MY ACCOUNT
Leah Williamson believes last night’s Finalissima success will fire up England as they bid to rule the world this summer.
The Lionesses beat Brazil 4-2 on penalties after a last-gasp equaliser from Andressa Alves cancelled out Ella Toone’s opener to take the match to spot-kicks.
Williamson captained the side that won Euro 2022 last summer and followed it up with a second Arnold Clark Cup win before the first-ever Women’s Finalissima in front of a bumper Wembley crowd.
And the Arsenal star, 26, now has her sights set on Tuesday’s friendly with Australia ahead of England’s trip Down Under in July for the World Cup.
She said: “We work hard, we put the work in and we don’t shy away.
“We give everything we can to England in pursuit of this greater goal but we’re going to enjoy it along the way.
“The more we remember and the more we feel when we do things like this, it just gives you the fire in the belly for the summer.”
England dominated the opening period and took a deserved lead through Toone after 23 minutes.
But Brazil improved rapidly after the break and managed to force a stoppage-time equaliser when Mary Earps spilled a shot into the path of Alves.
Williamson added: “With equalisers like that, you always think if I just did this or if I had just done that.
“But we didn’t necessarily deserve to concede. I think we are a lot better than we were in the second half, even though there were still good things.
“It meant we got what we deserved and we had to finish things off in a different way. It’s probably good to expose ourselves to all these challenges.
“We didn’t come out the way we should have come out. We were rocky, complacent and not good on the ball.
“Once we sorted ourselves out, we are a good enough team to be able to deal with those counter-attacks. But with a team like Brazil, if you give them an inch, they will take it.”
