Recovering as I am from spinal surgery my typing is still stilted and uncomfortable, but I thought it worth the effort to try and detail my thoughts on the 2025 UEFA European Women's Championship Tournament.
For those that know this blog, I spent an awful lot of time and effort following the Womens' World Cup two years ago. Watching this year's edition of the European World Championship ought to be a similar experience, yeah? No.
Two things struck me immediately after I started watching the matches.
Where is the Talent?
First, the standard of play was awful. Even among the "elite" teams like world champions Spain or European champions England, the display of technique and skill was virtually nonexistent. Teams like Wales embarrassed themselves with clumsy and naïve charges about the field that often resulted with baffled and groggy players recalling the wet thwacking noise that had sent them tumbling unconscious to the turf.
Who are these Women?
Second, I experienced a profound lack of recognition when it came to the lineups. Looking back at my articles from 2023, I wanted to see some of the star performers again, see how they have developed, and hopefully bear witness to an explosion of flair. But they were all gone. It's only been two years. Where has everyone gone? Surely, 25 year-old women from the World Cup haven't "aged-out" in the short period between then and now.
Three Letters
An answer to why the level of competition seems more like pub league, and why I can't identify more than one or two players from teams that just two years ago competed for the biggest trophy in the sport seems to be locked in three words: Anterior Cruciate Ligament. In three letters, the acronym ACL haunts players of this sport like no spectral stalker could ever do.
I have already spoken about this topic at length. Canadian superhero Kara Lang's struggles with ACL surgeries and recoveries can be seen in an article HERE. The problem of women suffering this specific type of injury has been examined before Lang's third ACL tear in 2014. Two things are brought up as the potential causes of injury aggravation - surfaces and training.
AI Musical Interlude
For those of you curious or interested enough, there are a couple of AI-generated tracks which were produced using certain keywords and musical genre directions.
This song seems to grungily bemoan the effects of astroturf on women's knees:
Iron on the Pitch
Iron on the Pitch
and this track tries a more soulful approach:
I shall be back soon to try and integrate some of these concepts with my favourite European team — the Swiss. I am still fuming that Giulia Gwinn of Deutschland is likely out for the rest of the tournament with a twisted left knee, and I hope that there are no other serious injuries as the tournament progresses.
Thank you very much for reading.
Good night England and the colonies.
—mARKUS
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