Lionesses’ Euro 2025 triumph will ‘inspire people’ and spark change, Wiegman says

Sarina Wiegman has said England’s defence of their European title “makes change” and “inspires people” far and wide, as the Lionesses prepare for a heroes’ welcome in an open-top bus parade along the Mall and in front of Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

“We’re England and we want to win but there’s so much more than winning a game,” the head coach, who won a record third European title in a row following her Euro 2017 victory with the Netherlands and England’s triumph in 2022, told Lionesses channels.

“We know winning the Euros makes change. It inspires people. Young kids, but also you see so many more people that you inspire, not just little girls but little boys and grandads and grandmas, whole families, in England but also beyond.”

A peak audience of 16.2 million watched England’s defeat of Spain in the Euro 2025 final on ITV and the BBC on Sunday and Wiegman took the time to praise supporters for their role, having travelled en masse and tuned in huge numbers.

“I’m really looking forward to going back to England,” she said. “The fans have been amazing. I think we always have very good crowds and we never, ever take that for granted. If you look at this tournament, many English fans came to the stadiums and were always in the stands in huge overload.

“It’s incredible that all these people took the effort to come and watch us in Switzerland but it’s also about the people at home, we’ve seen some things coming on the social media. It’s really nice to go back to England and come together there and celebrate.”

England went through three consecutive spells of extra time in the knockout stage on the way to their second major tournament trophy, and Wiegman contrasted the chaos on the pitch with the tone they had set off it.

“Three times going into extra time, that’s crazy,” she said. “I feel this tournament was crazy and chaotic on the pitch. I think off the pitch, everything was pretty calm. Also in the three games, we came from behind – we came from 1-0 or even 2-0 down – I think that shows the quality of the players. The team showed so much resilience but also belief, belief that we can turn things around and we can win by any means. That’s the words they used. That’s what we showed over and over again.”

View image in fullscreen Chloe Kelly scored the winning penalty for the Lionesses against Spain. Photograph: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock

Of her own reaction after Chloe Kelly’s winning penalty went in, Wiegman said: “I think I just started running. I’d been screaming for three minutes. I just could not believe that we won it. When she went to take that penalty, it was her conviction again, she just loves these moments.”

On Monday another hero of the final, the England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, paid tribute to her late grandfather, who died two days before the tournament.

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“Dear Grandpa,” Hampton wrote on social media. “You were one of my biggest supporters. You believed in me before I even knew what this journey would look like. You were always there – watching, encouraging, teaching. You taught me so much, not just about football, but about life. About staying grounded, working hard, being resilient and doing things the right way. I miss our chats. I miss you saying, ‘Only us athletes understand’ – always with a little smirk like you were in on something special. And you were. You got it. You understood what this meant to me. You understood what it took.”

Hampton saved two penalties, from the Ballon d’Or holder Aitana Bonmatí and Arsenal’s Champions League winner Mariona Caldentey, in the shootout at the end of the Euro 2025 final, and was named player of the match, her second of the tournament following her penalty heroics against Sweden.

Hampton had “Grandpa” printed on the inside of her collar throughout the tournament. “It breaks my heart that you didn’t get to see me walk out for our country at my first major tournament … something you dreamed of for me, something we talked about so many times,” she said. “But I know, deep down, you were still there. I felt you with me. In the tunnel. On the pitch. In the tough moments. I heard you in my head when I needed strength. I hope I made you proud, Grandpa. I carried you through every minute. And I always will. I did it. WE DID IT.”

Hampton was one of four England players to make Uefa’s team of the tournament, announced on Monday: Hampton and Lucy Bronze (England); Irene Paredes (Spain), Elena Linari (Italy), Franziska Kett (Germany); Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas (all Spain); Jule Brand (Germany), Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly (England).

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