BASEL – History is beckoning. No England team has ever won two major tournaments, let alone back-to-back in Europe. Certainly, none have revolutionised the game quite like the Lionesses. Whatever the result against Spain in Sunday’s final, the statue is already being built outside Wembley Stadium.
It is the title won in 2022 that immortalised these players, but winning Euro 2025 would be an even greater achievement. That is not only because of the way the women’s game has been elevated and the standards have been raised in the intervening years.
I have covered just about every Lionesses game over the past four years and have seen them at their highest, but also their lowest. In the Nations League, when they failed to qualify for the Olympics on behalf of Team GB. Through the blips of their Euros qualifiers. They have not always looked like reigning champions but they have never known when they are beaten – that is precisely why they are here again.
Individually too, they have overcome huge challenges. Leah Williamson and Beth Mead both missed the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments. Mead and Ella Toone have starred while navigating the loss of a parent in their 20s.
All have found new ways to inspire the nation. Lucy Bronze has opened up about her autism diagnosis, while Jess Carter has battled online racism. Hannah Hampton has spoken of her struggles at feeling fans did not want her in goal after Mary Earps’ shock retirement. Nobody is saying that now.
All of them were rocked by the pre-tournament announcements that none of Earps, Fran Kirby or Millie Bright would be joining them in Switzerland. While Bright withdrew through burnout, Earps and Kirby’s retirements marked another changing of the guard but it is not the first time Sarina Wiegman has been plugging away on a quiet revolution behind the scenes.
Of the team that won Euro 2022, Jill Scott, Ellen White, and Rachel Daly have also bowed out of international football. Seven of the current squad had never been to a major tournament before this summer.
For that the FA deserves immense credit, bringing the likes of Michelle Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones through the talent pathway. Wiegman has fought for them to be given the best facilities at St George’s Park and it has paid off.
This is the Dutch head coach’s fifth final in a row, an astonishing record dating back to her time with the Netherlands. She has always leaned on assistant Arjan Veurink but only has one more game with him at her side before he leaves to take over their native team.
Her relationship with her players has evolved over those years – she believes she is now calmer, more composed and places less emphasis on results. Many of her squad say they regard her as being “like a mum”. On the eve of the final, I asked her whether she feels the same way.
“Yeaaaah,” she laughs. “You know, sometimes when people say about ‘the girls’ I think, are they meaning my daughters, or are they meaning my team? So that’s tricky, I’m kind of a caring person so maybe that’s the part.
“I care about them but at the same time I’m the coach, I’m making these hard decisions at the moment so sometimes you should leave that caring [side] and leave it up to them. They’re grown-up women! But a mum should care.”
The current Lionesses are keen not to compare Sunday to their previous finals – one won against Germany, one lost to Spain in the World Cup.
None are old enough to have played in the 6-2 defeat to Germany in the Euro 2009 final. But all know what it is to face monumental pressure on the world stage after the agony of penalties against Sweden and the late comeback in the semi-final win over Italy.
Williamson knows what it is to lift trophies for club and country, but to do it like this, away from home, away from family and friends having had a target on their backs as champions, would be even more special.
Uefa and Fifa both spend time monitoring the technical evolution of the women’s game and all of it points to the fact that it is markedly more physical, faster and more demanding than ever. Spain are now the benchmark for success but they have also shown at this tournament that there are chinks in the armour which England can exploit.
Ninety more minutes with records on the line. The Lionesses are already national treasures but they are on the cusp of doing something so miraculous no England side may ever surpass them.
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