goal for her country against Finland on March 2, 2018, a day she will always remember from the 2018 Cyprus Women’s Cup.
Number 2, Nichelle Prince
Image of Nichelle Prince, from her instagram page.
Nichelle, who is currently 27-years-old is a forward from Canada who presently competes for both the Canadian national team and the Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Nichelle Prince was included in the FIFA Women’s World Cup roster for 2019. With her national squad, she has won two silver medals, one bronze medal, and one gold medal. Her most recent achievement came on August 6, 2021, when she and Canada won the Olympic Gold Medal in the Summer Olympics.
Number 1, Lauren Sesselmann
Image of Lauren Sesselmann, from her Instagram page.
Lauren, the most beautiful out of the bunch and who is currently 39-years-old and is older than even Cristiano Ronaldo, is still active in women’s football. She is currently playing for the Santa Clarita Blue Heat.
She won a bronze medal in the Olympics and competed for Canada from 2011 to 2015. In addition, Lauren serves as the host, producer, and trainer for the fitness DVD series Fit As A Pro with Lauren Sesselmann.
Womens Euro 2022 otherwise also known as UEFA European Women’s football championship will see its 13th edition of the tournament in the month of July 2022. A year ago the number of teams that would compete was increased to a total of 16 teams. This year it will be the second time that 16 teams will compete for the championship.
Coming in the tournament, the defending champions of the last were the Netherlands. This year, the tournament will see an addition of a new team to the groups, Northern Ireland. The tournament is set to be held in the country of Europe. Europe last hosted the tournament in 2005 and this year they are set to welcome the tournament in their country.
Women’s Euro 2022 dates, kick-off times
UEFA Womens Euro 2022 Championship is set to be held in the country of England across a total of 9 cities in 10 stadiums. Wembley and Brentford Stadium in London, Old Trafford and Academy Stadium in Manchester, St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, Bramall Lane in Sheffield, Falmer Stadium in Brighton, and Hove, Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, New York Stadium in Rotherham, and Leigh Sports Village in Leigh.
Womens Euro 2022 will be held from the 6th of July 2022 and end on the 31st of July 2022. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from 7th July to 1st August 2021 however due to COVID-19 Pandemic, it was rescheduled to 2022. The tournament will kick off on the 6th of July with the hometown team England going against Austria in the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester at 20:00 IST.
Women’s Euro 2022 Fixtures, Groups, and Schedule
There will be a total of 4 groups in which teams would be divided. Each group will consist of 4 teams. The winners and the runner-ups of each group will qualify for the knockout stages or the quarter-finals. A total of 4 teams would qualify for the semi-finals where we would get our two finalists for the UEFA Women’s EURO Championship.
Group A Teams
1. England
2. Austria
3. Norway
4. Northern Ireland
Group B Teams
.1. Germany
2. Denmark
3. Spain
4. Finland
Group C Teams
.1. Netherlands
2. Sweden
3. Portugal
4. Switzerland
Group D Teams
.1. France
2. Italy
3. Belgium
4. Iceland
Group A Match Schedule
Date
Match
Stadium
6th July
England vs Austria
Old Trafford
7th July
Northern Ireland vs Norway
St. Mary’s Stadium
11th July
Northern Ireland vs Austria
St. Mary’s Stadium
11th July
England vs Norway
Community Stadium
15th July
Northern Ireland vs England
St. Mary’s Stadium
15th July
Austria vs Norway
Community Stadium
Group B Match Schedule
Date
Match
Stadium
8th July
Finland vs Spain
Stadium MK
8th July
Germany vs Denmark
Brentford Community Stadium
12th July
Denmark vs Finland
Stadium MK
12th July
Germany vs Spain
Brentford Community Stadium
16th July
Finland vs Germany
Stadium MK
16th July
Denmark vs Spain
Brentford Community Stadium
Group C Match Schedule
Date
Match
Stadium
9th July
Portugal vs Switzerland
Leigh Sports Village
9th July
Sweden vs Netherlands
Baramall Lane
13th July
Sweden vs Switzerland
Baramall Lane
13th July
Netherlands vs Portugal
Leigh Sports Village
17th July
Switzerland vs Netherlands
Baramall Lane
17th July
Portugal vs Sweden
Leigh Sports Village
Group D Match Schedule
Date
Match
Stadium
10th July
Belgium vs Iceland
Academy Stadium
10th July
France vs Italy
New York Stadium
14th July
Italy vs Iceland
Academy Stadium
14th July
France vs Belgium
New York Stadium
18th July
Iceland vs France
New York Stadium
18th July
Belgium vs Italy
Academy Stadium
After Relegation In Nations League, Is England A Better Side For The World Cup?
England went through humiliations in the Nations League, getting relegated after poor performances under the leadership of Gareth Southgate.
England and Germany shared the spoils at Wembley in a 3-3 draw but the results left both sides frustrated with their runs ahead of the World Cup.
Nevertheless, some in the UK are not shocked with the ‘Nation’s League’ performances, saying the England squad is one of the favourites to win the biggest global football tournament in Qatar.
While that is comforting, that is people still see the England squad as the best in the world ahead of the World Cup, there are concerns about the team.
The England squad had to fight against racist remarks online after it failed to win the EURO 2020, with three of its players missing the penalties at the end, giving Italy victory.
The Italians made it to the final stage of the Nations League in what can be seen as a performance filled with consistency, unlike the England squad. They should be one of the favourites to lift the World Cup coming November.
Russia and Qatar
Now, what is the difference between the England team that was fielded in Russia and the one that will defend their chances in Qatar?
England meets the USA, Wales and Iran in what can be said is an easy qualifying group that should see both the English side and the Americans go through the first stage.
Gregg Berhalter, the American coach, praised Gareth Southgate and backed the Three Lions to win the World Cup.
He says Southgate transformed the English players into a squad of superheroes.
He also says the performances of the England’s Women squad in the recent Women’s World Cup will also boost the morale of the English side in Qatar.
In Russia, England blew a chance to end their memorable World Cup adventure on a high note and become the best team to leave English shores when they were defeated 2-0 by Belgium in the third-place play-off.
This time around, they have a relatively easy (on paper) run in the first round of the W. Cup. WIll they disappoint the supporters?
England’s performance in Russia was one of their best showing in a World Cup after their 1966 controversial win against Germany by 4-2.
It was a Harry Maguire header that sent England on its way to the semi-finals after they beat Sweden 2-0.
Kieran Trippier’s superb fifth-minute free-kick put England ahead in the Luzhniki Stadium.
With this goal, they were on course for only their second World Cup final appearance. But Ivan Perisic’s second-half equaliser was well deserved as Croatia began to show their worth as the game progressed.
Another period of extra-time stood in the way of the Three Lions reaching the final against France, only for Mario Mandzukic to tuck away the winning goal after some static England defending allowed him to beat Pickford.
England and USA
In Qatar, England has to face the Americans and with the World Cup history between these two nations, it is hard to say whether the English side will come out the winner this time.
England has played the USA twice in the World Cup. The first time was way back in history when the USA team surprised the entire world by beating England 1-0 in 1950 and a terrible 1-1 draw in Rustenburg (South Africa) in 2010.
While the USA seems to be the bigger thorn in England’s side in this tournament, it still has to end up first in the group to face a lesser performing side in the next round. That is if England qualifies.
Nevertheless, in this year’s edition of the FIFA World Cup, Brazil is the 9/2 favourite to win, followed by France at 6/1 and England and Argentina at 7/1. This is based on the Bet365 predictions.
Poor results lately means England has drifted from the hot favourites to a lesser one but it is still among the countries that could end up as the top four in the competition.
Gareth Southgate’s England are 7/1 third favourites to win the World Cup in Qatar this winter, according to the bookies, after their poor run continued during the recent international break.
Southgate’s team was defeated 1-0 at the San Siro on Friday before drawing 3-3 with Germany at Wembley on Monday. These results bring their winless streak to six games.
For Behalter, the number of Premier League players (the best league in the world says many) means England is a hot favourite.
‘I don’t know if the expectations have always been in line with the quality of the squad. So back in 2010, realistically, I didn’t think they had the squad that could win the World Cup, right? But now it’s different. Now I think we all agree they have a squad that can win the World Cup.
‘And Gareth, in my opinion, has done a great job of helping the players cope with that pressure and actually using the jersey as a cape rather than a straitjacket and really giving them the freedom to play on the field, giving them the idea that they can represent their country in a positive way and make the country proud,’ he adds from an MLS event in Minneapolis last month.
The US begin their campaign against Wales, with the sides meeting in October 2020 for a 0-0 draw in Cardiff.
‘They were a good team, a very hard team to score on, a physical team, a lot of Premier League players, some real high quality in the attack, quality defenders,’ Behalter says.
Southgate’s squad
While the controversial and error-prone Harry Maguire is getting the backing of coach Southgate, it is undoubted that Harry Kane remains the top English player on the list of selected players or those who will be on the plane for the World Cup.
Harry Kane remains at the top of the table, with Declan Rice (2nd), Jordan Pickford (3rd), and Raheem Sterling (4th), but there is a change below that, with Jude Bellingham climbing four places to fifth after strong performances against Italy and Germany.
In the absence of Kalvin Phillips, who was already struggling for playing time at Manchester City before his injury, Bellingham appeared set to partner Rice. In the rankings, the Borussia Dortmund teenager leapfrogs Reece James (6th), Phil Foden (7th), Mason Mount (8th), Bukayo Saka (9th), and John Stones (10th).
The biggest movers, however, are Eric Dier (11th) and Luke Shaw (12th), who have risen 10 and 16 places respectively after returning to the squad and seizing their opportunity.
They suddenly look like sure bets for Qatar, and possibly Southgate’s starting lineup as well.
Despite a chorus of supporters and pundits criticising England manager Gareth Southgate for not playing Liverpool defender Kieran Tripper, Southgate believes Tripper is ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the England pecking order.
Alexander-Arnold, who was on the substitutes bench but did not play against Italy, was left out of the squad that drew 3-3 with Germany at Wembley on Monday night in the Nations League.
Reece James, England’s standout right-sided defender, played the entire match and is set to play in the World Cup in Qatar.
Keely Hodgkinson named as 2024 Sports Personality of the Year
Keely Hodgkinson, the Olympic 800-metre gold medallist, was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024.
In the recent season, the 22-year-old athlete finished her quest for a world championship by winning gold at the Paris Olympics. Three years earlier, she came second in her Olympic debut in Tokyo. She also won back-to-back silvers at the World Championships.
Moreover, Hodgkinson set a new British record of one minute 54.61 seconds at the London Diamond League, which made her the sixth-fastest woman in sporting history. She also maintained her European 800m title in Rome.
Named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, the athlete declared: “I am in a bit of shock… I am more excited for my coach as I wouldn’t be here without his guidance.”
She added: “This year has been incredible and I achieved everything I set out to do on the outdoor track. I hope you loved watching Paris.”
Following Emma Raducanu (2021), Beth Mead (2022), and Mary Earps (2023), Hodgkinson is the fourth consecutive female recipient of this award.
In a social media post, Hodgkinson said: “What a great way to end the year. Thank you to everyone who voted!!”
