Lionesses icon Beth Mead is fresh off the back of an “insane” summer that has seen her play a pivotal role in England ending their 56-year wait for a major trophy.
The Arsenal forward was named Player of the Tournament and secured the Golden Boot with six goals - a total that included a stunning hat-trick against Norway - as Sarina Wiegman led the Lionesses to their first-ever major trophy.
With the dust having now settled on the fantastic scenes of celebration across the country, Mead has finally had a chance to look back on the tournament but has admitted that it has still not sunk in. Speaking with The Mirror , courtesy of Trainline, she said: “Still trying to process it really, it still seems surreal that we managed to come away with a gold medal at the Euros.
“I loved every minute of it. I loved every game, the atmosphere at every game. Winning it and lifting it was insane and playing in-front of 87,000 plus people at Wembley, it’s what dreams are made of. Playing at the home of England and winning a Euros in England is incredible.”
It is fair to say that since the Lionesses managed to claim the trophy against Germany at Wembley earlier this month, attitudes towards the women’s game have changed. Attendances for the upcoming WSL season are expected to increase - with a number of club’s including Mead’s Arsenal heading to the home of their male counterparts for matches.
She has suggested that every player should be relishing the opportunity for more exposure -something that will only benefit the game going forwards.
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“We said we wanted to inspire a nation and push the women’s game to the next level,” she said. “I like to think we’ve done that. It’s just the beginning I think we’ve said but it’s still got a long way to go. It’s heading in the right direction and we’ve had a big impact on the nation in general.
“For me, I was at the Emirates and a year ago, I could have probably walked past there and not one person will have stopped or said anything. The bin men are now going past and they said “well done Beth for the Euros” and people on bikes asking for pictures.
“It’s great, I love it and I really hope the other girls are getting the recognition that they deserve. But things have changed for the better. It’s been different and we need to adapt to it.”
Despite only a few weeks having passed since the Lionesses’ success, attention has already turned to the new WSL season. There has already been an active effort to boost attendances even further at matches - Trainline in particular offering £10 discounts on tickets to supporters attending league games this season.
Ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, Mead has already set her sights on silverware with Arsenal having gotten a taste of glory on the international stage.
She said: “I’m in a great place and the teammates that I’ve spoken to are in a great place as well. For us as a team, I think we did well last season as a team but again came away with no trophies, didn’t win anything.
“For us now, we need to get our heads down and produce the football that I know we can play consistently throughout the season and hopefully we can come away with something this season.”
Beth Mead launches the Trainline ‘Tenner off Match Day Travel’ campaign, offering fans travelling to professional women’s fixtures £10 off rail travel by heading to the Trainline website
