Leah Williamson admits it is a “strange” feeling to see a picture of herself beamed onto Tower Bridge.
Being England captain in a home tournament brings different expectation levels for the Arsenal midfielder this summer. Her face has been splashed all over the country in the last few weeks. But rather than being intimidated by being thrust into the spotlight, Williamson is determined to embrace the pressure and rise to the occasion.
Williamson, 25, is also excited by playing in front of a sold-out Old Trafford and believes the 77,000 crowd can give them a huge advantage as well as playing all of their games on home soil. When asked about the giant picture and being on billboards, Williamson said: “It’s not normal, is it?
“But it’s good because it means we’re visible, the size of the women’s game is being recognised and recognised as it should be. It’s strange - but a good thing!”
Williamson did have a slip of the tongue as she described the crowd being a “12th man” when actually the beauty of this tournament that it will be men, women, boys and girls of all ages at games and also watching on TV.
Pressure is something that, as Williamson admits, England have maybe struggled with in the past and being tournament hosts ratchets it up another level. Boss Sarina Wiegman has lived it in the past with Holland and Williamson says England can do the same.
“Sarina’s had the experience of that and that’s something she wants to embrace as well,” said Williamson.
“It’s something that we’ve maybe not been that good at in the past but we’re loving the fact that there will be 77,000 there tomorrow and most of them will be cheering for us.
“Of course it’s an advantage and we’re at home so we intend to use it as much as possible and embrace it. Pressure is a privilege. It’s something we’re embracing, that comes with it, it’s part of the job and we’ll be ready.
“We’re not robots. There’s going to be nerves, we’re aware of the expectation but from within the camp we are ready and if I wasn’t ready for tomorrow with the job that I’ve got then why would I do it? We’ve got that kind of mentality.”
Williamson has played in defence and in midfield for England in the warm-up games as Wiegman’s team have swept Belgium, Holland and Switzerland aside.
It is 12 wins in 14 games unbeaten with 84 goals scored and just three conceded under Wiegman’s leadership. They are full of confidence and believe they can go all the way.
Williamson added: “The team is in a great place. Fitness wise and all those things that are in your control and taken care of. The warm-up games have provided what we needed in terms of seeing where we are weaker, where we need to improve and you find about yourself in those games.
“We know what sort of form we are in and it’s given us time to prepare and I think we’re ready for this and ready for tomorrow. I’m very proud and when I look back, I’m sure it will be a moment that I will remember for a very long time.
“The only thing that could top being on the pitch tomorrow is being sat with my family. It will be a very proud moment. I’ve spoken to my family a lot, the good luck messages are pouring in and I hope they have a good time.
“We’ve put in the work over the past few weeks, we’ve ticked the boxes and we know how big a moment tomorrow is and so I think everyone will be ready.”
And boss Sarina Wiegman is ready to embrace the pressure of being tournament hosts and favourites, promising “We’re ready.”
Wiegman, who led her native Holland to Euros glory when they hosted the tournament in 2017, said: “It’s really exciting and we’re ready for it. When you are a coach, any experience is helpful. It’s different to what it was five years ago, but we had shared experiences, we played many great games at the highest level. We talk about expectations but it’s about what you do on the pitch.
“Everything is bigger here, the level of expectations, the level of the game is higher and it’s hard to compare but I think the players are more experienced and are ready for this environment.”
England are expected to win the tournament with the final at Wembley on July 31 and Wiegman insists she is not worried about the pressure even though she admitted the competition has never been stronger.
She added: “The game has developed so quickly that many teams can be favourites for this tournament because the level is so high. Let’s start the first match, do well and take it from there. I think it’s hard to predict because lots of teams are in a good position. So are we. But I hope we can enjoy this Euros.
“We’re really happy with the squad and we’ve got som hard choices to make. It’s hard, we’ve shown we’ve got a lot of depth in the squad but it’s good to have those decisions.
“We will do the same things that we always do. Just focus on our style of our play, but we also know the tournament starts tomorrow and it would be strange if you weren’t excited.”
Likely Opening Lineups
England Women: Earps; Bronze, Bright, Greenwood, Daly; Williamson, Walsh; Mead, Kirby, Hemp; White
Austria Women: Zinsberger; Wienroither, Wenninger, Schnaderbeck, Hanshaw; Dunst, Zadrazil, Puntigam, Feiersinger, Naschenweng; Billa
