It looks like one big family picnic, but it sounds like a beer-fuelled pantomime: BETH HALE enjoys a carnival atmosphere as adoring fans – along with the Lionesses of tomorrow – watch England’s heroic women from the other side of the world

For those who couldn’t make the trip Down Under, it was the next best thing. An airy space, a giant screen, enough English flags to dress up a circus tent and good-humored camaraderie through the barrelload.

There was also hope – a lot. As fans lined up outside Boxpark Wembley in London yesterday morning to cheer on the Lionesses, it was written on the faces of every one of them, both young and old.

Part of the crowd was here last year, when a few hundred yards away our intrepid sports heroines took center stage under the main stadium’s famous arch and famously won over Germany in the European Championship final.

Lisa and Jamie Exley traveled all the way from Scarborough with their football-loving daughters Lila, ten, and Livia, six, staying in a hotel before claiming a spot in the reserved area.

The last time Lila was in this neck of the woods, she was on the pitch herself at Wembley, playing for Scarborough Athletic in an under-11 girls national league. To say she’s excited is an understatement.

As fans lined up outside Boxpark Wembley in London yesterday morning to cheer on the Lionesses, it was written on the faces of every one of them, both young and old.

It’s all she talks about. She eats, sleeps and plays football’, laughs 36-year-old Lisa. Lila is certainly not alone. The rows of benches are full of children and their parents. There are even a few grandparents in the mix.

It’s like a big, cozy family picnic, even if a member of the bar staff tells me she’s sold more beer than soda.

But this is undeniably a women-oriented gathering – there are at least three times more women than men. “It wouldn’t be if it were a man’s game,” says a smiling security woman. “Usually the men end up paralyzed on the sidewalk at the end of the night, but I don’t think that’s going to happen here.”

With this, I look up and see two men lined up to buy Taiwanese bubble tea. Rather.

Part of the assembled crowd has a football background of their own. Among the more vocal fans are eight proud members of England’s first international women’s team, who played against Scotland in 1972 (and won 3-2).

‘1972 Lionesses – Yes, we were the first’ reads the slogan on the back of their shirts. They were then a group of 16 to 20 year olds. “I played with all the boys on the street,” says Sue Whyatt. ‘I played in goal because I played korfball at school and was the only one stupid enough to want to play in goal on asphalt!’

This is undeniably a women-oriented gathering – there are at least three times more women than men

Usually the men end up paralyzed on the sidewalk at the end of the night, but I don’t think that’s going to happen here

As England’s reserve goalkeeper, she did not play in that first game, but did play in subsequent games, before the reality of being a sportswoman in an era when women did not normally play football set in and she became a police officer. for Cheshire Police.

Upstairs, wearing a flag and wearing a fisherman’s hat, Terri oversees her three goddaughters, ages five to thirteen, as they have English flags painted on their faces.

The 34-year-old from Camden played for Queen’s Park Rangers as a child and recalls having to borrow her under-13 strip from the boys’ team as the money didn’t reach to invest in a separate kit for the girls.

“We’ve been dragging the kids to games for years,” she explains. “The difference is that they really want to come now.”

It’s not hard to see why. The cries of delight, boos of indignation and sighs of desperation that greet every forward charge, offense and – ultimately – the opponent’s winning goal are like the soundtrack to a pantomime.

Spain won a penalty in the 69th minute to make it 2-0

Desperation turns to elation when Mary Earps pulls off a stunning save

Spain won a penalty in the 69th minute to make it 2-0. But desperation turns to elation when Mary Earps pulls off an amazing save. The crowd erupts, with table-thumping cheers of EN-G-LAND echoing through the room.

But as the 13 minutes of extra time tick down inexorably, shoulders slump a bit.

The parents in the crowd noticeably gird themselves to comfort the younger members of their party. The final whistle blows and Lila, who has been on her feet for most of the game, bravely wipes away her tears.

But she listens as her mother reminds her that this team will be back again. They’ve also fared a lot better than any English man over the past six decades. Who knows, maybe one day Lila will compete for her land?

At the end of the game, the Boxpark DJ turns Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds (“don’t worry about anything”) to full volume.

It sums up the morning. Everyone is a little gutted to have come so close to victory, but somehow the fact that there are so many people here who wear their heart on their sleeve is something in itself for the English women to be proud of. are.