Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

US Embassy shares support for Lionesses in Twitter video

In a short video posted on Friday staff recreate Alessia Russo’s back-heel goal.

Claudia Rowan
Friday 29 July 2022 09:35 EDT
England’s Alessia Russo during the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final match (Danny Lawson/PA)
England’s Alessia Russo during the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final match (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The US Embassy in London has shared its support for the Lionesses through a video skit in which staff recreate Alessia Russo’s back-heel goal.

In a short video posted to Twitter on Friday, US Embassy spokesperson Aaron Snipe is filmed in slow-motion re-enacting Russo’s stunning shot from England’s Euro 2022 semi-final triumph over Sweden.

Mr Snipe is filmed walking along a corridor in the embassy office before being approached by a colleague who hands him papers containing the written “rules”, telling him: “As a US diplomat, you can’t take a position on this – you cannot support England in the Euro finals.”

Mr Snipe is then seen playfully scrunching up the papers into a ball, dropping the paper ball to the floor, and back-heeling it into a nearby bin to the sound of dramatic music.

Russo’s back-heel goal scored in the 68th minute on Tuesday, which saw England go 3-0 up in the match against Sweden, was described by England boss Sarina Wiegman as “phenomenal”.

The Embassy’s video, which features bunting of the England flag in its office, was shared alongside the caption: “Oh, the cheek from our own office Russo! This is no time for diplomacy. Let’s go, @Lionesses”.

Jane Hartley, the US Ambassador to the UK, responded to the video on Twitter, jokingly telling Mr Snipe to “get back to work” as “Wembley is still over 48 hrs away” – before adding in brackets: “Go, #Lionesses!”

One Twitter user said Mr Snipe had “won at Twitter”, while another pointed out: “Backheels aren’t easy are they?”

England’s semi-final victory on Tuesday was watched by an average of 7.9 million people, according to overnight ratings.

Sunday’s match, which will see the Lionesses take on Germany at Wembley, is expected to pull in an even larger audience.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in