ZURICH – In the moments after the Lionesses sealed their place in a third consecutive major tournament final, each player burst into the dressing room at the Stade de Geneve and gathered around a wooden table.
Rather than eating the post-match snacks that had been laid out for them, England players broke into a rendition of Freed from Desire.
Any shackles with which they started one of the most turbulent tournaments in recent memory have well and truly been thrown off.
There is a quiet confidence among the squad that they are on the verge of something no England team in history has ever done – winning back-to-back European Championships.
The ingredients behind that unprecedented success were put in place before a ball was kicked.
Ahead of the tournament, Sarina Wiegman gathered her squad to share stories of why they had wanted to play football as young girls. Georgia Stanway says she is still playing “for that little girl”.
Every player has a shirt from their first grassroots club with them at the five-star Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich where they have been based.
The Lionesses have brought their own cryotherapy chamber to the base to help players recover.
With scenic views over the lake, they have had spas and gyms to use, Lebanese restaurants and places for them to build Lego and play table tennis.
It ought to have made for a serene four weeks in Switzerland. The reality on the pitch has been anything but.
Defeat to France in their opening game left them on the brink of a humiliating group-stage exit.
Wiegman is never a manager to make kneejerk reactions, but she had seen enough to swap Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter around in defence, and to replace Beth Mead with Lauren James on the right, while starting Ella Toone as the No 10.
They responded by putting four goals past the Netherlands and six past Wales. Then came one of the most extraordinary knockout matches you are likely to see as they fell two goals behind against Sweden before coming back to win on penalties.
In the semi-final against Italy, England were seconds away from one of the biggest upsets in recent history before Michelle Agyemang’s 96th-minute equaliser and Chloe Kelly’s penalty in the last throes of extra time saved them once again.
Little wonder then that their families, who sit in a specially allocated section of the stadiums, have been telling England players to stop “putting them through hell!”
Even defender Esme Morgan had a moment of panic as she watched the first half against Sweden unfold from the bench.
“I’ve not packed anything,” she admitted after that encounter. “I’ve not got anything in my suitcases.”
No England player had actually contemplated going home. Privately, they have been a little bewildered at some of the reception to their lowest moments.
“That’s people from the outside thinking teams have to win every single game,” said Lucy Bronze.
Not all of them have quite oozed the calmness of Kelly galloping up to the penalty spot or imitating Thierry Henry’s celebration with one elbow coolly on the corner flag – but they have embraced two sayings. The first: “The English are never done.” The second: “Proper England.”
That is the identity they have been building, one of grit and determination – it is not, as it perhaps sounds, a kicking-lumps-out-of-the-opposition philosophy.
Instead it is about leaning into their past, to the moments when they feel they have been underestimated and written off.
Against Sweden, they had a slice of good fortune. The Swedes had written a list of penalty takers, in order, before the game began.
When players went off, the next would move up in the pecking order. That left goalkeeper Jennifer Falk among the five initial takers – she skied it.
It was expected that teenager Smilla Holmberg would take one – but she was never meant to take the decisive spot-kick.
England, by contrast, had some of the most composed heads on the pitch. In her seventh major tournament, teammates idolise Bronze.
Wiegman describes her as “one of a kind – I have never ever seen this before in my life”. They laugh at Kelly’s grin as she steps up for a penalty, though she could not enjoy all of the shootout as it dragged on: “I turned to Beth Mead and said: ‘I need a wee really bad.’ I couldn’t wait to get in.”
Kelly, in particular, epitomises the spirit among England’s impact subs. Wiegman had told each of them before the tournament exactly what their role was, so nobody was embittered about not starting.
'What are they doing?'
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Chloe Kelly gives the lowdown on the 'positive clicks' celebration after Beth Mead's goal against Wales!
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The subs made a group chat and coined a new celebration – whenever one of them scores, they run towards the bench clicking their fingers.
Aggie Beever-Jones is among them. At 21 – coincidentally turning 22 on Sunday – she is one of seven players who had never been to a senior tournament before, and missed a good chunk of her international career at youth level.
“I’ve never really experienced tournament football and being away from family,” she says. She copes by journaling, writing down memories in a scrapbook from the games and taking photos.
“Every day we go to wellness, and one of the physios writes a quote on the wall, and I just always write it down, and just try and find the joy in the little things,” Beever-Jones adds.
There have been other bonding moments inside the hotel. Alessia Russo’s brother Giorgio was on Love Island, which the players watched together in the evenings.
Alex Greenwood celebrated her 100th cap. Kelly’s wedding anniversary was this week – she still has pictures from that day on her shin pads.
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Behind the scenes, Lionesses legend and Euro 2022 winner Jill Scott has been heavily involved.
“We can’t get rid of her,” captain Leah Williamson joked. Chef Scott Birch is also credited with a huge role in helping the players relax, as is the barista, whose dog Reggie has been present at the hotel.
One of the tightest friendships which has blossomed is the one between Toone and Mead.
Toone lost her dad Nick in September 2024, days before his 60th birthday. Mead, whose mum passed away in January 2023, has been acting as a mentor and companion.
“We both celebrate to the sky,” Toone said after their goals against Wales. “I’m sure they’ll be up there with a few pints in their hand watching us.”
Toone has also spent plenty of time with best friend and former Manchester United teammate Alessia Russo, whose unselfishness has not gone unnoticed by teammates. Against the Netherlands, she finished with three assists.
And there is particular camaraderie among the three goalkeepers in training. After Mary Earps’ shock retirement once she found out that she was no longer No 1, Hannah Hampton was catapulted into the spotlight. She enjoys the company of back-ups Khiara Keating and Anna Moorhouse.
Hampton previously struggled with feeling that fans did not want her in goal. “The girls have got behind me a lot,” she says.
“They know how tough it’s been for me while being in and around the England environment.”
So too have they rallied around Carter after the defender revealed that she had suffered racist abuse online.
Some of her teammates have deleted their accounts in response. This week Carter was presented with a special cap to mark her 50th England appearance, handed to her in front of teammates by Wiegman, who gave her a hug.
As a squad, they are ready for yet another final. They have put the heartbreak of the 2023 World Cup final behind them, when they were soundly beaten by Spain.
Nobody is seeing this as a revenge mission, but as a chance to prove how far they have come. One more push.
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