It's early days yet, but on last night’s evidence England's best hope of winning a first European Championship comes in the diminutive form of Fran Kirby.
The Chelsea playmaker was the Lionesses’ brightest light on a grey evening in Manchester, as the hosts began the Euros with an otherwise underwhelming 1-0 win over Austria in a party atmosphere at Old Trafford.
It is usually unhelpful to draw comparisons with the men’s team — even if a rendition of Sweet Caroline at the final whistle evoked memories of last summer — but, like Jack Grealish at Euro 2020, Kirby is a creative player with the skill and personality to capture the imagination of the country at these finals.
She made the only goal of the night for Beth Mead with a superb diagonal pass and might have finished the first half with further assists if Lucy Bronze and Lauren Hemp had been more clinical. Without her, England coach Sarina Wiegman might have been facing some difficult questions as her side appeared to suffer from opening-night jitters in front of a record crowd of nearly 70,000.
Kirby tired in the second half and, as in the warm-up matches against the Netherlands and Switzerland, was withdrawn just after the hour, as Wiegman looked for a late knockout blow — a theme of England’s preparations for the tournament.
Instead, the hosts lost an element of zip and control without their beating heart and Austria twice extended goalkeeper Mary Earps in search of a late equaliser which would have dampened the carnival atmosphere.
Kirby’s build-up to these finals was not straightforward and last night was the latest in a string of odds-defying comebacks for a player who had considered retirement amid a severe bout of pericarditis, and has also suffered from depression.
Kirby did not play for Chelsea from February this year after being hit with chronic fatigue and there was a doubt about whether she would be fit to make Wiegman’s squad.
To aid her recovery, the 29-year-old slept in an oxygen tent at home and saw a number of specialists but she has said she never let fears about missing the tournament become her master.
Wiegman also kept the faith. The England manager is capable of making tough decisions, leaving out former captain Steph Houghton due to a persistent Achilles problem, but has always wanted to include Kirby, and here was further evidence as to why.
Encouragingly for England, Kirby acknowledged post-match that she is still not at her best and like the Lionesses she should improve as the tournament progresses and her fitness improves.
If the curtain-raiser was anything to go on, these finals could be altogether more cagier than England’s free-scoring recent World Cup qualifiers and warm-up matches, and tight games need players such as Kirby.
Labelled a “national treasure” by Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, Kirby would fully justify that description if she can make her mark on this tournament in the same way she has in domestic football. She has made a good start.
