Lucy Bronze revealed after England’s Euro 2025 final victory against Spain that she had played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia.
The right-back, who went off during half-time of extra time of the final because of an injury to her right knee, said she had played all six matches at the tournament with a fractured tibia in her left leg and described it as “very painful”.
Bronze had grabbed attention during the quarter-final win against Sweden for strapping her own thigh deep into extra time before taking off the strapping and scoring a powerful penalty in the shootout.
The 33-year-old – one of whose middle names is Tough – had her right leg heavily strapped as England celebrated retaining the European Championship title in Basel but told the BBC when asked about that: “I’ve actually played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia but no one knew and then I’ve hurt my knee today on the other leg.
“I think that’s why I got a lot of praise from the girls after the Sweden game – because I’ve been through a lot of pain. But that’s what it takes to play for England. That’s what I’ll do. They know that and I think we inspire each other by playing through things like that and it got us to the end.”
Bronze said the two injuries would not hold her back when England continue their celebrations behind closed doors before flying home on Monday and heading on Tuesday to a public celebration event in central London. “I’m going to party, I’m going to enjoy it and that’s it.”
The England head coach, Sarina Wiegman, who has won this title three times in a row since 2017, said in her press conference that England’s multiple comeback victories meant this was “the most chaotic and ridiculous tournament we have played”. She said: “I’m very happy. I actually can’t believe it myself. How can this happen? But it happened. I’m so incredibly proud of the team and the staff. We’re just going to party tonight!”
The Dutchwoman had earlier told the BBC: “The word ‘team’ really described who we are – a team. We said we can win by any means and that’s what we have shown again today. I am so proud of the team and the staff. It is incredible. I just can’t believe it, but I have a medal around my neck and we have a trophy. It has been the most chaotic tournament on the pitch – all the challenges we had on the pitch against our opponents.
“From the first game it was chaos. Losing your first game and becoming European champions is incredible. Football is chaos.”
Bronze, who made her 36th appearance at a major tournament for the Lionesses, surpassing Jill Scott’s record, also hailed the team’s togetherness, saying: “Today we’ve shown resilience, the fight we had throughout the tournament. We’ve shown everyone to believe in yourself no matter what other people say about you and to believe in the people who give you that support.”
Shortly after Chloe Kelly’s winning penalty secured the successful defence of the Lionesses’ European crown, the Football Association announced that the victory would be celebrated with a homecoming event. Wiegman and her team will have an open-top bus procession along the Mall from 12.10pm, culminating in a staged ceremony in front of Buckingham Palace starting at about 12.30pm, which will be free for fans to attend.
Those celebrations will be broadcast live across the BBC, ITV and Sky between 12pm and 1pm, and the event will be hosted by the television presenter and the former England defender Alex Scott. “It’s going to be crazy,” Kelly said. “I hope the whole of England comes out to support us and shows the love to all these girls because they deserve it.”
It was a fifth major senior final for the England men’s or women’s teams since 2021 and the FA’s chief executive, Mark Bullingham, noted that the Lionesses had become the first England senior team to win a tournament overseas. “We are so proud of all of the players, Sarina and the support team who have all been part of this incredible achievement,” he said.
The secretary of state for culture media and sport, Lisa Nandy, said: “The Lionesses’ incredible win has done our country proud. Now, we have the chance to cheer these heroes home at their homecoming parade. The Lionesses didn’t just set out to win the tournament, they wanted to change society – and this government is rising to that challenge.”
The Spain coach, Montse Tomé, felt her team had been the better side saying: “I think this team deserved more. I feel we worked hard during a long time to reach this moment, to reach this final against a high-level national team as England, and what we saw during the game makes me feel that the team deserved having more, not leaving with this bitter feeling. This is sport. You must know how to lose and today we missed the penalties. I think we were better but football is a sport where not always the best team wins. England is an excellent national team.”