Even a few days on from Sunday, it is still amazing that the Lionesses went to Switzerland and defended their European title.  There were times during the tournament when I thought they wouldn’t but their belief and never give up attitude helped them become champions again.

The penalty shoot-out win over Spain in the final in Basel saw them become the first senior England side to win a major tournament on foreign soil.  Chloe Kelly scored the decisive spot kick which saw her win the Euros for the Lionesses again like three years ago.  Sarina Wiegman has now won three European Championships in a row as Head coach after winning in 2017 with the Netherlands then again in 2022 and 2025.

The Euros didn’t start well for England with a poor performance and 2-1 defeat against France in the group stage.  The next game against the Netherlands was already a must win one which the Lionesses did in style winning 4-0.  They knew a win against Wales in the last group match would see them through to the knockout stages and they defeated them 6-1 to progress.

Sweden took a 2-0 lead in the quarter-final and it could have been worse for England had Hannah Hampton not made some vital saves.  Wiegman brought on Kelly and Michelle Agyemang during the second half and they proved to be the game changers with Kelly assisting a Lucy Bronze goal then Agyemang scored the equaliser to take the match to extra-time.  There were no further goals with the Lionesses winning the penalty shootout 3-2.

After going behind to a first half goal from Italy in the semi-final, it was the introduction of Kelly and Agyemang that proved to be the turning point again.  Just as it looked like Italians were going to reach the final, Agyemang found the net to equalise in the 96th minute before Kelly scored from the rebound after her penalty had been saved to win the match for England in the 119th minute.  The remaining four minutes and 52 seconds was the only time the Lionesses were ahead during the knockout stages.

The Euro 2025 final was a rematch of the World Cup final two years ago against Spain.  Spain took the lead in the 25th minute and looked the better side during the first half.  Kelly come on as a substitute again and her cross was headed in by Alessia Russo to equalise for England.  There were no further goals during the remainder of the 90 minutes or during extra time with Leah Williamson and Jess Carter being solid in defence.  Penalties again and Hampton saved two of Spain’s leaving Kelly to score the winning penalty as the Lionesses won the shootout 3-1. 

Williamson went up to lift the trophy again after doing the same three years ago at Wembley.  The final was watched by about 16 million people on television in the UK.

The celebrations got into full swing in Switzerland and England and there were hundreds waiting at Southend Airport when the squad flew back on Monday afternoon.  On Tuesday at the Homecoming parade, around 65,000 packed The Mall and in front of Buckingham Palace to welcome the team home.  Where I was stood near the start of the parade, it was brilliant to see the crowd was about 10 people deep with lots of flags being waved and people cheering.

So how did the Lionesses win the Euros.  Wiegman made a big tactical change after the France defeat with James moving into the attacking right side position in place of Mead and Toone coming into the number 10 role.  In defence, Alex Greenwood moved to the left side and Carter in the centre with Williamson.  These changes seemed to work on the whole.  Crucial substitutions were also made during matches that turned out to be game changing with Kelly and Agyemang coming on.

The squad was full of winners and players who don’t know how to lose.  Six came from Chelsea’s domestically undefeated treble winners in the past season whilst another five played for Arsenal in their UEFA Women’s Champions League win against Barcelona in May.

It is maybe unfair from a squad of winners to pick out individuals but I just want to pick a few out.  19-year-old Michelle Agyemang was maybe a but of a surprise choice for the squad for some (me included) but she turned out to be a super sub and won the Young Player of the Tournament award.  Chloe Kelly was thinking of giving up football in January before her move to Arsenal and turned out to be an absolute star at the Euros! 

Lucy Bronze played near enough every minute of the tournament with a fractured tibia.  Hannah Hampton made big saves and conceded only three out of eleven penalties which is the best save rate (27%) in Women’s Euros history.  It wasn’t all good news with both Hampton & Ella Toone both had deaths in the family before and during the tournament, thoughts with them and their families, whilst Jess Carter received some vile racial abuse on social media.

England beat a few European Championship records during the tournament!  11 different players scored goals in Switzerland (Keira Walsh, Lauren James, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead, Aggie Beever-Jones, Lucy Bronze, Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly).  The win over Wales saw a record for the most different scorers in a single Euro game as six players found the net. 

They completed the biggest comeback in a Euro knockout tie coming back from two down to beat Sweden on penalties.  They also had the most wins on penalties in a single Euros tournament.

So that is Euro 2025 done and dusted! 

England will be looking to defend their title again in 2029!