England must prove they can win home and away ahead of World Cup final clash

From James Toney in Sydney

It’s just 30 miles between the real-life location of the fictitious Summer Bay and Stadium Australia, now it’s England’s time to do it not just at home but also away.

A nation that has turned their national sport into a soap opera for too long has never had a better opportunity to finish a world tournament with the first flawless script in 57 years.

Seven previous final appearances from a combined 61 major tournaments for men and women is a pretty woeful return for country that invented the game and still stands guardian over its rules. Germany, for contrast, have 25.

And the two wins both came at Wembley - England’s football team have too long travelled about as well as a Romanian Pinot Grigio.

Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses now find themselves again at the hinge of history, nearly 13 months on from their dramatic European success.

More success, this time 10,553 miles away from home, would be the ultimate way to end the decades long hoodoo.

"When I started this job I heard a lot about 1966, I know it's always there in the conversation, everyone is talking about it," said Wiegman.

"I feel how much the nation just wants to win a major tournament - to win the World Cup.

"What do we have to do to win, and how can we win? To get results, stop talking about the result because we know what we want.

"I'm so proud of the team - it has been really impressive how they have responded to every challenge we've had.

"It shows so much resilience but also eagerness and conviction that we want to do well.

"On Sunday we will face challenges again but we know how we want to play, we know the strengths but also the weaknesses of Spain, and it's just trying to exploit the weaknesses and take out the strengths."

England qualified for the World Cup win ten straight wins, scoring 80 goals and conceding none. They also beat the world champions USA and South American champions Brazil in the Conmebol/Uefa Finalissma - both matches at fortress Wembley.

However, this campaign has navigated choppier waters. They edged nervous wins over Haiti and Denmark in their opening games, before swatting aside China to book knockout progress.

Nigeria outmuscled, outfought and, arguably, outplayed them in Brisbane but England found a way to get the job done on penalties - they can now do winning ugly too.

Colombia were just as physical in the quarter-finals and took an early lead, England showing their comeback abilities via goals from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo. Another box ticked.

Then they took on an entire nation to end the hopes of Australia. The local media are still seething about the 3-1 win, dubbing it 'Bodyline in Boots' and casting Alex Greenwood as Douglas Jardine and Jess Carter as Harold Larwood. One frothing editorial, with little resemblance to reality, urged the nation to support Spain in retaliation. Another hostile crowd now awaits, they've sold out of Spain shirts in Sydney's flagship Nike store.

A team that cruised through qualifying almost too easily have have bent a little through the adversity of the last month in Australia - but they've not broken. Indeed they've appeared to get stronger.

They have shouldered every setback, from the pre-tournament injuries to key players Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby - so crucial to their Euro success - to the two-match suspension of the influential Lauren James, now back for the final.

When midfield linchpin Keira Walsh missed the China game through injury, Weigman changed her entire system in just a couple of training sessions, the team, which had looked confined and constricted, suddenly finding their freedom.

England have been blessed by a special generation of players but it needed master coach Weigman to bring them together. This is a team moulded in her image - ruthless, honest and pragmatic, with a soft side too that doesn't see vulnerability as a weakness either.

“Sarina has created a really strong culture in this team,” said Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham.“You can see what she brings in camp in terms of the togetherness. You can see how she galvanises anything. The fact there was a strong plan in place already just means it’s come to fruition really nicely.”

Cliques between players from different clubs severely impacted England's men during the time of Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, perhaps squandering the potential of that golden generation.

Too often at major tournaments, players give the impression of being too cool for school, Gareth Southgate's introduction of a dart board a small step in the right direction.

What strikes you about the Lionesses is their likability and their genuine support of each other - over here they call it 'mateship'.

It seems they have an innate understanding that they, unfortunately, still a job to do beyond the pitch, informing, educating and winning the hearts and minds of closed minded too. Winning is also fun and they seem to be having more than their share.

England's campaign will, of course, be more complicated, messy and inconvenient behind the scenes than the carefully edited snapshots we get on their social media accounts.

But it hard not to smile after taking a few moments to scroll.

From Ella Toone's fake eyelashes confessions to Katie Zelem's role as the official tour guide, all while Esme Morgan makes friendship bracelets for her team-mates in their club colours, Ellie Roebuck snaps away for the candid photo album she is compiling and Lotte Wubben-Moy makes her 'doodle diary'.

This is Wiegman's fourth major final, after also guiding her native Netherlands to success in the 2017 Women's Euros and the 2019 World Cup final, which they lost to the USA.

"I still think I'm in some sort of fairytale," she said.

Let's hope she gets her happy ending.