Alessia Russo spread her arms like an eagle to swoop in celebration after England’s third goal against Australia. That was how I used to peel away after scoring goals for Leyton Orient Ladies – not that there were many people to swoop towards. The odd boyfriend or girlfriend or sibling might be on the touchline. Occasionally a match report, written by our coach, ended up in the senior men’s team’s match-day programme. Which was nice. Really nice. I expected less, not more.
I was once scouted for the Wales national team, not because I was Welsh, not because I was particularly gifted but because I might have a grandparent who was not English. In the 1990s they were that desperate and women who played football
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