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If you could trust one group of athletes to ‘bring it home’ in a major football tournament after an almost six-decade dry spell, it had to be the England Women’s Squad.
Last July, footballer Chloe Kelly secured a victory for England when her goal in extra time gave the hosts a 2-1 win over Germany, resulting in the team’s first-ever European title in the UEFA Women’s Championship 2022 final. The final, attended by 87,192 fans at Wembley Stadium, made the match the most attended across both men’s and women’s football in the Championship, and finally gave women’s football the recognition it so rightly deserves.
Of course, the team’s win wasn’t the making of Kelly alone, rather it required a team effort of Lionesses – as they’ve been dubbed in recent years – coming together to lift the Euro trophy.
In a recent interview with ELLE UK, Lioness players Ella Toone and Alessia Russo – often referred to as the 'deadly duo' – played a game of Knowing Me, Knowing You to find out just how much they know about their teammates.
Despite not knowing who has the phrase ‘Life’s a gamble so enjoy the game’ inked on their thigh (it’s Bethany England, by the way), the pair both agreed they’d trust Lotte Wubben-Moy to give them a tattoo. ‘She’s very sensible and artsy,’ explained Ella, 'she wouldn’t want to hurt you either'.
The BFFs showed off their new matching love heart tattoos on their wrists, and joked about the possibility of future inkings. ‘I’m not having any more tattoos, but if I was going to get one, I’ve have Alessia,’ Ella teased, before Alessia reflected on her teammates’ best tattoos. ‘A lot of them got [tattoos] after the Euros, like “home”. [Georgia] Stanway has a nice one – the minute the final whistle went when we won the Euros.’
Despite not know who likes ‘pretty much anything dipped in milk’ (Laura Coombs), the friends correctly guessed that Kelly owns a cavapoochon. As for who is the biggest party animal on the team, it had to be Katie Zelem. ‘Us a bit too, we’re social girls,’ added Alessia. ‘It’s rare [we can go out to party], but when we do, we have a good time’.
On the subject of ‘good times’, the pair recalled their favourite memory from their Euros celebrations, which involved the team reportedly partying until 4am, hours before walking out to a roar of cheers and whistles from thousands of fans who had gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square to mark their Euro 2022 final.
‘Bethan England and Jess Carter were asleep on the corridor,’ Ella recalled of the morning after the match. ‘Everyone was up in the morning and getting dressed and going into different rooms, and they were just asleep in the middle of the corridor. I don’t think they went to bed!’
Later in the interview, Ella and Alessia shared their pre-match rituals. ‘I listen to the same playlist every game day and it’s a real variety of country, RnB, rap… it’s just a mix,’ said Alessia, noting: ‘That, and I jump seven times before kick-off. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s stuck.’
‘Mine would be the same breakfast and pre-match meal. I have a bagel, eggs and beans, and then right before kick off I shout “come on girls, straight in”, and then I run off,' added Ella.
From their non-negotiable manicures (‘we always say “look good feel good”. We’re always in kit and sports clothes, so it’s nice to have a bit of glam when you can,’ said Alessia), to who is the worst cook on the team, you can watch the full Knowing Me Knowing You video at the top of this article.
