The Lionesses.

[Ramshank72]

I like going against the grain (a chef once told me to do so!):
Why the complaint? Why shouldn't they take the plaudits? How is it any different from the mens team progressing through a competition and only playing the best team in the final, having played many "weaker" teams in the group / knockout stages.

We often hear about football being the working mans game; well the working women just achieved something special.
I found the football more entertaining, and the players more relatable than I do watching the prima-donna multi-millionaire petals that represent the male game.

[ramAnag]

I like going against the grain (a chef once told me to do so!):
Why the complaint? Why shouldn't they take the plaudits? How is it any different from the mens team progressing through a competition and only playing the best team in the final, having played many "weaker" teams in the group / knockout stages.

We often hear about football being the working mans game; well the working women just achieved something special.
I found the football more entertaining, and the players more relatable than I do watching the prima-donna multi-millionaire petals that represent the male game.

Not sure anyone’s complained, Ramshank. I certainly didn’t mean it to come across that way.
Just interested that, on what is (essentially) a football forum, no one had mentioned the Lionesses’ undoubted achievement and wondered what we all, as football fans, thought about the standard.
For me it’s a bit like comparing L2 with the Premier League...the game, as a contest, may be fantastic but the standard is vastly inferior and, a bit like England’s women beating the Aussies at cricket, I can’t get as excited as I would if it was in the real Ashes.

[GUNTERYY36]

Likening PL with L2 is an excellent example of comparing the merits of the same sport, so the comparison further underlines the similarity of women's football to men's football.

Women's footballers have every right to celebrate and compare their achievement to that of their male counterparts. Male football fans such as those posting on here are guilty of making a category error in suggesting their version of football is in some way better or superior. Women would be the first to admit they will never be able to compete with men in terms of physical strength but there are enough similarities to make the two versions comparable. Lawn tennis and table tennis is one such example. There are enough similarities to make each of them enjoyable to watch. For example, returning the ball over a net involving sharp reflexes, precision, power.

Many male football fans didn't see any of the tournament including the final itself, yet feel qualified to give an opinion purely because they're males, or most likely are reluctant to say they enjoy women's football because they're too macho for that. Perhaps they are closet admirers of the game, who knows. At any rate, Spain and France gave high quality entertainment involving intricate one touch football that many fans of male football clubs will rarely see. The ghosts of penalty shoot out pain have finally been lain to rest. Football's finally come home.