England’s rivalry with Spain is missing just one vital ingredient – sun loungers

England coach Sarina Wiegman was asked what made the Lionesses so hard to beat and she gave a clear answer: ‘We’re ruthless’. Never has that been more apparent than when English and Spanish holiday-makers go face-to-face by the pool, writes Tom Peck

Sarina Wiegman, centre, with her players after England’s semi-final win over Australia (The FA via Getty Images)

It is a disappointment that women’s football has come of age in very slightly more enlightened times.

For most people, what will happen on Sunday in Sydney is just a sporting contest, a shot at immortality. It’s noble enough. Admirable even. But it is nevertheless a statement of fact that had this been going on, say, 20 years ago, it would have been a fine opportunity to analyse the degree to which the proud nations of England and Spain absolutely hate one another.

It is only really the luck of the footballing draw that means your average Englishman has spent the last half-century or so getting angry about the Battle of Trafalgar, the Second World War and the Falklands, while scarcely troubling at all the rich seam of historical grievance with the Spanish. And it seems a shame that this is unlikely to change.