Right, I’m off to get some lunch now so John Brewin will be with you for the next hour.
Women’s Euro 2025: Buildup to the England v Spain final – live | Women’s Euro 2025
Published: 2025-07-24 13:15:10 | Views: 16
Key events
England have endured some underwhelming performances in Switzerland so far this summer, but they have made it all the way to the Euro 2025 final through sheer determination and resilience in the toughest of moments.
Peter Gartner has messaged in with his take on how England should approach Sunday’s final:
“Sarina’s strategy is to let the opposition get tired, then bring on the super-subs to score, and it works; but she left it a little late. We only just about pulled it off against Italy.
“It won’t work against Spain, because we will be too far behind. So, to beat Spain, defend like Switzerland, who kept Spain out for 60 minutes. Pull the midfield back to provide extra defenders. Let the midfield follow the ball like Switzerland did. Don’t let the midfield go into Spain’s half until the ball goes into Spain’s half. Frustrate Spain.
“Germany followed what Switzerland did, learning from them, and it worked until a moment of special skill from Bonmati. Do what Germany and Switzerland did. Let Hampton fire long balls over the Spanish midfield to reach James and Russo, who might score, because Spain’s defence isn’t that great. Mark Pina especially closely. Set 2 or 3 defenders on her. Block her shots.
“Then, bring on the super-subs at 60 mins, with Kelly working her magic. Our subs are better than Germany’s and could get the break-through against Spain. Defend, defend, defend, defend, until Spain get tired and frustrated. Then spring the super-subs earlier, please.”
So, the big question for England ahead of Sunday’s final is; who starts?
It’s likely that Sarina Wiegman will name an unchanged line-up, unless the injury that forced Lauren James off at half-time against Italy will keep her out. But should she try something different?
During a press conference this morning, Keira Walsh insisted that England’s two late goals against Italy on Tuesday were not “lucky” but rather a result of the team’s determination and resilience.
She said: “I’ve heard that people were saying that it was luck. But for us, you create those moments for yourself through belief, confidence, determination. It’s not by design that Michelle is in the box and scoring. It’s not by design that people are putting crosses into the box - it’s thought out, it’s purposeful. It’s the absolute belief that no matter what minute of the game it is, we’re going to win it or we’re going to get a result to take us to extra time. That’s the resilience of this team.”
A trial that allows fans to drink alcohol while in the stands is being expanded to include 14 Women’s Super League and WSL 2 clubs from the new season, including all of the top-flight’s ‘big four’ teams.
Every club across both divisions was offered the chance to take part. The full list of clubs whose home games will be included in the trial are:
It follows a four-club trial that began in the second half of last season, enabling fans to drink from the stands the second-tier clubs Birmingham City, Bristol City, Newcastle United and Southampton, which saw 19 league fixtures included. No safety incidents were reported from any of those games. A subsequent fan survey found that 66% were in support of the trial going forwards, the league have said.
Drinking in view of the pitch is prohibited in men’s professional football in England and Wales, under the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act of 1985, but the women’s professional game is not covered by that legislation.
England fans are being backed to “bring the absolute vibe” to St Jakob-Park on Sunday, with an expanded travelling Lionesses support expected at the final in Basel.
WSL to expand trial for alcohol in stands
WSL Football is expanding the trial to offer supporters the choice to drink alcohol in the stands to 14 clubs across the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Super League 2 for the 2025/26 season.
Unlike men’s football in the UK, the women’s professional game is not covered by legislation in the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985 (SECAA 1985) which prohibits the consumption of alcohol in view of the pitch.
An initial version of the trial took place across four Barclays WSL2 clubs – Birmingham City, Bristol City, Newcastle United and Southampton – during the second half of the 2024-25 campaign.
This ran across 19 league fixtures between January and May 2025 and involved over 51,000 supporters.
And following the undertaking of a successful evaluation across fans, clubs and matchday staff, seven clubs from each division have signed up for the second phase of the trial that will run throughout 2025/26.
The WSL clubs included are:
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Arsenal (Emirates Stadium)
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Chelsea (Kingsmeadow & Stamford Bridge)*
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Everton (Goodison Park)
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Liverpool (St Helens & Anfield)
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London City Lionesses (Hayes Lane)*
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Manchester City (Joie Stadium)
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Manchester United (Leigh Sports Village & Old Trafford)
The WSL2 clubs included are:
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Birmingham City (St Andrew’s)
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Bristol City (Ashton Gate)
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Crystal Palace (Sutton United)
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Newcastle United (St James’ Park)*
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Sheffield United (Bramall Lane)
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Sunderland (Stadium of Light)
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Southampton (St Mary’s Stadium)
You can keep up to date with the race for the Euro 2025 Golden Boot here:
If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to our Moving the Goalposts newsletter for regular updates on women’s football. You’ll receive stories, features and interviews straight to your inbox twice a week. If there’s any time to sign up, it’s now!
Have you been enjoying the Euro 2025 drama? Whether you have watched matches in Switzerland, fan parks, pubs or on the edge of your sofa, we would love to hear from you. Is there a buzz of excitement about the final? Which teams have impressed you? Who will be crowned champions on Sunday? Does this tournament feel like a step up in quality from the previous Euros three years ago?
Reflecting on England’s 2023 World Cup final defeat to Spain, Keira Walsh said: “Obviously it was a massive disappointment. From a collective we probably feel like we didn’t have our best performance that day. But as a football player you can become too emotional and if you pull too much on that then you can be too emotional. This is a new game, new team, we know what we bring in this tournament so we’re going to keep doing that and focus on the positives, not try and draw on that too much.
“Obviously we think about it a little bit but, for us, we’ll put it to the side and focus on Sunday. As I said, we’ve got so many new players in this team who are really confident and can bring so many new things to this team which is exciting, so we can just focus on the positives.”
On the rivalry between England and Spain, Keira Walsh said: “It is a rivalry. There is respect between the teams and they play incredible football. We know that we can do on our day as well so it’s going to be an exciting game and hopefully it’s a good one for the fans to watch.”
England midfielder Keira Walsh has been speaking to the media this morning. On Sunday’s final, she said: “There’s a lot of respect between both the teams. I think the most important thing for them is that they can enjoy this final. There’s no controversy surrounding it. The girls deserve to be there, they play incredible football. So first and foremost, for them as human beings is that they can go out there and actually enjoy this game.”
“It took just one moment. One clever movement into space, one cutting through pass and one brilliant finish for Spain to finally undo a resilient German defence. When Aitana Bonmatí angled home a shot from a tight angle deep into extra time, she not only sent her side through to a final of a women’s Euros for the first time but also proved so much about the strength, both physically and mentally, of this dominant Spanish team…”
Aitana Bonmatí revealed after yesterday’s game that she intentionally aimed for the front post before scoring the decisive goal against Germany.
She said: “Yes, the truth is that we had studied it. Well, Marisa, the goalkeeper coach, had told me that she [Berger] made certain movements and that sometimes she left the near post clear and that’s how it was. I didn’t think about [taking that shot] twice because I didn’t want it to reach penalties.
“Scoring in a game like this one is super special and if I can help the team writing history, it’s very special. For the first time we have beaten Germany with the women’s national team, and for the first time we are in the final of the Euros. We have written history.”
Spain recorded their first-ever win over Germany last night.
Aitana Bonmatí was the hero last night as Spain clinched a 1-0 win over Germany in Zurich. If you want to relive the action, be sure to give Nick Ames’ match report a read.
Preamble
The final has been set. England will face Spain for the Euro 2025 crown on Sunday, a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final. La Roja booked their place in the Basel clash with a 1-0 win over Germany last night thanks to a late strike in extra time from two-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí.
I’ll be bringing you all the reaction from that match throughout the day, as well as more reaction from England’s dramatic semi-final win over Italy.
The final countdown is officially on. Join me!
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