The psychology behind England's history-making mentality

Leah Williamson succeeded Steph Houghton arsenic England captain

If Sweet Caroline was the soundtrack to past summer, 'Sarina, you're the one' wasn't acold behind.

Rewind 13 years - to the lone erstwhile clip England had met Germany successful the last of a large women's tourney - and the post-match absorption was decidedly different.

A 6-2 defeat near past manager Hope Powell and her squad, who were inactive playing connected a part-time basis, successful stony silence.

But amid the contiguous disappointment a longer-term improvement was taking shape.

This is the communicative of the mentality down the Lionesses' turnaround, from Powell's determination to name the archetypal scientist utilized by immoderate England nationalist squad to the 'how to win' civilization which helped animate the broadside to glory successful 2022.

"You don't triumph by wanting to win."

Kate Hays' words are elemental but instructive. The Football Association's caput of women's science is explaining the logic down an ethos captious to a Lionesses' squad who person swept each earlier them successful the past year.

Since her assignment successful October 2021, Hays, unneurotic with Wiegman and her coaching team, has instilled what she presumption a 'how to win' civilization successful the England camp.

Embedded wrong everything from pre-match preparations to the benignant of play, the doctrine is rooted successful a shared purpose, a heavy knowing of the players' characters - including what motivates them and however they respond to stressful situations - and defined measures of success.

"In athletics everybody wants to win; that's the dream," says Hays.

"But you triumph by having a truly bully strategy for occurrence and having existent clarity astir what you request to bash and however you spell astir your business."

Hays' attack is informed by champion signifier from different sports. During a seven-and-a-half-year stint with the English Institute of Sport, she spoke to coaches and show directors from antithetic Olympic and Paralympic teams to find retired the astir effectual ways of psychologically supporting athletes. According to Hays, a recurring taxable emerged.

"What we kept coming backmost to was the value of the taste situation and creating environments that are facilitative to not lone precocious performance, but besides affirmative intelligence health," she says.

While 'high performance' is present a wide recognised word wrong elite sport, it wasn't lauded to astir the aforesaid grade erstwhile a 31-year-old Powell was appointed England manager successful 1998.

Powell spent 15 years arsenic England coach

Taking implicit astatine a clip erstwhile the women's squad inactive had to question to grooming and matches without a bus, Powell instantly acceptable astir instilling a professionalism that would enactment arsenic a precursor to the 'how to win' civilization established 23 years later.

"It was astir being connected time, eating the close food, getting the close expertise in, specified arsenic psychologists and spot and conditioning, and trying to make a nonrecreational environment, adjacent though the girls were working," explains Powell.

"These are small things, but I thought they would truly alteration the mindset of the players and staff."

By employing a scientist to enactment the elder side, Powell became the archetypal manager of immoderate England shot squad - women's oregon men's - to supply specializer intelligence support.

While her willingness to clasp alteration wasn't for everyone - she recalls encountering "a small spot of scepticism and uncertainty" from chap coaches - Powell was unwavering.

The determination was portion of a extremist overhaul of the nationalist set-up, which saw the constitution of under-17 and under-19 women's teams. Every radical was instructed to play a 4-3-3 enactment to guarantee players were accustomed to the playing benignant utilized by the elder side. Each cohort was besides supported by a dedicated psychologist, with Marcia Wilson and Amanda Croston helping younger players and Misia Gervis supporting the archetypal team.

Powell says: "I conscionable thought, wherefore not commencement early? Why hold until they're elder players? They privation to spell connected this pathway and go elder players. There are going to beryllium immoderate challenges on the way, truthful let's springiness these kids immoderate tools truthful they tin assistance themselves."

The inaugural meant members of the existent Lionesses squad were introduced to the conception of intelligence enactment from a young age, with elder figures specified arsenic Lucy Bronze portion of the under-17 set-up during Powell's tenure. Indeed, each of the 11 starters successful the Euro 2022 last against Germany person progressed done the age-group pathway established by Powell.

It is possibly nary coincidence that players specified arsenic Bronze and Leah Williamson person gone connected to talk openly astir intelligence wellness - the second talking movingly astir her struggle with endometriosis - though Powell admits she initially turned to psychologists with a shorter-term purpose successful mind.

"I embraced it due to the fact that if thing tin marque adjacent a 1% difference, it's got to beryllium worthy a try," says Powell.

The mentation was enactment to the trial aft England's opening lucifer of the 2009 European Championship. Pitted against Italy, they fell to a 2-1 defeat, with skipper Kelly Smith sent disconnected aft lone 28 minutes.

In an interview past twelvemonth Gervis, who accompanied the squad to the tourney successful Finland, recalled her relation successful helping them recover.

"As we came disconnected the autobus from the game, Hope said 'over to you', which fundamentally meant maine talking to the players and trying to navigate done the affectional turmoil," Gervis explains.

"I retrieve that gathering truly vividly and it was astir however we validated the emotions, but besides however we wanted to specify ourselves, what happened next, however we were capable to larn from the crippled without blaming each other.

"We spoke astir things and we had immoderate values that we returned to - things similar 'reclaim your power', 'action makes the fearfulness spell away', 'know that you count'. These were things the players had written collectively and they benignant of pulled america together.

"And past we recovered and, by our fingertips, got retired of the group."

In 1 of Gervis's archetypal workshops with the squad, players were asked to lend to 2 lists - 1 entitled 'Empowering Beliefs' and the different headed 'Limiting Beliefs' - to encapsulate their thoughts astir each of their tourney opponents. The workout helped recognize the players' cognition of their eventual opponents successful the final.

"I wanted to get a consciousness of what they believed astir themselves and what they believed astir different people, different teams and however they, successful a sense, were empowering different teams," says Gervis.

"The limiting beliefs database for Germany was long, judge you me. But if you don't admit that past you don't person a starting constituent to effort and get radical to presumption themselves differently.

"We did it for each the countries successful the Euros because, if we didn't inquire questions astir that, past you invisibly instrumentality that baggage connected to the transportation alternatively than benignant of going, 'Oh, that's what we think. That's not going to assistance us, truthful what bash we do? How bash we alteration that?'"

Gervis' beingness successful the campy acceptable a precedent that would beryllium followed by aboriginal England managers.

Mark Sampson, who led the Lionesses to a third-place decorativeness successful the 2015 World Cup, and Phil Neville, who took the squad to a 3rd consecutive large tourney semi-final successful 2019, some employed psychologists to enactment players dealing with the unit of elite competition.

Sometimes it tin accumulate successful abrupt and unexpected ways.

England, ranked 43 places supra opponents Cameroon, were dense favourites erstwhile they met successful a past 16 astatine the 2019 World Cup successful France.

The crippled ended successful a 3-0 win for the Lionessess. But the evening was acold little elemental than the scoreline suggests.

England faced a fractious last-16 brushwood with Cameroon astatine World Cup 2019

Cameroon were enraged by 2 hairline video adjunct referee decisions that went against them - the archetypal reinstating an Ellen White goal, the 2nd ruling retired an Ajara Nchout response. It seemed Cameroon whitethorn garbage to play on.

When they did, their physicality, fuelled by a consciousness of injustice and the enactment of the section crowd, could person unsettled England.

"We've had immoderate fantastic psychologists implicit the years," said midfielder Jill Scott astatine the time.

"It's really successful those moments successful games similar Cameroon that you realise, that without those meetings, we whitethorn person had a wholly antithetic scenario.

"Some radical volition accidental experienced players should ever beryllium capable to grip things, but I've ne'er been progressive successful a crippled similar it successful 140 games for England.

"I'd accidental those meetings helped america support our chill connected a blistery day."

Scott's words seemed prescient successful the run-up to Euro 2022. Forward Fran Kirby admitted connected the eve of England's semi-final against Sweden: "As soon arsenic we knew the Euros would beryllium successful England, it was a lawsuit of moving retired however we could negociate the pressure."

The imprints of the 'how to win' culture, which Hays archetypal spoke to Wiegman astir successful aboriginal 2021, tin beryllium seen successful the mode Kirby and co responded to the expectations.

The squad's 'shared purpose' was captious to ensuring that players who came disconnected the seat felt valued, with England's history-defining extremity against Germany coming from substitute Chloe Kelly.

"When you've got existent clarity connected however you're going to play and what your relation is, it simplifies things, truthful alternatively of being caught up successful winning and losing, you're caught up successful what it is that you request to do," says Hays.

Despite the Lionesses' occurrence successful applying sports science to assistance players connected and disconnected the pitch, Hays - who has besides worked with the Great Britain diving squad - believes women's shot has immoderate mode to spell earlier intelligence enactment is connected a par with different sports.

"There is simply a monolithic accidental to usage sports science adjacent much effectively. There's not that galore sports psychologists moving consistently successful the women's game," she says.

During Hays' tenure astatine the English Institute of Sport, the accent connected the caput was strong. The organisation doubled its science squad from 15 to 30 specialists portion she was there.

She says it is "unheard of for an Olympic jock not to beryllium moving regularly with a sports scientist to make their contention mindset".

Whether different teams take to travel the illustration acceptable by Powell immoderate 20 years agone remains to beryllium seen, but she says the request for intelligence enactment is there, waiting to beryllium answered.

"There's a designation that it's needed, not lone successful presumption of show but besides successful presumption of wellbeing," the erstwhile Brighton brag says.

"During my clip astatine Brighton we had a truly bully scientist and subordinate payment successful place, truthful we weren't conscionable speaking to the players astir the worldly connected the pitch; it was besides supporting them with life.

"Players are much apt to speech astir their wellbeing than ever before, truthful it is much and much needed."