Thank you so much for joining us today for all the reactions and celebrations to England beating Spain in the Euros final. They sealed a back-to-back trophy win and I am guessing they have just left Downing Street to attend a party for the squad on home soil. They ensured football stayed home. Keep an eye on our sports pages for more news and reaction to this history-making feat with the victory parade taking place in London tomorrow. See you soon.
Another good piece to have a read of:
The Lionesses seem to be departing Downing Street now:
Both Angela Rayner and Sarina Wiegman have spoken at the reception at Downing Street:
There seems to be pictures of England’s tournament dotted around the garden at Downing Street. In the first picture below you can see a photo of Ella Toone and Lauren James embracing after a goal against the Netherlands and other moments in the background of these shots:
It very much looks like a garden party at Downing Street with the England team and staff rubbing shoulders with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner:
What did the front pages look like this morning I hear you ask? Well no need to wonder any longer:
One notable absentee is Jess Carter who has jetted back to the States to be available for club Gotham for their NWSL match this weekend. Talk about a hard worker.
Here are a few more pictures from number 10:
Here’s the main photo everyone was wanting:
Steve Hurry has emailed:
I’m wondering if Wiegman is eligible for an honour?
Wiegman already has an honorary CBE and there are now talks of an honorary damehood. There are more details here:
Pictures are trickling through now of the moments just described. I will bring you more when I have them.
Number 10 then opens its door to huge cheers and the team enter the famous building. The backroom staff are also present.
Initially it is Maya Le Tissier in the centre of the shot, she lifts the trophy aloft to cheers from media and fans who have gathered. There’s then a reshuffle to put Sarina Wiegman and captain Leah Williamson in the middle and they then lift the trophy together.
Sarina Wiegman leads the England team to the famous black door where the entire squad line up outside for the picture all the papers want. They are suited and booted and all wearing their winners medals.
Lionesses arrive at Downing Street
The coaches carrying the England players and staff have arrived outside of Downing Street and so we should get shots of the Euros winning team shortly. Stay tuned.
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The carpet is being rolled out and a very important person at Downing Street is waiting for the Lionesses …
With England expected at Downing Street within the next half hour, I’d like to hear from you. Get in touch and let me know your favourite moments from Euro 2025.
Sarina Wiegman said England’s defence of their European title “makes change” and “inspires people” far and wide, as the Lionesses prepare for a heroes’ welcome on the Mall and in front of Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
“We’re England and we want to win but there’s so much more than winning a game,” the manager, who won a record third European title in a row following her Euro 2017 victory with the Netherlands and England’s triumph in 2022, told Lionesses channels.
“We know winning the Euros makes change. It inspires people. Young kids, but also you see so many more people that you inspire, not just little girls but little boys and grandads and grandmas, whole families, in England but also beyond.”
Here are more details on the visit which should take place in an hour or so’s time:
At Downing Street this afternoon, the Lionesses are meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and sports minister Stephanie Peacock. The scene is definitely set:
If you missed any of the WAFCON final action, here’s a report for you:
England are not the only champions bringing home silverware today as Nigeria have travelled home with their WAFCON trophy in tow. They beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the final in a stunning comeback win.Here are the scenes of their arrival:
The Champions are back HOME! 🥇#MIssionX #SoarSuperFalcons #WAFCON2024 #missionxaccomplished pic.twitter.com/jZqrGzppb7
— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) July 28, 2025
Before that parade, the team are set to travel to Downing Street. The meeting was originally set for 5pm BST but they have only just left Southend airport. Google maps makes it an hour and a half drive but with traffic it could be longer. We will bring you the updates as we have them.
Do you have any plans tomorrow? If the answer is no and you are able to travel to London, the Lionesses are having a victory parade down the Mall. All the details:
Here are some images of the Lionesses at Southend airport after returning home with the Euros trophy:
Here’s a great piece on Lucy Bronze:
Jeremy Boyce has emailed:
Great to see Hannah in the team of the tournament, and totally justified, her work was every bit as important as Chloe’s and all the rest. But I am still in awe of Anne-Katrin Berger’s save in their quarter final win over France. Up there with Banks - Pele for me. Outstanding.
Yes that outstretched arm to keep Germany in the quarter-final is one of the images of the tournament. What a player.
How did the Lionesses celebrate their victory last night? Here’s the scoop:
I would have probably thrown Klara Bühl into the mix as well if I was choosing. But there were so many standout stars at the tournament.
Four Lionesses in Team of the Tournament
Four England players have made the official team of the tournament. Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo, Lucy Bronze and Hannah Hampton have all made the cut. Have a look below at the full team:
🥁 Introducing the #WEURO2025 Team of the Tournament, as chosen by the UEFA Technical Observer Group 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Zxe2e2jCo5
— UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 28, 2025
Here they are, peak the Lucy Bronze ski goggles/sunglasses worn by her and various other members of the squad:
While we wait for more Lionesses pictures to drop, here’s something have a read of:
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Bronze's ski goggles return
One of the iconic shots from the Euro 2022 celebrations was Lucy Bronze wearing ski goggles and I am excited to tell you she is wearing them once again. What an icon. As soon as I can get a picture I’ll update you.
Here is the scale of the crowd that waited for the Lionesses in Southend:
The plane has officially landed. The Lionesses have brought football home once again and they have done so to a crowd of fans waiting to cheer for them. Next stop, Downing Street.
When Sarina Wiegman was interviewed after the match she said the word to define the team was “team”. Here’s how a performance from the entire squad got them over the line:
I should be able to get you pictures of their plane landing and of the players emerging shortly but to tide you over for now, here’s another good piece to read:
It was quite the tournament for Chloe Kelly, who seven months ago contemplating giving up the sport following a torrid time at Manchester City. Read more about the star:
More photos of fans who greeted England as they arrived:
Lionesses return home
The England team have landed on home soil after returning from Switzerland to Southend airport. There were fans and media there to welcome them before a trip to Downing Street this afternoon.
Ian Harris has got in touch with some more movie title suggestions:
Lead ‘em Like Leah
Clinch It Like Chloe
Lash It Like Lauren
Smash It Like Sarina
Handle (Hoof?) It Like Hannah
I like them all but I think my favourite is Lead ‘em like Leah.
No more years of hurt:
My silly stat to offer you all is: England are the first team to win the Euros without being drawn into Group A or B.
Claire has emailed:
We’re still buzzing from last night’s game and Guardian coverage keeping us entertained in car. Film title game brought these suggestions from my two boys, Josh and Sam.
Edge like Agyemang? Hold it like Hampton?
Two very good suggestions, both have great rings to them.
Hampton played Euros two days after grandfather passed away
England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton had an incredible tournament, being the hero in two penalty shootouts but she did so after a recent passing in her family. Read her Instagram post:
Want to know what cost Spain the final? Nick Ames explains all here, it’s a great read to tuck into:
There have been various reports on how fast Chloe Kelly’s penalties have been at this tournament, she has taken three – one against Sweden, one against Italy and one against Spain. But the latest report suggests Kelly’s penalty in the final was the fastest goal of the entire tournament, going at a whopping 110km/h. That is faster than the fastest Premier League goal scored in the 2024/25 season which came at 109km/h by Newcastle’s Alexander Isak.
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Something for your ears:
Debbie Tidy has emailed her movie title suggestion:
Call it out like Carter…
So apt. Jess Carter called out racism that she endured during the tournament and responded with a 10/10 performance in the final.
This piece is so good from Jonathan Liew:
I am a little surprised there isn’t anything for Michelle Agyemang. Yes Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton were both impressive throughout the tournament and of course Sarina Wiegman deserves all the flowers but Agyemang scored two goals that kept the Lionesses in the tournament. Without her, England would have come home a week ago.
Kelly and Hampton set for MBEs
England stars Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton are set to be awarded MBEs after helping the Lionesses retain the Euros trophy. Kelly scored the winner against Italy in the semi-final and the winning penalty against Spain in the final. Hampton, meanwhile, was a great goalkeeper all tournament and saved two penalties in the final shootout. More here:
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David Smith has a move title suggestion:
Surely surely given everything that happened in this euro tournament it must be…
Escape To Victory.
That’s not a bad shout, you know. The Bend it like Beckham director may go in a different direction but a documentary of Euro 2025 should definitely be called that.
Do you follow us on BlueSky? If the answer is no what have you been doing? Jokes aside, you can find us here if you want to follow.
Colin Beveridge has emailed:
Has it been noted that Sarina Wiegman is an anagram of “I win as manager”?
This is absolutely incredible. Any fun facts or more suggestions for a new Bend it like Beckham title for the sequel, please email me and get in touch.
Here’s a full breakdown of how England won the tournament:
London train stations are getting in on the celebrations:
OHHHHHHH YES pic.twitter.com/jARZSCvwEz
— ella (@rappsgf) July 28, 2025
Spain manager Montse Tomé’s contract ends at the end of August and after the final loss to England, her future is up in the air. RFEF President Rafael Louzan said:
Montse Tomé’s future is an issue we need to address, but now is not the time. Tomé has done a commendable job and with great courage. Her future will be discussed later.
Richard Whitehouse with two suggestions for the new Bend it like Beckham movie:
It’s surely got to be Welly It Like Kelly?
Or in light of the latest news Break It Like Bronze?
Retaining the Euros was not a bad way for England’s assistant coach Arjan Veurink to bow out. It was announced pre-tournament he will be taking over the Netherlands managerial position after the Euros and he deserves all of his plaudits too for all the work he has put in. Sarina Wiegman has won three Euros in a row but so has he. It will be interesting to see how Wiegman adapts without her number two.
Michael Gould with quite a good one here:
Win it (just win it) like Williamson
As they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here’s a few that tell the story of the tournament:
This is another good new movie title pitch from Tom Stephenson:
‘Blast it like Bronze’ would be appropriate
Just to put that news into context, Lucy Bronze was playing with a high level of pain. Not only did she play 598 minutes across the tournament but she scored England’s opening goal and the winning penalty – her first spot kick for England – against Sweden. She then went on to play all of the 120 minutes against Italy and 105 in the final, eventually being forced off with a separate injury. To top it all the final was her 140th cap for England, drawing level with Alex Scott for the third-highest capped England player of all time. Bronze also made her 36th major tournament appearance last night which broke the England record for most major tournament appearances. Icon.
Bronze fractured tibia in June
Lucy Bronze said in post-final interviews that she has played the entire tournament with a fractured tibia and her mother Diane has confirmed she suffered the injury in June. She told the BBC:
We knew all the way through. We’ve known all the time and originally somebody said, well, it can’t be a fracture because you wouldn’t be able to stand up but she said, ‘I’ve got high pain threshold and I can deal with pain’.
There’s lots of equipment and things that they’ve got, and obviously we knew the medics had checked it and they knew what they were doing and so does she, because she did a sports science degree.
She reads research papers and things. She knows about injuries. That’s how she can keep going. That’s why she knew how to tape her own leg. She knew that she felt her muscle and she thought, if I don’t tape this, I’m going to pull the muscles. I need to tape it now.
Lucy has this kind of, never say die. [She fractured it] in June. It didn’t matter how I felt, it’s what she was going to do [play].
She knows her own body and as I say, I trust the medical team. Chelsea knew about it. They all knew about it. We knew about it. I think a lot of the girls knew and not a whisper got out.
Absolutely love this from Will Padmore:
Surely the Bend it like Beckham sequel should use a Lioness in the title, Curl it like Kelly?
Any other novel new titles for the movie, email me.
Sometimes adrenaline during these matches can make you completely forget moments of the game the day after so here’s a reminder of how it all played out in Basel:
For the entire Euro 2025 Spain were behind for just four minutes. That came against Italy in the group stage. Every other game they scored first and while they may have conceded to level the scoreboard, they didn’t fall behind. Yet they have a silver medal, not a gold one. Football, eh.
Agyemang’s name will forever be heard in my head as ITV commentator Seb Hutchinson going crazy when she equalised against Italy so thank you for that one Daniel. Hello everyone, I’ve just about recovered from last night’s history-making win – shall we start with a fun fact? Incoming …
Righto, my watch is over – thanks all for your company and comments. Otherwise, all that remains is for me to pass over to Sarah Rendell, who’ll chill with you for the next few hours, and leave you with one eternal thought: Agyemaaaaaaaaaannnnnggggg!
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“Another life-affirming tournament win for England’s women leaves us with plenty of subtexts to consider,” begins Mike Gibbons, “and perhaps the most obvious one relates to the frankly incredible Sarina Wiegman. If we can get calm, rational, talented, relatable, inspiring and qualified people into positions of power and influence, maybe we can have happier days like this more often. Also quickly wanted to mention Chloe Clutch-Kelly, who now has the rest of her life to mull over which one of her defining moments of a European Championship win is her favourite. What a choice, and she’s still only 27.”
Every word. Sarina for PM!
Bend it Like Beckham, with added Emma Hayes?
I’m in.
Joe Bunney’s Instagram story is worth your time. Featuring, in particular, Ella Toone, his partner, singing River Deep Mountain High.
Talking of Women in Football…
We love those clips from the TV studios where the pundits and presenters go wild, so here's one of our own 😆
— Women in Football (@WomeninFootball) July 28, 2025
From the phone of #WomeninFootball CEO @YvonneH147 as Chloe Kelly despatched the penalty that won #WEURO2025
Featuring @ebrukoksal1 @KellySimmo1 and others 💜💚 pic.twitter.com/UL7xY8GKdm
Another OG of women’s football writing is the late, great and much-missed Vikki Orvice. Here’s her husband, Ian Ridley:
I think of my Vikki, one of the founder members of @WomeninFootball, many times a day. Today, many more times. And I recall one of her favourite quotes, by Eleanor Roosevelt: "A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until you put her in hot water." #Lionesses
— Ian Ridley 💙 (@IanRidley1) July 28, 2025
BBC crunch some edifying numbers:
A peak live audience of 12.2 million watched England’s historic back-to-back Women’s Euro final on Sunday evening across all BBC platforms, making it the most watched television moment of 2025 across all TV broadcasters.
Online, the BBC Sport’s live page pulled in a staggering 11.4 million views as fans were gripped to see which country would come out on top.
The unprecedented victory which saw the Lionesses retain their title as European Champions peaked at 11.6 million on BBC One – 59% of all TV audiences – with an additional 4.2 million streams of the match on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
Overall, the tournament was streamed 15.5 million times across BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app –20% of these were from 16-35’s, highlighting strong engagement from younger audiences throughout the competition. The BBC’s TV coverage alone also reached 22.1 million.
With digital clips and highlights of every match, BBC Sport social media accounts were front and centre with a mammoth 231 million total views across the tournament. 45% (104m) of those views came from TikTok (the highest proportion of any platform) and the audience on BBC Sport’s Women’s Football TikTok account over the last four weeks was 76% under 34-year-olds (39.3% under 24s, 36.7% 25-34).
Lucy Bronze strapping her own leg in the quarter final against Sweden was the most viewed clip from the tournament with a whopping 12.5million views across BBC Sport social channels (TikTok, Instagram and Facebook).
16 million unique users used the BBC Sport website and app to keep up to date with all the breaking news, and 10.1 million signed in accounts accessed Women’s Euro content across all of the BBC’s digital services (iPlayer, Sounds and BBC Sport website & app) an increase of 15% from Euro 2022.
On BBC Sounds, live commentary on Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra had over 1.1 million – 122% increase from 2022.
Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport says: “This final was a landmark moment in sporting history. The kind of moment people will remember exactly where they were when they watched it. The incredible Lionesses took us on an emotional rollercoaster, and millions were hooked on BBC coverage from start to finish – from live streaming post-match analysis to millions following our live page and younger audiences in huge numbers on social media”.
“Just because the tournament stops there, our coverage doesn’t. We’ve got live WSL matches every match week, highlights, clips and more from next season, and you can follow everything on our Women’s Football TikTok.”
BBC Sport and ITV have also secured the rights to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027, ensuring that the biggest tournament in women’s football remains free-to-air for UK audiences.”
“Tributes are rightly being paid to communities, clubs and coaches,” says Dan. “The dedication that I saw from those three Cs when my daughter played age-group football, representing the borough at London Youth Games, had so much fun and fresh air education along the way, then later progressing to her latest footie adventures at university (caveat - what happens on tour...) is what makes the England side what it is now, it seems to me. That’s how pyramids work I guess. I’m especially happy for everyone who can join in and feel they also made this tournament victory happen in that way.”
Yup, and the same applies to the writers who’ve slogged for years and decades without proper platform and support. Please allow me to refer you to the work of one such OG, Carrie Dunn – whom you can also enjoy in the pages of the Guardian.
Here’s the latest Football Weekly.
My sense is that it’ll brighten your day.
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A rare occasion when everyone is in agreement.
Aha, here comes Williamson bearing the trophy. What a leader she is, radiating certainty, steel and compassion, and at 28, there’s plenty yet to come. As used to be said of Frank McLintock, one her predecessors as Arsenal captain, if she’d been skipper of the Titanic, it would never have sunk.
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The squad continue boarding the bus, Alessia Russo and Beth Mead stopping to sign autographs for a young boy. It’s a lovely moment, quiet and symbolic.
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“Something that I think was lost in all the praise being dished out is just how good Jess Carter was in that final,” says Ryan. “Dealt with everything Spain had to throw at her without fuss, and looked so assured. What a way for her to finish that tournament, especially after the horrendous racism and personal abuse she suffered. She was my hero of the night.”
Agreed. She was, I think, my player of the match, though Leah Williamson ran her close. They showed exactly how to defend against a side who you know will dominate possession – proactively, with confidence, composure and discipline.
It’s hosing it down in Zurich … but here come the champions of Europe!
“Daniel! “ begins Ellie Newman. “What a day yesterday. I live in America, and have followed the Lionesses from afar for about 10 years. I’ve watched matches in all kinds of circumstances: alone, on my phone, at work, at home, wherever I can. This year a women’s sports bar opened in my city (Pittsburgh) and last week I convinced them to open early to show the final. We packed the pub. It was so amazing to watch the Lionesses’ grit, determination and self-belief. To get to watch them with a full crowd following every gripping moment was unreal. I’ll always remember this. England!!!”
The scope of all this is mind-boggling. Nothing – literally nothing – crosses every conceivable border, whether based on geography, religion, sex, sexuality or culture – apart from football. It’s a beautiful day.
The view from Madrid:
The England squad will soon be getting on the coach. That’ll take them to the airport, after which they’ll head to Downing Street, where they’ll be welcomed by Angela Rayner. Tom Garry has more on that, though as things stand, there’s nothing on whether Sarina Wiegman plans on pivoting to PM when she’s done winning trophies.
Sky have just shown a clip of Aitana Bonmati’s post-match interview – a perfect example of how to express disappointment and honesty. She was right to say Spain played the better football, and that came across in a way that was not churlish at all; equally, she was right to say they didn’t score one more than England, so can have no complaints about their defeat. She is an absolute superstar, and I’ll be shocked if she doesn’t redeem the situation before she’s done.
“Your point around volunteers and communities is a key one,” says Thomas Atkins. “What will really show that women’s football in England has succeeded, is not a trophy, but if you can walk through a park on a weekend morning and see a group of women of varying ages and abilities playing a game of crap football, purely for the fun of it – just like you see men do pretty much wherever there’s a green space. This is the mistake that the 2012 Olympics made, by thinking that if the elite sportspeople win, then pitches, clubs and infrastructure will magically appear.”
Yup, it needs institutional support along with the the constant inspiration and dedication of leaders. But unlike Olympic sports, many of which only appear in our purview once every four years, football is ubiquitous and unstoppable, so hopefully we’ll see its explosion continue.
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In the maelstrom of the moment, it can be hard to remember what actually happened – in a post-match interview Hannah Hampton said she couldn’t recall most of the game – so here’s Eze Obasi to take you through the shootout once more.
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“Sarina Wiegman is brilliant at responding to the flow of a game and making changes in both players and tactics,” reckons Anil Patel, en route back from Basel. “Something Southgate was rarely able to achieve. That skill is even more important with the advent of ‘goalkeeper time-outs’ where the goalkeeper goes down with an ‘injury’ and the rest of the team rushes to the sidelines for a word with the coaching staff.”
I agree, though it’s fair to note that, during the last men’s Euros, Southgate’s subs made crucial interventions, even if their performances were poor. But, though we’re still enjoying the moment, I’d be pretty surprised if, during the party, no one mentioned the World Cup, coming up in 2027 – in Brazil, too. There, I think, Wiegman and England’s challenge will be to keep winning, but to develop their style into one that is more dominant. This triumph was one of personality and heart – as well as skill under pressure, of course – but the talent and depth is there for them to move up yet another level.
Both channels did a pretty good job throughout the competition. Here’s John Brewin on that:
And here’s the sonic representation of it:
Just synched the BBC Sport, ITV and BBC Sounds commentaries for Agyemang’s goal and it’s like poetry
— Andrea de Cesarism (@22jenson09) July 22, 2025
I’ve been listening to this over and over again pic.twitter.com/sQi5UFMJAM
“We’ve never had so many travelling fans at a women’s Euros, there have been 233,000 from 160 countries.”
That is incredible.
Thinking back to Nick’s piece, it’s worth noting that, of the last four Euro and World Cup finals, womens and men, three have featured England v Spain. That feels like a sea-change in football, and I imagine various countries will be investigating how they did it.
The answer is, in large part, as it always is: money and institutional support. It’s that which delivers facilities, coaching, clubs and so on, but we shouldn’t ignore the contribution of incredible individuals, and by that I don’t just mean the teams and leadership, but the thousands of volunteers who give their time and energy to enrich their immediate communities, creating a movement which enriches all of us.
“It’s difficult not sounds a little soppy when talking about the Lionesses as a ‘woman of a certain age’,” begins Nicola Jemmett. “It feels like they’ve changed everything. Watching last night was incredible, so inspiring and so hopeful. As a small person I really enjoyed playing football, but I wasn’t allowed to play after primary school, which I didn’t understand but for some reason accepted. Then I went to a summer training camp to carry on but didn’t go back after the first day because I was too scared of all the boys and being the only girl. I didn’t want to look stupid, so I just stopped. I never really engaged with the men’s game but seeing women play has been a total reawakening. And now I see it is all possible for girls today. They have these amazing role models, these women who are unstoppable and it gives me so much hope, not just in football and sport, but in life in general. That’s a lot to put on a football team but it really seems like they’ve changed something, a switch has flipped and there’s no going back now. “
I agree. They’ve given the gift of football to so many people, and though there’ll always be prejudice, there’s now a lot less of it – on their account.
Where there are winners, there are nearly-winners. I enjoyed Nick Ames’ piece on Spain, also a special team with special players and people.
“While understandably there’s focus on the Kellys and Agyemangs,” says David Atkins, “I thought it was worth mentioning Niamh Charles - coming on in extra time and then calmly slotting in a key penalty.”
Absolutely. There’s plenty of acclaim to go round and no need to be sparing.
“Morning Dan, morning everyone,” begins Darrien Bold. “If you’d told me England would win the Euros at half-time of their first outing against France I’d have had a right old laugh. The 2022 vintage scrabbling around for form against the expansive French was a painful watch, but fair play to Walsh and Stanway in particular who looked miles off it in that first game and stepped up over the course of the tournament with grit, determination, belief and a bucketload of class and skill too.”
I guess it’s pretty rare for the best team in the group stages to be the team dancing about with a trophy at the end. For years, Germany were known as “Turniermannschaft”, tournament team – their squad talked about it before the semi with Spain – but they may just’ve been usurped.
Is it just me, by the way, or were the England players intimating they were all getting skinheads during their celebrations last evening? That would be something.
The greatest English team of all time? It’s hard to construct a case them, isn’t it? Here’s Jonathan Liew on the composition of the legends.
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“As an England Fan living here in Germany, watching the Women’s win with my eight-year-old son and for-year-old daughter was just a wonderful,” writes Richard Bolan. “This team is just inspiring, never give up, never give in! A really big thank you to the Team and Sarina! Oh and I can’t wait to ask Georgia Stanway to see her medal when we go see her play for Bayern!”
I was saving this for a bit later, but seeing as Richard has raised it, let’s get it going now: loads of us will have very personal accounts of what the Lionesses mean how they’ve enriched our lives – please do send them in.
To get is going, here’s mine: I like football a lot, but my daughter has, despite my best efforts, shown very little interest. But then I took her to Wembley for the Germany final, and though she wasn’t entirely compelled by the action, she adored the atmosphere and started playing at school. Then, yesterday, she got together with a group of mates to watch the final, came back, and told me she absolutely loved the game, finding she much prefers watching women play it than men. Without the Lionesses, she’s ambivalent, at best.
“I’d be interested to hear your thoughts around the rule that because Beth Mead slipped when she took a penalty in the shootout, she had to retake it again even though she’d scored anyway,” says Alex Banks. “Because England won the shootout nobody is complaining about it, but I can see a future shootout where the result goes the other way and all kinds of complaints would erupt. Do you think the rule should be adjusted that if the player slips and scores it stands anyway, or should it remain as-is because it might bamboozle the goalkeeper that’s trying to save it?”
I think the rule is good as is, and actually, I didn’t totally see the need to allow a second go. Part of the test of penalties is keeping your feet under pressure, and it makes sense for the law to say only one touch, otherwise a player could knock it forward for themselves, then shoot. So if you lose balance, as Mead did, then take two touches, as Mead did, I’d call it a miss and move on.
Here’s Bolo Zenden winning a Cup with the move:
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Oh my days, I think my eyeballs might be sweating.
Ooooh yeah dept: here’s a selection of our favourite photos of the tournament. The eyes in the top one are my spirit animal.
Email! “These ladies will be the death of me,” writes Deborah Yuil. “I have a (non-fatal) heart condition (arrhythmia, or irregular heart beat) which crops up occasionally – like when Michelle Agyemang stepped onto the pitch last night. What a way to go! Congratulations Lionesses, you really are breathtakingly invincible!”
In times like this, it’s also important to remember the pioneers: your Marianne Spaceys, your Gillian Coulthards, your Kelly Smiths, your Rachel Yankeys, your Anita Asantes of this world. This triumph is also their triumph.
Sky Sports News have just showed footage of the players returning to their hotel. I can’t remember when he said it, but after England’s men won a series or other, Andrew Strauss said in interview that “we’ll celebrate well tonight”. I’ve spent my entire life wanting to a professional sportsman, and I’m not sure I’ve ever felt more envious of those who are. Well, this is another such situation: imagine the satisfaction and the friendship.
One complaint, though, if I may: Uefa must sort the trophy lift. Leah Williamson should not have had to schlep it over to her teammates; rather, you get the team lined up, the captain goes first, hoists it, then passes it down the line for everyone to have a go.
In fairness, though, this wasn’t bad.
I have a lot of time for these purple puffas – and the Lionesses stash in general.
In case anyone needs to know: for a look down the Thames, Waterloo Bridge is the best bridge.
Here’s Tom Garry on “proper England” and “badass women”.
It it a piggyback? Yes. But it is great vibes when they’re sorely needed? Also yes.
Ahahahahaha! Apparently it’s “very painful” to play an entire tournament, including three periods of extra time, with a fractured tibia. Lucy Roberta Tough Bronze should know.
Lovely stuff dept:
I really enjoyed the pithy detail in Sophie Downey’s player ratings:
I wasn’t looking for comparators to the Lionesses, because there aren’t any, and even if there were, they merit celebrating on their own merits. But last evening, towards the end of extra time, the sense of unstoppable destiny I felt – of when you know the power of a team is celestial and supernatural – reminded me of watching Manchester United in 1998-99. And this morning, I’m reminded of something Alex Ferguson – of whom Sarina Wiegman reminds me, a lot – said of Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s Champions League winner:
The celebrations begun by that goal will never stop. just thinking about it can put me in party mood.
And all they did was win a few football matches. The Lionesses have changed what football matches mean.
Relive each moment: now we know, but strange though it seems, there was also a time when we didn’t. Check Sarah Rendell’s minute-by-minute, which she somehow managed to bring to you without passing out.
Please do, over the course of the day, feel free to send in your personal reflections – on the game, on the achievements and on the people. I’ll start: one of very many things I love about the Lionesses is the cohesiveness that elevates rather than stultifies the individuals. Whether it’s the calm, confident leadership of Leah Williamson; the wide-eyed bafflement and dead-table resting-pulse of Michelle Agyemang; the dizzying , infectious ebullience of Chloe Clutch-Kelly; the inspiring devotion of Lucy Bronze; I could go on all day here, and I’m going to.
But for now, there’s someone for everyone, except they’re all for all of us, and that is a credit both to them and to the environment created by the football and HR genius of their manager. Sarina Wiegman, what a woman.
Updated
Did that really happen? Apparently so. Here’s Suzy Wrack’s match report!
Preamble
Hello, wondrous morning, and welcome. It’s our happy duty to spend the next numerous hours luxuriating in an achievement and a joy, creating and nourishing, a love and an impact, that we’ll never fully grasp or process: Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses have changed football, have changed England, and have changed us. There was before them and there will be after them, but now there is only them …. touching me, touching you. We are privileged to be living in their time, and it is incumbent upon us to enjoy every aspect of it. Here we go!
