Women's World Cup Final

[Harry Dowd scored]

Good save keeper, are you watching Eddie

Totally shite penalty kick though. Even Eds might have got to that one.

Eddie save a pen

[johnny crossan]

These lady commentators do like to play the blame game... and apparently 13 is "just a few minutes"

[dick dastardley]

Commentary woeful in this final

[johnny crossan]

If I hear "unplayable" or "best version of" one more time I'm switching the sound off.

[hyper]

Painful isn't it. In the last two instances we've literally handed possession to Spain too, only for them to be touted "unplayable".

[john@staustell]

Not sure this American ref is particularly unbiased

[CTID Hants]

Not sure this American ref is particularly unbiased

Absolutely diabolical officiating, that said after they conceded they lost faith and panicked

[Dubciteh]

Spain worthy winners, thought they played some lovely stuff.

[johnny crossan]

Happy Pep - The Ladies of Spain deserved WC winners.

[dazby]

Spain were fantastic. England were brilliant. It was a great tournament.

[Beefymcfc]

Lots of talk about parity in pay for the women’s team. Should the men’s game offset the women’s team just so we can show equality or should we see them as separate entities, based on their respective revenues?

[Beefymcfc]

Spain were fantastic. England were brilliant. It was a great tournament.

Thought it was like us playing Stoke, on a rainy day …

We were fairly poor for the whole tournament and scraped through with courage and heart. Technically, we were very poor and against Spain, who’ve been technically brilliant, we had to rough them up and not allow them to play.

It was a close game but if I had to pick a deserved winner, Spain would be it.

Don’t see why we can’t celebrate though, European Champions and 2nd in the WC, we have come on a long way since that Rag, RatFaced cunt fucked it all up.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

Lots of talk about parity in pay for the women’s team. Should the men’s game offset the women’s team just so we can show equality or should we see them as separate entities, based on their respective revenues?

I’m no expert, but I think at international level we should get close to equal. Let’s face it it’s not coming away from the men, but out of the pockets of billionaires. International money isn’t a drop compared to club wages either.

Club wages are a different matter entirely and I think it would be nice to have a full time minimum but I couldn’t justify equal pay when there’s nothing equal about what the men get. Cole Palmer isn’t going to get what KdB gets is he?

[Mase]

I’ve not watched any matches from this tournament so interested to know what the standard like? I know Wrexham went over and smashed a womens team in the US in pre season. So what would the level be compared to in the men’s game? Below the conference?

[dazby]

I’ve not watched any matches from this tournament so interested to know what the standard like? I know Wrexham went over and smashed a womens team in the US in pre season. So what would the level be compared to in the men’s game? Below the conference?

that was Man United Mase.

[BlueinBosnia]

Lots of talk about parity in pay for the women’s team. Should the men’s game offset the women’s team just so we can show equality or should we see them as separate entities, based on their respective revenues?

I’m no expert, but I think at international level we should get close to equal. Let’s face it it’s not coming away from the men, but out of the pockets of billionaires. International money isn’t a drop compared to club wages either.

Club wages are a different matter entirely and I think it would be nice to have a full time minimum but I couldn’t justify equal pay when there’s nothing equal about what the men get. Cole Palmer isn’t going to get what KdB gets is he?

I'm in the same boat. However, there's a deeper issue with that, which journalists have ignored: the amount clubs are paid to release players for World Cup duty, which is a major component of international football finance. For the 2022 (men's) World Cup, this was around £9000 per day (from a pot of just under £200 million). If international football was truly equal, then that's a crazy amount of money going into the women's club game. To take an example, if a club in the French women's 2nd division had signed two players from Morocco, that'd be something in the region of £450K they'd have been getting for the women's World Cup just gone, which would totally imbalance competition. Clubs would be signing players in the hope they get called up for international duty, just to fill their coffers, rather than signing the best talents, because the prize/TV/sponsorship money in the women's game is so small.

[BlueinBosnia]

I’ve not watched any matches from this tournament so interested to know what the standard like? I know Wrexham went over and smashed a womens team in the US in pre season. So what would the level be compared to in the men’s game? Below the conference?

I used to watch women's football semi-regularly when I lived in Bosnia (because there's no alcohol ban in the grounds, unlike the men's game). Players had more time on the ball, and the individual skills on show were better, but players were more prone to panic/cluster. Goalkeepers are shorter, which makes for more 'spectacular' shot-stopping saves (Shay Given springs to mind). The best Bosnian women's team would get smashed by pretty much any men's village team (4th or 5th level on the pyramid), but that's more due to physicality than skill. The football on show was better than the men's second tier (and a decent proportion of first-tier games) for a spectator.

Overall, you can't compare: I'm sure the Harlem Globetrotters would get destroyed by some Lithuanian 2nd division basketball team, but - if I were a basketball fan - I'd rather watch the Harlem Globetrotters perform than some teams I've never heard of from towns I've never heard of.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

I’ve not watched any matches from this tournament so interested to know what the standard like? I know Wrexham went over and smashed a womens team in the US in pre season. So what would the level be compared to in the men’s game? Below the conference?

I used to watch women's football semi-regularly when I lived in Bosnia (because there's no alcohol ban in the grounds, unlike the men's game). Players had more time on the ball, and the individual skills on show were better, but players were more prone to panic/cluster. Goalkeepers are shorter, which makes for more 'spectacular' shot-stopping saves (Shay Given springs to mind). The best Bosnian women's team would get smashed by pretty much any men's village team (4th or 5th level on the pyramid), but that's more due to physicality than skill. The football on show was better than the men's second tier (and a decent proportion of first-tier games) for a spectator.

Overall, you can't compare: I'm sure the Harlem Globetrotters would get destroyed by some Lithuanian 2nd division basketball team, but - if I were a basketball fan - I'd rather watch the Harlem Globetrotters perform than some teams I've never heard of from towns I've never heard of.

This is a great post.

[Mase]

I’ve not watched any matches from this tournament so interested to know what the standard like? I know Wrexham went over and smashed a womens team in the US in pre season. So what would the level be compared to in the men’s game? Below the conference?

I used to watch women's football semi-regularly when I lived in Bosnia (because there's no alcohol ban in the grounds, unlike the men's game). Players had more time on the ball, and the individual skills on show were better, but players were more prone to panic/cluster. Goalkeepers are shorter, which makes for more 'spectacular' shot-stopping saves (Shay Given springs to mind). The best Bosnian women's team would get smashed by pretty much any men's village team (4th or 5th level on the pyramid), but that's more due to physicality than skill. The football on show was better than the men's second tier (and a decent proportion of first-tier games) for a spectator.

Overall, you can't compare: I'm sure the Harlem Globetrotters would get destroyed by some Lithuanian 2nd division basketball team, but - if I were a basketball fan - I'd rather watch the Harlem Globetrotters perform than some teams I've never heard of from towns I've never heard of.

This is a great post.

You work(ed) in womens football didn’t you Lee? What’s your thoughts? What level are they at now do you think?

I’m interested because when I took my daughter about a year and a half ago the standard was awful (goalkeepers diving 10 seconds after the ball went passed them etc) and I’m wondering if it has improved or not?

[Nigels Tackle]

Lots of talk about parity in pay for the women’s team. Should the men’s game offset the women’s team just so we can show equality or should we see them as separate entities, based on their respective revenues?

I’m no expert, but I think at international level we should get close to equal.Let’s face it it’s not coming away from the men, but out of the pockets of billionaires. International money isn’t a drop compared to club wages either.

Club wages are a different matter entirely and I think it would be nice to have a full time minimum but I couldn’t justify equal pay when there’s nothing equal about what the men get. Cole Palmer isn’t going to get what KdB gets is he?

surely it again comes down to the revenue that they generate?
in the weeks leading up to the competition, fifa were moaning that the european tv companies weren't coughing up big bucks to show the games
then there's ticket prices - can't imagine prices for the tournament just gone were even 50% of what fifa (rightly / wrongly) charged for the games in qatar
brands / sponsorship - i think that this is where the opportunity is for the women's game particularly in the wsl... they could stop piggy backing of the mens deal and find their own specific, hopefully more lucrative deals.
there's nothing sexist about my views on women's football... other than the city 1st team i have very little interest in the results of the other boys/youth/eds teams at city - i like to know that we have players coming through but if they win or lose i don't really care.... same goes for the england 1st team and then the u21/u20s etc...