Returning hero Beth Mead says the incredible reception she received from England fans during a dramatic win over the Netherlands makes her long rehabilitation from injury worthwhile.
Mead, 28, came off the bench to a huge reception at Wembley at half-time of England’s thrilling 3-2 victory over the Dutch, a result that kept their Nations League hopes alive.
It was the Arsenal forward’s first international appearance in over a year after she ruptured her ACL in November 2022 and it proved to be a dream return. Mead’s introduction was the catalyst for a remarkable fightback after the hosts trailed 2-0 at half-time following a Lineth Beerensteyn double.
Beerensteyn’s second, which squirmed in after a goalkeeping error from Mary Earps, stunned the majority of the 71,000 crowd into silence. But the home fans roared Mead onto the pitch when Sarina Wiegman introduced her to proceedings at the break.
Within 15 minutes England were level, Georgia Stanway heading home from close range before Lauren Hemp curled home an equaliser, after good work from Mead in the build-up. Substitute Ella Toone later scored an injury time winner to keep the Lionesses in the tournament by the barest of margins.
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A reflective Mead was delighted to be back in the international fold, but also called on her team to show greater consistency over 90 minutes.
Mead said: “The days when I've struggled in the gym, long, hard training days of not being able to play football and do the thing that I love, makes it worthwhile to run out there in front of such a big Wembley crowd, getting a great reception and a ruthless second half of football.
“The first half let us down. We were chasing the game and you don't want to be 2-0 down at half-time. But we had the belief in the team, we knew we could score goals and we came out fighting in the second half, I thought the team was amazing.
Georgia Stanway and Mead celebrate after England's equaliser vs Netherlands“Every single person on the pitch and every player that came on is a game changer. And now we've got to do that for 90 minutes and be more consistent throughout the (next) game."
The result means England can still qualify, under the Team GB banner, for the Olympics next summer. To do so they must reach the Nations League final, or finish third if Games hosts France are in the final.
If England and Netherlands both win on the final matchday, goal difference will decide who tops the group and progresses. In this scenario, Wiegman's side would need to score at least four against the Scots in Glasgow on Tuesday's final matchday.
But Mead believes the team have new found confidence following their incredible comeback against the Dutch. "I think it gives us that little bit of energy again,” she added. “We know we're capable of that.
“We've just shown it in front of such a big crowd on such a big occasion and now we've got to do it consistently. I think we'll concentrate on ourselves (against Scotland ) we're the team nominated for Team GB. We want to win the game, we want to score goals so that's our aim for that game."
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