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The gold confetti may have been swept away but it will take some time for the dust to settle on the most remarkable of tournaments. England are European champions. Again. Writing a new chapter in the history book of English football. Leah Williamson, the first England captain to lift two major trophies. Michelle Agyemang, the 19-year-old wonderkid. Jess Carter and her remarkable performance amid the most difficult of times. Hannah Hampton, defying the odds to become England’s saviour on penalties, twice. Chloe Kelly almost quitting football in January and becoming a European champion for club and country by the end of July. Lucy Bronze playing with a leg fracture.
Each one of the 23 has a tale to tell. The people are remarkable and their stories are remarkable.
Though they were the reigning champions, this tournament was in many ways a harder European Championship to win than in 2022. Then, they had home advantage and their first-choice starting XI avoided injury and Covid at the crucial time. At the home tournament the support around the side stepped up a gear and aligned with a playing group that was a mix of the best of the preceding generation and the cream of the new crop of young professionals coming through, who had benefited from the investment in the Women’s Super League and national team pathways.
The water has been choppier since, as England’s record became pockmarked with defeats and draws. There were setbacks for Williamson and Beth Mead, who both suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries that ruled them out of the 2023 World Cup. On the eve of that tournament came news the players were frustrated that talks over bonuses had broken down. Still, they battled on, reaching a second major final in 12 months, which they lost against Spain.
The following two years would be similarly fraught, England failing to secure qualification for a Team GB side at the 2024 Olympic Games before Nations League defeats by Belgium and Spain led to many questioning the viability of their European title defence in Switzerland.
The decisions this year of Mary Earps and Fran Kirby to retire from international football, and of Millie Bright to withdraw herself from selection in the space of a few days, only further fuelled the doubts.
The landscape was very different going into this tournament compared to the last. Time moves fast in women’s football and, as federations increasingly see the growth potential in the women’s game, the rest of Europe is catching up.
The English FA responded with extra investment, seen in the finer details. No expense was spared in ensuring the players were supported. That included their barista James and his dog Reggie accompanying them to Switzerland, and everything from games consoles to basketball hoops and Lioness-branded Yorkshire tea. They were also able to bring their own home comforts, Agyemang having her piano and Lauren Hemp a Lego castle. It’s these fine margins that continue to be a key aspect in keeping England’s noses ahead, but there are other important factors that contributed to this win.
Critically, the togetherness of the team has been a feature of interviews with the players and the head coach, Sarina Wiegman. That has not been automatic, it has been carefully crafted, the players encouraged to share stories of their personal journeys for that purpose. Many of those have been publicly shared too, players keen to be ambassadors and people who fans can empathise with and connect to: Bronze spoke about her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism diagnoses, Hampton discussed an eye condition that affects her depth perception and had doctors doubting whether she’d be able to play, Williamson and Mead talked candidly about their anterior cruciate ligament recovery journeys.
They bonded further through their shared anger and frustration at the racist abuse meted out to Carter online and their collective public condemnation of it. They have also been united in personal grief, with Mead and Ella Toone being consoled by teammates amid the celebrations, a poignant reminder that sometimes good times don’t feel so good.
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It is these bonds that helped to fuel the “proper England” vibe in Switzerland. These were 23 players ready to fight for each other until they had nothing left to give, Bronze – playing with a fractured tibia in one leg and picking up a knee injury on the other and still trying to stay on – epitomising that. That is a big part of why, with the pressure on following a humbling defeat by France in the opening game, England didn’t collapse. Every game from then on in was a final, win or bust. A thrilling 4-0 victory against the Netherlands made it seem like the tide had turned, and the 6-1 win against Wales suggested that the Lionesses had settled into their tournament rhythm.
They finished second in the group to France, opening up the kinder side of the draw, on paper. Sweden, though, have been tricky opponents for England over the years and it was no different in Zurich, the similarities in style of play between the two sides evident. A terrible first half was followed by a thrilling second as England fought back from two goals down, forced extra time, then won a ludicrous shootout, their ability to dig deep, that unity and their belief tested to the maximum.
They had to come from behind in all three of their knockout games, Agyemang’s late goal against Italy forcing extra time before Kelly scored the winner. In the final, Alessia Russo cancelled out Mariona Caldentey’s goal before the game ended in another shootout in which Hampton saved two and Kelly scored the decisive penalty. England led for only 4min 52sec across the quarter-final, semi-final and the final. They were aided by the depth they have in the squad, forged from investment in the WSL and in the England youth teams. And there is the flexibility in that depth, illustrated by Mead playing as a deep-lying midfielder against Sweden and then Italy, as England hurled the attacking equivalent of the kitchen sink at them.
In the final they had the gameplan too, the blueprint set out by their defeat of Spain at Wembley in February and in Arsenal’s underdog victory against Barcelona in the Champions League final. Near-perfect and perfect defensive displays were, respectively, required in those matches. Tellingly, neither England nor Arsenal tried to outplay Spain and Barcelona, letting them do what they do, while staying disciplined defensively and attacking their weaknesses out wide. That was what England did in Basel.
Wiegman has been a significant cog. As the FA’s chief executive, Mark Bullingham, said, many teams have great players but none have a manager of her quality. She is loved by her players. Her message to her 23 before the Italy game and then the final was a simple one, that spoke to her wry sense of humour and the battling spirit of the team. She brought out a “little toiletry bag that said: ‘Bitches get shit done,’ and bitches got shit done today”, Mead said after the final. “That is it, drop the mic.”
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