Published on : 28/07/2022 – 15:20
With six goals on the clock, the English striker Beth Mead is currently the top scorer of the Euro. A real scoring machine, the Arsenal player had nevertheless been excluded from the selection for the Olympic Games last year. A year later, she took her revenge and largely contributed to the qualification of the “Lionesses” for the final.
“What a night and what an incredible atmosphere coming from the fans. I’m very proud to be English and to be part of this team.” After the landslide victory of the “Lionesses” in the semi-finals of the Euro once morest Sweden (4-0)striker Beth Mead had no words strong enough to express her joy.
It was she who launched her team by opening the score at the 34e minute. On a magnificent cross from Lucy Bronze, she found the way to the Scandinavian nets thanks to a pivoting half-volley. With this sixth goal in the competition, to which we can add three assists, Mead has already equaled the record for goals scored by a player in a Euroestablished by the German Inka Grings in 2009.
Despite this remarkable individual performance, the 27-year-old Arsenal player prefers to praise the collective: “We always knew we had the abilities, but the faith we have in ourselves, individually and collectively, is at maximum. It shows on and off the pitch, I think.”
“I was not well last summer”
But if the Covid-19 had not postponed the women’s competition for a year, she certainly would not have been part of the selection. Twelve months earlier, Beth Mead had thus been excluded from the Tokyo Olympics by breeder Hege Riise. A decision that she had very badly experienced. “I was not well last summer”, she recently told the Telegraph.
“I hate myself for feeling this, but I found myself sitting at home having negative thoughts regarding certain players, wanting them to play badly so people would realize it was a mistake not to play. to have taken me”, she had detailed.
“Nobody told me what I needed to improve or why others were chosen for the Olympics and not me,” she pleaded. “The only feedback I got was that I was ‘too aggressive in the way I played’, and I mightn’t figure it out. I always played like that.”
“Tougher Than Most Boys”
The one we nicknamed “Meado the Enraged” is indeed known for her rough game. Born in rural Yorkshire, in the north of England, she was pushed into football by her mother who was looking for an outlet for this bundle of nerves.
“She will be the only girl here. And (the boys) are tough enough, will that be okay?” the coach had warned on the first day. “When (my mum) came back an hour later he basically told her I was even tougher than most boys,” she told the FA website.
After a stint in local teams, she was finally spotted at the age of 16 by the Sunderland club. For her first high-level match, she scores a goal once morest the defending champions of Liverpool. In a few seasons, she established herself as one of the most prominent players in England and caught the eye ofArsenalwhich made him sign a professional contract in 2017.
In the selection, she made her debut with the first team in 2018, but the relationship is not good with coach Philip Neville, the former Manchester United star who, according to the Guardianaccuses her of being too laid back and only happy when she goes to Whitley Bay, a seaside resort in the northeast of England, “to eat fish and chips”.
Wiegman’s trust
The arrival of coach Sarina Wiegman changed the situation. After an exceptional season under the colors of Arsenal with 26 assists and 12 goals in total, the Dutch technician trusted him. The chemistry between the two women works. “She’s very direct. You might say abrupt for England, but it’s very Dutch. She always goes straight to the point. We needed this franchise (…). I love playing for her,” said pointed out Beth Mead, who has scored 20 times in 19 appearances since Sarina Wiegman has been on the bench.
The serial scorer also admits that her non-selection for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was a click. “It lit a fire in me. I didn’t want to feel it once more. On the contrary, it gave me even more determination and focus. I play my best football when I’m angry.” If this rage that has become positive is still present, the striker might once once more prove to be very effective and ruthless with her opponents on Sunday in the final at Wembley. England fans have already dubbed the Euro the “Beth Mead Revenge Tour” – Beth Mead’s revenge tour.
With AFP
