Sarina Wiegman praises England’s fight to get through
Sarina Wiegman admitted there were “three times” where she thought England were heading out of Euro 2025 before winning on penalties.
“What we can control is the team just fighting to get back into the game and that is what you can see. I think that’s a quality that is so strong in this team, that togetherness and fighting back. It shows so much resilience.
“Then we changed it and brought in other players like Michelle [Agyemang], Chloe [Kelly] and they brought different things to the game that really helped the team in that moment. Also, Sweden in that moment, had to adapt to some different things.
“That is so powerful from this team. That luck as well, yes, at least three times I thought we were out.”
Sarina Wiegman thought England were going home (Getty Images)
Jamie Braidwood18 July 2025 02:13
Sarina Wiegman on Lucy Bronze:
Sarina Wiegman reserved special praise for Lucy Bronze’s “resilience and fight” and said she had never before seen a player defy injury to score such an important penalty.
“Lucy Bronze is just one of a kind, I have never, ever seen this before in my life,” Wiegman said.
“I’m a very lucky person that I’ve worked with so many incredible people and incredible football players, and there are so, so many, but what she does and her mentality, and how she did that penalty and the goal, at the far post, she gets it in the net. But that’s not what defines her.
“What defines her is that resilience, that fight. I think the only way to get her off the pitch is in a wheelchair.”
(Getty Images)
Jamie Braidwood18 July 2025 01:00
Sarina Wiegman confirms major injury concern after Leah Williamson limps off England win
Sarina Wiegman confirmed that captain Leah Williamson rolled her ankle during England’s chaotic Euro 2025 win over Sweden and said the defender will be assessed before the semi-final against Italy on Tuesday.
The Lionesses fought from two goals down and then survived a thrilling penalty shoot-out to keep their European title defence alive in Zurich but Wiegman may be left counting the cost of the victory after Williamson limped off in extra time.
The centre-back stayed down after England cleared a corner and appeared to land awkwardly. Williamson attempted to play but realised she was not at “100 per cent” and was replaced before the penalty drama unfolded.
Jamie Braidwood18 July 2025 00:45
England ‘won’t take anything for granted’ – Lucy Bronze
Italy next, and Lucy Bronze says, “Obviously on paper they’re ranked lower than us but for them they’ve got everything to win in that game, considering I think it’s their first ever Euros semi-final. You saw how much it meant to them yesterday getting through.
“Even against Spain I thought they did quite well, although the scoreline probably doesn’t look like it, and Spain are a top team. I’ve watched them throughout the tournament and they deserve to be in the semi-final. I don’t think we’ll take anything for granted after this game tonight so we have to be at our best if we want to be in the final.”
(The FA via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 00:40
Hannah Hampton praises England supporters for providing ‘little edge’ during penalty heroics
Bronze, up seventh in the line-up, drilled her spot kick down the middle before Smilla Holmberg fired her penalty over the crossbar to give England a 3-2 shootout win.
Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved two penalties to keep the Lionesses in the contest and praised the England supporters for giving her an extra edge in the shootout.
Hampton, who performed her heroics with a bloody nose, spoke to the BBC after the match and said she was ‘relieved’ to make it through.
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 00:30
Chloe Kelly brings magic and sheer chaos as England abandon all logic
Chloe Kelly walks up to the penalty spot as if she’s in her back garden. She stops. She waits. She picks the ball up and spins it back onto the spot, as if no one is watching and no one is waiting for the kick to keep England’s Euro defence alive. Kelly waits a little longer. Then she lifts up her right leg, skips a little, and effortlessly places the biggest penalty of her life into the corner. Confident? That doesn’t quite cut it. Did Kelly know that Sweden’s goalkeeper was up next, with the chance to knock England out and send Sweden through? Probably not. But given the way Kelly turned and roared at the England fans in Zurich, you wouldn’t put it past her.
Jamie Braidwood reports from Zurich:
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 00:20
England’s gritty resolve overshadows familiar frailties in Euro 2025 penalty shootout triumph
It’s an image that could go down in England folklore, albeit after a performance – bar maybe a total of three minutes – that won’t quite be written into history. Certainly not with any great affection. Following a series of absurd misses, in what might well have been one of the worst penalty shoot-outs in football history, a hobbling Lucy Bronze ripped off her strapping, and strode forward. An astonishing eight of the 12 previous penalties had been squandered. Some had been squandered in scarcely believable fashion, the emotional momentum of the shoot-out veering as wildly as some of the attempts. So, Bronze just smashed it straight into the roof of the net.
It was a decisiveness that had been missing from the previous 10 minutes, and most of the game. It also seemed to scramble Sweden one final time, as Smilla Holmberg became just the latest player to sky the ball.
This time, it was enough. Bronze’s force had driven England into the semi-finals of Euro 2025.
Miguel Delaney reports from Zurich:
Miguel Delaney18 July 2025 00:10
‘The little things make a difference’ – Lucy Bronze
Lucy Bronze adds, referring to penalties and the tape she put on her leg in extra time: “I actually hurt my leg a little bit in the game, which is why I had to take the tape off, so I kind of changed my mind. That’s why I took it off because I thought I’m not sure if I’m going to hurt myself doing something different.
“Also I watched the goalkeeper in every single penalty and she dived quite early. Statistically in a penalty shootout it’s quite risky for the goalkeeper to stand still and go down the middle. Also you’re more likely to win if you go first – winning the coin toss played into that. So yeah – I love maths.
“I’ve been around long enough. I need to know the ins and outs of the game. Standing a little bit in front, celebrating each goal, giving confidence to my team. All the little things can make a difference and for me it felt like it did tonight.”
(The FA via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 00:00
‘A rollercoaster’ – Lucy Bronze
Lucy Bronze is next up. “Just a rollercoaster, both overwhelming, underwhelming at the same time,” she says. “Just a crazy game as an England player and I can imagine for the fans watching as well. I saw my brother right at the end, he was so excited, we probably put him through it, surprised he didn’t faint during the game.”
How hard was it to keep going? “Holding the team together in the first half was difficult. There was a few good chances they had which could have put the game to bed. Lucky for us we kept them out, Hannah did a couple of good saves, once we made our substitutes that’s when the momentum really came to us, got our two goals, changed the dynamic of the game.”
When she scored she kicked the advertising hoarding – is she okay? “My foot’s fine, I’m made of tough stuff. It was just frustration of how are we actually going to get the ball into the back of the net. Seeing it go in, a lot of emotion just came out in that one second.”
(The FA via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford17 July 2025 23:50
Wiegman heaps praise on Agyemang and Hampton
Asked about the impact of Michelle Agyemang, who scored the equaliser, Wiegman says: “This is basically why we selected her. Michelle hasnt’ been in our environment for a long period of time but the moment she came in, she did really well, and she brings something different. She showed that in training, against Belgium, against France. She’s so strong and she scored a goal too, she has shown she can do that.”
On Hannah Hampton – did she silence the doubters? “She didn’t have doubters in our bubble. I think she had a very impressive performance, some very good saves in the second half, one save was really important. She had one penalty, the right side, that was an incredible save. Pretty big contribution today.”
Is she turning her attention to playing Italy yet? “No, not yet. At the moment I’m just thinking how this team turned this around again, how this team showed resilience, tonight we showed we’re absolutely never done.”
Glass of wine to celebrate? “A glass of something nice, I think so, just one because we need to get prepared for Italy!”
(The FA via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford17 July 2025 23:41