Women’s captain Faye White has commended her team for their valiant effort in Helsinki last night, despite their 6-2 loss to Germany in the UEFA European Championship Final.

“We can hold our heads high” said the proud Arsenal player, “but on the day they were better than us.”

With eleven years managing the side, Head Coach Hope Powell had a similar reaction to England’s defeat; “We still went out to win, even at 6-2 down. We still wanted to attack and we have to applaud that”.

“I think this will make the girls hungrier next time and one day it will be our day.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Related stories:

Faye White blogs from Euro 2009 ^[1]

Sportsister meets Fara Williams ^[2]
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Germany took the lead in the first 20 minutes yet England showed their grit and determination that has been a trademark of their tournament, scoring a fine goal just two minutes later, in the shape of Karen Carney set up by the masked Kelly Smith.

Kelly Smith, scored the second goal for the England side, whose brave performance throughout the final match ran Germany close for an hour.

Nevertheless, Faye White admits, “It’s the first time we’ve got to the final – we wanted to win but the Germans have a lot of experience and are used to occasions like this,”

“But so many people didn’t think we would reach the final, especially when we lost to Italy in the group stages.

 The girls can hold their heads up high after this tournament, but at the end of the day Germany were better than us.”

Looking to the future – the next tournament for the England women will be the 2011 World Cup, in Germany, which they must first qualify for. However, the immediate focus for Hope Powell’s players will be the FA Premier League’s weekend programme.

Elinor Davies, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine