THE LIONESSES HAVE BEATEN SPAIN ON PENALTIES (3 – 1) IN BACK-TO-BACK TROPHIES IN THE EUROS!

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE SENSATIONAL EUROS FINALS WHEN THE LIONESSES BEAT SPAIN! IT WAS EVERYTHING WE HAD ENVISAGED – AND MORE! SPAIN, AS EVER, PUT ON A DOMINANT PERFORMANCE, WHICH THE LIONESSES HAVE COME TO EXPECT, AND SEEMINGLY PREPARED FOR, AFTER THE LAST FEW TIMES OF PLAYING AGAINST EACH OTHER. SPAIN HAD 22 SHOTS, WITH 5 ON TARGET, WITH SPAIN’S MARIONA CALDENTEY KICKING OFF PROCEEDINGS AT 25 MINS. WITH A STERLING SHOT, WHICH, ONCE AGAIN, GOT THE HEARTS OF THE ENGLAND FANS ‘A-PUMPING’, BUT WITHOUT, PERHAPS THE CUSTOMARY SINKING FEELING, WHICH SOME (NOT ME😊) MIGHT HAVE FELT BEFORE AT THIS STAGE, REALISING THAT THIS IS SARINA WIEGMAN’S LIONESSES – AND THAT THIS IS THE WAY THEY ROLL!

AND SURE ENOUGH, ROLL ON THEY DID! AFTER CHLOE KELLY WAS SUBBED ON FOR A CLEARLY WOUNDED LAUREN JAMES (WHO LOOKED AS THOUGH SHE HAD NOT YET QUITE RECOVERED FROM A PREVIOUS ANKLE INJURY) CHLOE, ONCE AGAIN STRAPPED HER “LUCKY CHARM” WEDDING PHOTO OF HERSELF AND HER HUSBAND TO HER SHIN, AND BOUNCED ONTO THE PITCH WITH HER NOW CUSTOMARY DAINTY SKIP AND SOON FOUND ALESSIA RUSSO WITH ANOTHER EXQUISITE PRECISE CROSS, WHO NEATLY HEADED THE EQUALISER INTO GOAL AT 57 MINS! (ALESSIA’S 9TH GOAL AT A MAJOR TOURNAMENT!)

CUE CROWD ELATION, UPROAR AND CHEERS FROM WITHIN THE STADIUM (AND A LOT OF BEER SPILLING ACROSS THE UK!!) ENGLAND HAD 8 SHOTS, WITH 5 ON TARGET, BUT WITH NO FURTHER GOALS DURING THE 90 MINS., THE MATCH WENT INTO EXTRA-TIME, AND WITH THE LIONESSES CREATING A HARMONY OF RESISTANCE TO A BY-NOW BEMUSED ‘SPANISH INQUISITION’ THERE WERE NO FURTHER GOALS, SO IT WENT ONTO PENALITES, WHICH, WITH THE PROWESS OF HAVING CHLOE KELLY AVAILABLE FOR SUCH (BEING THE PREVIOUS SPOT-KICK HERO IN THE EUROS IN 2022 N’ALL) – QUITE APART FROM HER RECENT ‘DYNAMIC DUO’ ACHIEVEMENTS WITH MICHELLE AGYEMANG

AND HANNAH HAMPTON IN GOAL, THEY MUST HAVE ASSUMED THEY WOULD BE IN WITH HALF-A-CHANCE OF WINNING!😊 AND THEY CERTAINLY WERE, WITH HANNAH HAMPTON HAVING PUT ON HER BEST GOALKEEPING GLOVES, AND SAVING MANY GOALS EARLIER, SHE SHONE AGAIN DURING THE PENALTY SHOOT-OUT,

DENYING GOALS FROM MARIONA CALDENTEY, AND BALLON D’OR WINNER, AITANA BONMATI, AND WITH SALMA PARALLUELO’S SHOT GOING WIDE BEFORE CHLOE KELLY’S SPECTACULAR WINNING SHOT (WHICH WAS, ONCE AGAIN, PRECEDED WITH HER DAINTY SKIP),

ENGLAND WON THE PENALTY SHOOT-OUT 3 – 1 WINNING THEIR 2ND SUCCESSIVE EUROPEAN CHAMPS IN THE PROCESS!

THE LIONESSES WILL NOW HAVE A HOMECOMING CELEBRATION ON THE MALL IN LONDON ON TUESDAY 29 JULY 2025, FOLLOWED BY A STAGED CEREMONY AT THE QUEEN VICTORIA MEMORIAL, STARTING AT 12.10 P.M. PLUS AN OPEN-TOPPED BUS PARADE!

THE LIONESSES ARE NOW THE FIRST EVER SENIOR ENGLAND SIDE TO WIN A MAJOR TOURNAMENT ON FOREIGN SOIL AFTER THIS WIN AT ST JAKOB PARK IN BASEL, SWITZERLAND LAST NIGHT!

CHLOE KELLY SAID AFTER THE MATCH! “I’M SO PROUD, SO PROUD OF THIS TEAM, SO GRATEFUL TO WEAR THIS BADGE, AND I’M SO PROUD TO BE ENGLISH…I WAS COOL, I WAS COMPOSED AND I KNEW I WAS GOING TO HIT THE BACK OF THE NET!” 

MANY CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WONDERFUL LIONESSES 

WHAT AN AMAZING JOURNEY WE HAVE ENJOYED WITH YOU ONCE AGAIN!

THANK YOU!

BY AMANDA WATERS