Dear England,
The determination and belief you have shown to get here has been incredible. You have inspired everyone back home every time you have set foot on the pitch.
It is that never giving up and pushing to the very end. People will talk about luck in games and sometimes you need that, but you don’t get through without the mentality you have shown every time you have scored in the last few minutes of these games.
Lucy Bronze has just summed it up with her performances. England are a team with no fear. We have got the strength in depth to win games, and these players have beaten Spain before and can do it again. You have all played in big moments, high-pressure games before and a lot of you have won a major tournament before.
Enjoy this moment – there is no better feeling than walking out on that pitch, playing in a Euros final knowing the stadium is full and you are going to be doing what you love. It is an incredible feeling and you never want to forget those moments.
The Lionesses know that every time they do well in a major tournament, the women’s game just grows and grows all over the country.
And it is not just England now, it is all the people outside that have grown it over however many years of work. It’s credit to players, managers and all the staff behind them. They’ve allowed young girls to have a career in football and an option to play the sport they love.
There is no need to dwell on the World Cup final defeat to Spain two years ago. People always go back in time and talk about old results, but the teams have changed, players have changed, that was a World Cup, this is a Euros – it is all very different. Take this game as what it is now.
Spain’s centre-mids have won player of the match in every single game, so that is where their heartbeat is coming from – but England’s heartbeat is that winning mentality.
It is not always about saying it out loud, it is their attitude on the pitch. It is Alessia Russo chasing down the defender, Keira Walsh calming the game down.
They show it in their actions, and when the subs come on the whole team knows this is how we are going to score. It is a collective between the starters and the girls that come on and that really boosts the team.
So good luck. The whole nation is behind you. Play with no fear and bring the trophy home. And if you could do it in 90 minutes that would be great!
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