"Erm, not really to be honest..."
"You're gonna get your World Cup debut, I know you will! Don't worry abo-"
"No Keira, that's not why I'm down." I cut her off, with tears streaming down my cheeks. "Or well it might be a mix off that and some other stuff..."
"What other stuff Le?"
"I miss Jordan so much, I haven't seen her for two weeks straight!"
"Oh I'm sorry Leah, I didn't think of that... But I'm sure you'll see her sooner than you might think."
"I don't understand Kei, sooner than I might think? How long is that?" I say confused.
"Well, she might be one of the BBC sport commentators for our next match..."
"Wait what? You mean she's here in France right now? As an expert commentator covering the World Cup?"
"Yeah that's right, didn't you know?"
"No, like I knew about Alex, but I didn't expect Jordan to do it also. She never told me."
"Oh Le, come here." Keira says as she pulls me in for a hug. "I thought you knew..."
We chatted away for a while, making the time pass by fast. I'm happier now that I know Jordan is here. Hopefully I'll be able to see her after the game as well, or I'll be totally devastated.
~A few days later~
Another day and another game. Could this be the day I've been waiting for? Honestly I have no clue, but I'm at least hopeful. There is exciting times ahead, that's for sure.
With our game starting in less than three hours time me and the rest of the girls are about to leave the hotel. As usual I sit next to Kiera on the bus. Even though she's young, just like me, she's still managed to get much playing time in a tournament like this. Both of us were hoping to maybe get some experience by being subbed in late in a game. As a youngster it's all about hanging around to see and learn from the stars and to have a good time, not having to feel the outer pressure to perform well. I know Keira has felt the pressure and that she's been taking the criticism way more personal than she should. For me personally it's been a completely different story. I've not made my first impression on this big of a stage yet, and I've made sure that I enjoy the things outside of football as well. I've got nothing to worry about.
Later on we've arrived at the arena and the game is about to start in a couple of minutes. I'm starting on the bench, as suspected. During the national anthems I can't help but scan the stadium for a chance to see Jordan. After a minute or two of searching I spot a yellow banner in the top right corner. The massive black letters on the banner reads "BBC". It's quite a bit up so it's hard to recognize the people standing there, but at least I know one of them is Jordan.
A first half that seemed to secure the bag, might I actually get the chance today? We convincingly took control over the game right from the start and have so far managed to score two goals. We've got superior the most possession with the ball and they haven't created a single threatening chance on target so far. After the first half the second half awaits with the same expectations as in the first for a confident England team. Are we able to handle the pressure or will we be too confident for our own good? Sitting on the bench it's hard to tell, you don't feel the same way as if you would've been on the pitch. For being approximately twenty minutes in into the second half I would like to say that it looks pretty decent. Once again a solid performance, even tho the intensity may have dropped a little from our side. We've also managed to score another goal, putting us up 3-0 near the 60th minute. The goal scorers so far has been Houghton, White and Greenwood with the latest hit in the back of the net. Twenty more minutes passed by, and I estimated it to be around the 80th minute. The game is soon to be finished and I'm still stuck on the bench. I guess all the hard work building up to this moment might not have payed off this time... That's when Phil calls me over, making me snap out of my own bubble.
WWC 2019 - World Cup emotions
Start from the beginning
