England vs Spain: Women’s Euro 2025 Final

I spent most of the afternoon with Europe’s “The Final Countdown” in my head. Joey Tempest and his rock -star hair were haunting me all afternoon. The perfect way to enjoy the build up for a huge game. Yes, England were through to the final of the UEFA Women’s Euro Final in Basel, Switzerland. What were the chances? What is the history? What is the background?

I remembered a text conversation I had with Clare McEwen earlier this week. It’s from the National Archives, “In light of England’s semi-final victory in the Euros last night, we share this incredible Victorian photo from our collection. The British Ladies Football Club was established in 1895. Players were recruited via newspaper ads and two teams were formed, named North and South (pictured here).
The teams travelled the country playing each other in a series of matches, including at Crouch End and Greenwich in London, as well as Hartlepool, Burnley, Montrose and Belfast. The matches aroused great attention, with their first game at Crouch End attracting 10,000 spectators.

Head to our blog to find out more: https://linktr.ee/thenationalarchives ” ….and I do indeed recommend a read. What a fascinating history.

For those who don’t know Clare, she is “Ms. England Women’s Football” my go-to for everything about the women’s game and a huge font of knowledge. She recently published a definitive history of the game. View here

So, that’s a little background. In this year’s competition, it is fair to say that things had not been as smooth as England would have wanted but they showed incredible resilience in tough games against Sweden, France and Italy. The girls were in top gear against Wales and the highly-rated Netherlands but the defeat to France showed we are not invincible.

On paper, the game could have gone either way. Fortunately, as we all know, the game is not played on paper but both sides could have had reasons to feel confident before kick off. England were the holders and had “done it.” They had also fought back from the absolute brink of defeat against Sweden and Italy. The way they demolished the Dutch showed they had more than a passing understanding of commitment and determination. However, the Spanish have played magnificent football and have some outstanding players including Aitana Bonmatí and Patri Guijarro whose stats for this competition are phenomenal. The Spanish team had also swept past both the Italians and the Germans ….. and put a dozen goals past Belgium and Portugal!

The game itself delivered everything we could have expected. Sadly although it was a sell-out crowd, the Swiss stadium only accommodates less than 35,000 spectators. For millions of other we had to be content with the TV. I was often minded of Pep Guardiola and his “tiny margins.” Did one team deserve to lose? Debatable, but that is the nature of cup football and I think everyone will agree that on the day England were worthy winners. Are penalties cruel? Obviously for the losers. Did some of Spain’s players freeze on the big stage? I think that’s maybe unfair but clearly….history will remember the winners. Football was the winner. Let’s leave it like that. It has been a fantastic competition with every single nation adding value and whilst winning the ultimate prize eluded 15 teams, I am sure their countries are proud of them.

It would be rude not to share Clare’s excitement: “I’m so thrilled and excited by England’s win last night. Incredible. Only the second team to win back-to-back Euros (Germany the other) and this will again increase the visibility in England and the rest of the UK, hopefully increasing commercial opportunities and strengthening infrastructure. Another group of young girls gets to fall in love with the beautiful game. England have built on their legacy and we can all be so proud of what the Lionesses have done and continue to represent.”

I also managed to get hold of Vernon Grant who like me has lived in Hounslow and Spain. From the frying pan of Andalucia he adds some thoughts.

BACKGROUND: In 1995 TV Producer Vernon Grant was contacted by an American client who wanted him to produce a series of videos after the women’s European Championship final in March of 1995. Germany won. Three months later the women’s World Cup was staged in Sweden. America had won the very first women’s World Cup four years earlier. Norway won it in 1995.

Vernon says: “I asked the experienced football commentator John Helm, a long time friend, to voice over the commentaries. All he and I had to go on was team sheets. For World Cup commentaries John learned how to pronounce some difficult names (China were a decent side). I fell in love with USA star player Mia Hamm. Ex TV colleagues laughed at me when I told them what I was working on. They couldn’t believe anyone was interested in women playing football. But the American client told me that it was popular in the States. Attendances were nothing like what we have just seen at the 2025 tournament. Indeed, back then there was just one England fan, a London taxi driver, following what we now call the Lionesses around the world. It’s wonderful to see how excited young girls are by the success of the Lionesses today. And those ex colleagues who mocked what I was working on thirty years ago. They’re not laughing now. They’re celebrating.”

Thanks, Vernon. Fascinating backstory!

Sarina Wiegman congratulates Ella Toone in an earlier game.

One last word from me? I am hugely impressed with Wiegman. She is obviously a great motivator and, whilst her tactical knowledge cannot be questioned, it is perhaps most her ability to get the very best out of every single member when they tread the grass. If things do not go quite as planned, she is never afraid to change mid-game to ensure that the desired result is achieved. #respect

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