England fans flocked to the Premier League’s newest stadium on Tuesday evening as the Lionesses took on Ukraine at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium. The match came just days after England suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Spain in their penultimate UEFA Women’s Nations League A Group 3 fixture.
World Cup Rematch
In a rematch of the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, the Lionesses were unable to replicate their 1-0 victory over Spain at Wembley earlier in the campaign, leaving their hopes of automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup finals in Brazil hanging in the balance. England and Spain both entered the final round of fixtures level on 12 points from five games, but Spain's superior head-to-head record means the Lionesses no longer control their own destiny in the race for top spot.
Fan Excitement
Despite the setback in Majorca, thousands of supporters made their way to the city’s windswept waterfront to cheer on Sarina Wiegman’s side. Among them were players from the Cheshire Vikings Under-10s team, who told the ECHO that the Lionesses had "inspired" them to play football. Attending their first women’s international match, the girls said they would be “absolutely buzzing” if England secured qualification for next year’s World Cup.
Ten-year-old Skye White was among those heading to the game with her dad, Adam. The young centre-back plays for Aldershaw in Wallasey and said her favourite thing about football is “being part of a team”. Speaking ahead of kick-off, Skye said she was excited to watch her heroes in action at Everton’s new stadium.
Here are some of the fans who gathered outside the Hill Dickinson Stadium before the match:
- An England fan doing keepie-uppies outside the stadium
- George, celebrating his 8th birthday tomorrow, at the match
- England fans Emily, Ruby, Zara and Hannah from Runcorn Linnets Lilacs
- Fans from Cheshire Vikings Phoenix football club
- Fi, 5, with face paint
- Krystina and George
- Joshy, 8, Noah, 7, and Fi, 5
