A smile spreads across Sarina Wiegman’s face as she reflects on Euro 2025.
“It’s still strange. Did this really happen?” The usually stoic England manager admits. “To be honest, I’m really emotional.
“It was crazy how those games were developed. It was very moving because it was different from any other tournament we’ve played. It was really special.”
Player dropouts, injury doubts, early defeats, comeback wins and penalty shoot-outs have defined England’s journey to become back-to-back European champions.
A few months later Wiegman Sky Sports News We tell her about one of the most dramatic tournament wins in modern history. ‘There was a lot going on,’ Wiegman said, reflecting on the preparations for the tournament.
To put it mildly.
Mary Earps decided to retire after being demoted to second choice goalkeeper. Fran Kirby did the same after finding out she was not part of Wiegman’s immediate plans, while former captain Millie Bright decided to take a break instead of going to Switzerland.
Mary Earps announced her retirement from the national team just before Euro 2025.
In addition, the participation of five players presumed to be starters was uncertain due to injuries.
Lauren James, Georgia Stanway, Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp and Lucy Bronze all worked up the courage to get on the plane, something Wiegman is incredibly proud of.
“We had five major injuries to players who had been playing for a long time and they worked very hard to recover. It’s very special that all five players did it,” she recalled.
Players like Lauren James have reached out for Euro 2025.
“A player might get injured and not play. A player might retire and not play. The reasons are different, but the result is the same. Who’s going to step in next?”
The problem with the return of almost half the starting line-up was that England were undercooked for the tournament and were exposed by their loss to France in their opening match.
Hard words were said, realities were revealed, and training changed. England were upset after losing to one of the tournament favorites, but Wiegman wasn’t about to let that happen again.
‘We didn’t take the penalty well against Sweden’
Every ounce of that determination and belief in the squad was needed in the quarter-finals against Sweden.
“Boom – after 30 minutes we were down 2-0,” Wiegman recalls. “Okay, this is the game. We said at halftime, ‘We can still change this game.’”
Chloe Kelly went on to score goals for Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang to take the game to a penalty shoot-out. Chaos ensued as nine spot kicks were missed.
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England and Arsenal forward Chloe Kelly looks back at the highs and lows of 2025, rediscovering happiness on the pitch and delivering on the game’s biggest moments.
“We didn’t take them well. I said to Arjen (Veurink, former England assistant coach) ‘Wow’ or something stronger like ‘We could get on a plane tomorrow’.”
However, the Bronze defeated the home English champions to create a memorable night in Zurich.
“I’ve never experienced a game like this, but what got us through was how connected this team was. We were together in 2022 and 2023, but this team took it to a new level. There was a lot of faith in this team and the team cohesion gave us an added advantage.”
‘We knew we were better than Spain in penalty shoot-outs.’
England needed that unity in the semi-finals to overcome another deficit to beat Italy in extra time and advance to their third successive major tournament final.
What stood in Wigman’s way was the country that defeated England in the 2023 World Cup final.
“Okay, we are playing Spain. They have the best of possession and it looks good, but they have some vulnerabilities that we were trying to exploit,” the Lionesses coach said, recalling the game plan.
All three of England’s knockout games went into extra time and two went to penalty shootouts.
Wiegman admitted England had ‘struggled’ since Mariona Caldentey put the world champions in front. But they regained their momentum after half-time and equalized through Alessia Russo’s header.
But again England put up a massive performance in the penalty shoot-out. People call gunfights the lottery. But the clichés Wiegman knew didn’t apply to his side.
“We had an advantage. We knew it,” she said. “They were disappointed to be in that position. We have experience and we know we can do it. We know we are better than them in penalty shoot-outs.”
“And there was Hannah.”
‘I’m so proud of Hannah’
Hannah Hampton saved two penalties against Spain and helped England win Euro 2025.
St Jakob’s Park found out when Hannah Hampton saved Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati’s penalty. England almost became European champions again.
England is no. Without 1, we wouldn’t have been able to lift the trophy. Chelsea’s goalkeeper made some great saves not only in the penalty shoot-out but throughout the tournament. Her distribution also added a dimension to Lionesses that we had not experienced before.
It’s even more surprising considering Hampton was thrust into the spotlight following the Earps’ shocking retirement. Hampton felt sad after his grandfather passed away two days before the competition began.
“I’m really, really proud of her,” Wiegman said. “She was in good shape and had some personal issues to deal with before the tournament. She did very well. She’s amazing.”
‘Tuchel knows what he wants to do next summer’
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Sarina Wiegman joined Alex Scott on stage at England’s Euro 2025 homecoming celebrations to express what it means to her to help the Lionesses win back-to-back titles.
Hampton and the rest of the squad celebrated hard after winning the Euros.
After a memorable night in Zurich, we took a trip to Downing Street before the celebrations took place in front of Buckingham Palace.
“When you see 70,000 people cheering you on, you say to yourself, ‘This isn’t real. What’s going on here?’” the Lionesses boss recalled.
Unexpectedly, we saw a different side to the normally cool Dutch woman at a party at The Mall. Appearing live on TV, Wiegman surprised everyone watching by dancing and singing along with Burna Boy.
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England coach Sarina Wiegman danced with her favorite artist Burna Boy on the doorstep of Buckingham Palace as she celebrated their Euro win.
“My daughters were there and I didn’t know. While we were singing and dancing, Georgia (Stanway) said, ‘Your daughters are here,’ so I saw them and ran over, which made me even more excited.” “You don’t get to see that much. It was really fun.”
Wiemgan will also be delighted if the England players bring home the big trophy at this summer’s World Cup in North America. She meets Thomas Tuchel frequently but insists he does not need her guidance.
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Victorious England coach Sarina Wigman has recalled a ‘very special’ day after the Lionesses visited Downing Street following their Euro 2025 win.
“Oh, he knows,” Wiegman joked. “We meet up occasionally and he’s very excited. He knows exactly what he wants to do this summer.”
He wouldn’t go wrong following Wiegman’s blueprint for success.
If 2025 has taught her anything, it’s how to deal with adversity, frustration and confusion and end up with another medal around her neck.
