England’s 20-0 hammering of Latvia was indicative of a trend in international games and pre-qualifiers can be part of a solution
![Women’s football mismatches are happening too often – it is time for action](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/72879c521b00170eb78b2880d61bb87ff4f19f6e/154_30_4343_2606/master/4343.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctb3BpbmlvbnMucG5n&enable=upscale&s=ed5c071bde6b96c532e80e47cb6a77a2)
In the past three months 29 European Women’s
World Cup qualifying games have concluded with a winning margin of seven goals or more. England’s 20-0 hammering of Latvia broke a record set by Belgium’s 19-0 defeat of Armenia last Thursday to become the highest-scoring Women’s World Cup qualifier ever. These results are not the exception that they are in the men’s game; when the haves and have-nots meet they are increasingly the rule.
The gap is getting bigger and it is not a result of some countries investing and some not (although that is a factor in a minority of countries) but of the rapid but uneven development of international women’s
Football – of some countries investing at a much faster rate and to a greater extent than others are willing or able to.