With one sublime pass, the Lionesses have unlocked the door to football Narnia

Say goodbye to ‘No, we couldn’t… could we?’ Say hello to ‘Yes, we can. We really can.’ Bring on the World Cup final, says Tom Peck

For the third summer in a row, England are in the final of a major football tournament (Reuters)

Oh, the pass. The pass, the pass, the pass. With five minutes to go and the game in the balance, Lauren Hemp looked one way and then slid the ball under some kind of secret door that only she knew was there and into football Narnia. It found Alessia Russo in so much space that it was as if the ball had rolled off the pitch on the school playground and into someone else’s game.

Well, we’re all in Narnia now. 3-1. For the first time in 57 years, an England football team is in a World Cup final.

We can’t pretend to not know what it’s like. Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses are the reigning European champions. For Wiegman herself, it’s the fourth major final in a row, two with the Netherlands and now two with England – a simply staggering achievement.