England 1-0 Austria
by Dom Smith
at Old Trafford
 

THE crashes and the bangs of the opening ceremony left just smog. And once the smog had cleared, all that was left between England and the perfect start at a home Euros was Austria.

England took them on and beat them with an early goal that needed both goal-line technology and VAR to check it had crossed the line. Once it was confirmed, the cauldron erupted.
 
No England player, woman or man, has ever scored more goals in a single season than Beth Mead’s 14 this term. She took Fran Kirby’s cute pass in her stride, lobbing Manuela Zinsberger who’s usually a teammate at Arsenal, and appealing to the referee that it had crossed the line once Carina Wenninger had cleared.
 
The referee pointed to the centre circle, and Old Trafford erupted.

The fans rightly sense this is England’s year. Sarina Wiegman has done well to build a winning culture devoid of external pressure with England. But her team has developed so well over her first year in charge that they are now seen as one of the favourites to win these Euros.
 
Though this was not a vintage England win, the pressure will start to build now nonetheless. Mead’s goal kept the expectant fans on side, and with 69,000 of them in attendance at a sold-out Old Trafford — they continued to push England on as the first half progressed.