Four countries on Euro 2017 and what it means for women's football

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England's women celebrate after the gameImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,
England's women celebrate after the game

And just like that, 43 years of hurt are over for England.

The 1-0 win over France at Euro 2017 was their first victory against Les Bleus since 1974.

Jodie Taylor's goal not only rewrites recent history, but also puts her country into the semi-finals.

"I'm very, very proud," manager Mark Sampson told the BBC afterwards.

Image source, Getty Images
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England manager Mark Sampson

The Lionesses, who finished third at the World Cup two years ago, will now play the Netherlands on Thursday.

Austria or Denmark will compete in the other semi-final.

But will England's run help to further the game back home? And is Euro 2017 having the impact on women's football in Europe that Uefa hopes?

Ruth and Paul, England

Ruth and her dad Paul travelled out to see the Lionesses play in Deventer.

"I've played since I was five," explains 14-year-old Ruth.

"This England success really is making girls like me realise we can play this sport and it's grown dramatically these last few years.

"But this run needs to continue so we get better pitches and better coaches to make grassroots girls' teams better."

Ruth's dad Paul, who is a football coach, says he hopes England's success will spur more professional men's clubs into action.

"They have got to buy in to the women's game because I think it's just bits and pieces at the moment," he tells Newsbeat.

"The women's game is massive for our country.

"Hopefully England can go all the way and that will spark even more interest in the game for young girls, much like the Olympics did in 2012."

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It was disappointment for the French players

France has been one of the leaders in women's football across Europe.

Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain play in front of huge crowds each week - and use the regular homes of their men's counterparts - in contrast to the non-league men's grounds commonly used in England.

Claire Bruno, France

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Claire Bruno (right) & friends

Claire helped create a women's team back home in Paris for her old schoolmates.

"We are surprised because the attendances here [at Euro 2017] haven't been as good as we thought they would be," she says.

"But the game is growing back home and we are now getting a lot more men watching the women's game as well.

"This Euro cup is being shown on normal TV back home too so everyone can watch which is important."

Image source, Getty Images
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Crowds for the quarter-final match between Netherlands v Sweden

While passion for the Netherlands Women's team has been high at Euro 2017, gates have been much lower at the matches not involving the Dutch.

Many of the fans Newsbeat has spoken to during the tournament have said that has been frustrating.

Tim van Beek and Sjors Lommerts, Netherlands

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Tim van Beek & Sjors Lommerts

Tim and his friend Sjors are helping out in the official fan zone in Deventer.

"This is one of the biggest events of the year," says Tim.

"We have seen a mix of attendances because some countries don't bring as many fans.

"But women's football is big here in the Netherlands and is the fastest growing sport here so the tournament will help that for sure."

And Sjors says it is vitally important the Netherlands continue to do well to help that.

"We need to keep scoring lots of goals and keep people's interest," he explains.

"I'm certain a lot of young girls will be looking to go and play and watch football next season which is what this is all about."

Gerry Cummings, Scotland

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Gerry brought his girls' team to cheer on Scotland

Gerry Cummings is a football coach in Scotland.

He brought his girls' team to the Netherlands to cheer on Scotland.

Earlier in the tournament Gerry told Newsbeat "we wanted to bring them out here to inspire the girls to play football and maybe emulate what this Scotland team has done".

Despite beating Spain 1-0, Scotland didn't qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.

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