WOSO Imagines

For Love and Country (Leah Williamson)

The crowd roars as I lead my team onto the field. Despite being the away team playing England on their home turf in the biggest European football competition, the support from our fellow Deutsche (Germans) is huge. I've worn the OneLove armband many times throughout the tournament, but today is the first time I feel truly worthy of it. I tried to persuade Poppi to wear it, given that she had led us this far, but she insisted. "You won us the semi, you lead us through the final."

And now here we are, proving why we're the best in Europe. Even with my excitement and my determination, part of me did not want to walk onto that pitch. Not because I didn't want to play or win. Not because I wasn't proud of my team. But because of who I have to play against.

Merle squeezes my shoulder as the national anthem plays. I'm not an emotional person, but at this moment, everything bubbles to the surface. I have never felt I had truly proved I deserved to play football professionally until now. I have never been prouder to represent my country. A tear slips down my cheek as the last words finish and the crowd cheers once more.

I shift my focus to the woman standing across from me in a matching armband. Her blonde hair is tied back in a ponytail, and I can only assume the glint in her blue eyes was reflected in my own. The English anthem blares through the speakers and I keep my gaze on Leah, failing to hide the smile that breaks out on my face seeing her sing along. She never looks more beautiful to me than when she's on the pitch.

When their anthem finishes, her eyes find mine and she winks. I roll my eyes at her. Leave it to my girlfriend to be cheeky during one of the biggest games of our careers. We walk over to the refs together.

"The captain's band looks good on you, mein herz (my heart)," she whispers, brushing her hand against me.

I so badly want to grab her hand and squeeze it, but we agreed to no PDA until after the game. "Buttering up the competition, Williamson? It won't make me go easy on you," I tease.

She snorts. "Please! You could play the best game of your career, and you still won't get past me."

I stop walking, deciding to say the serious shit before we talk with the refs. "Leah."

Noticing the change in my tone, she drops her smirk, taking a step closer to me.

"Promise me that today's results won't change anything between us. I know we've played each other before and that we play against our Arsenal teammates all the time, but this is different. This game means a lot to both of us and as soon as that whistle blows, you are my opponent. Your job is to stop me, and my job is to get past you. I don't want you to treat me any differently, but I also want you to know that whatever happens on the pitch isn't personal."

"Your professionalism is one of the reasons I admire you, Caro. Trust me when I say, win or lose, I'm still gonna end up in your arms tonight. When that whistle blows, you are simply Germany's Captain and one of the best forwards in the world."

"Ich liebe dich, mein perle." (I love you, my pearl)

"I love you, too."

The first half of the game is a tennis match, possession going back and forth, neither team able to score. I hate to admit it, but England is outplaying us a bit. We're a strong team, but they're more versatile, having players that can switch between the lines seamlessly, creating a situation where they were almost impossible to track or predict. They had better control of the field, and we were lucky to get shots on goal at all, even though our possession was higher. I had disclosed everything I knew about the English players I played with and those I played against; it still wasn't enough. Thankfully, but also frustratingly, we end the half tied 0-0.