Grassroots players say England’s penalty heroes have taken ladies football to another level
From mid-afternoon on Sunday, the Leyton Star pub in east London was filled with hundreds of pint-clutching fans dressed in the Lioness kit and swaddled in flags to watch England play Spain for their second major international tournament final in two years – hoping this time they might flip the result.
They were joined by thousands more fans in pubs and community centres across the UK, and audiences tuning in at home, whose number is expected to surpass the 17.4m peak seen during the semi-final.
