A little girl whose celebrations after the Lionesses reached the Euro 2022 final went viral says she wants to follow in their footsteps to become a footballer.
Schoolgirl Tess Dolan, eight, was seen partying hard as she celebrated the England women’s historic tournament win.
The footage of the girl, from Wakefield, West Yorks, in absolute raptures was caught on BBC footage and broadcast live to the nation.
Tess was wearing a full England kit for the clash at Sheffield’s Bramall Lane and was picked out by the camera operator as she belted out the Neil Diamond anthem.
Speaking to the BBC this morning she said: ‘Going through my mind was, when I’m older I want to be a footballer.
‘I was looking at how they were celebrating and thinking of how I was going to celebrate.
Tess Dolan, 8, has become an Internet sensation after being filmed dancing at the England Women’s game last night in Sheffield
Schoolgirl Tess, eight, went viral after her celebrations went live to the nation on the BBC
Young England fan Tess, 8, spotted going wild to Sweet Caroline at Euros had no idea she was being filmed: ‘It was crazy’
‘Normally they look at the big screen and, you can see, I’m on telly, but didn’t know I was being filmed!’
Ian Wright also appeared on the show and said her celebration would go down in history.
He commented: ‘When I saw Tess celebrating yesterday, I thought, those scenes are iconic scenes.
‘The girls, when they see that, they will be inspired by that. When they were younger, they couldn’t have the dream you are having right now.’
Tess Dolan in her Scotton Scorchers football kit where she currently plays youth football
Tess Dolan before the England v Sweden game where she became famous herself celebrating
England players celebrate after team-mate Fran Kirby scores their side’s fourth goal of the game during the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final match at Bramall Lane
He followed up: ‘I just want to say when you see the girls playing, does it make you think oh I could do that one day? Does it make you feel that?’
Tess said ‘Yeah, definitely.’
Tess, of Knaresborough, North Yorks., was among the 28,000 frenzied fans inside Bramhall Lane to cheer England to victory on Tuesday night.
But despite a dominant performance on the pitch – including a cheeky 68th-minute back-heel by her favourite player Alessio Russo – Tess was the real star of the show.
As England gaffer Wiegman conducted her post-match interview with a tv reporter, cameras panned to the crowd and showed Tess’s now-iconic dance moves.
Within minutes, her mum Sam Dolan’s phone was ‘going mental’ from pals who had seen the clip on tv and across social media, where it quickly went viral.
Such was the popularity of the clip, she appeared on breakfast tv this morning (Wed) where she was interviewed by England and Arsenal legend Ian Wright.
Tess said: ‘It was the best football match I’ve been to so far.
‘It was amazing. I didn’t know I was on tv until my mum got lots of text messages from people. I was just dancing and enjoying myself.
‘I was singing Sweet Caroline and then my mum started getting messages.
‘It’s really weird to be on the tv, but it feels amazing.’
The Lionesses won 4-0 to set up a date against either Germany or France in Sunday’s Wembley final as they bid to win a first-ever European Championship title.
Manchester United forward Alessia Russo scored England’s third, threading her backheeled shot through the legs of two Sweden players and into the net.
England threw off a shaky start in the semi-final when Mead turned sharply in the box and fired home after 34 minutes.
They doubled their lead through Lucy Bronze’s header not long after the restart and Russo’s audacious effort was followed up by Fran Kirby’s chip of Sweden keeper Hedvig Lindahl.