Lionesses visible, seen and celebrated, says Wiegman

As an unforgettable year for the Lionesses draws to a close, head coach Sarina Wiegman sat down to reflect on the last 12 months which saw England retain their European crown.

Wiegman – who was awarded an honorary DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the King's New Year Honours list earlier this week – turned back the clock to the start of 2025 when her players reported for duty for the first time in the calendar year.

“I think we had some great learnings in February, starting against Portugal,” explained Wiegman.

“We really learned from that game and in-camp, also off the pitch, a lot of things happened and we talked a lot about identity because it was Nations League but at the same time, it was preparation for the EUROs.

“Then we played Spain and won that game which was a great first step in 2025 moving forward, so that was really good.”

Fast forward to the summer when the Dutchwoman was tasked with selecting a 23-player squad to take to Switzerland for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025.

“On 5 June, we had the squad announcement and I was so excited because I thought in the squad, we had so much quality and we had a very good balance between experienced players and younger players coming in who showed great levels too,” she said.

“We had two weeks and we brought them in. You can do a lot things – you can train properly but also off the pitch, you can do things to bring them together.

“I truly believe in connections and communication that if they know each better on and off the pitch, then that will help being the best bonded and will give us a competitive advantage.

“Like we said, we wanted to be the best prepared team and we wanted to be the best bonded team and we wanted to play to our strengths.”

After touching down in Zürich, a ‘very hard’ opener against France resigned England to defeat and the Lionesses boss urged her players to take it to the next level.

“We needed to have some honest conversations after that game which we did,” she noted.

“We talked also about connections and players started having conversations. When they went out of the room, you could tell they had even more conversations and those little actions had a big impact on the togetherness even more.

“We knew we were going to straight into five other finals. In hindsight, I think this was the best thing that could’ve happened to us in the tournament. It absolutely helped us.”

The Lionesses knew nothing less than a win would suffice against Wiegman’s old team, the Netherlands, and they secured victory in style.

A ‘healthy rivalry’ pitted England against Wales and Wiegman’s team were through the groups to the knockouts, where Sweden awaited in the quarter-finals.

“Sweden is a very organised team,” remembered Wiegman, who described the way the game unfolded as ‘insane’. “They were in a very good place.

“We knew in the second half, when we would score a goal, that could shift the momentum again and every single player did her task really well. We basically could have scored the 3-2 before the end of the game but we didn’t – that’s football too.

“We know when we go into the penalty shootout that we’re good at that but we didn’t do that well. We missed a couple. To be honest, I had a moment of, ‘OK, we’re on the plane tomorrow morning’.”

Of course, Wiegman’s side did triumph and it was on to Italy in the semi-finals – just one game stood between the Lionesses and the final in Basel.

“They promised me after the Sweden game that they wouldn’t give me a heart attack but the Italy game was even worse,” laughed Wiegman.

“That game, again, we started well. We had momentum, we just didn’t score a goal, then the first time they came in our half, they scored a goal.

“You could feel the team never gave up and we stayed really composed. Going into extra time, they were really fatigued and we got the penalty. Everyone was still on board and sharp and alert to make things happen. That was the little percentages we had in this tournament.”

Sarina Wiegman DBE 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Our head coach has been awarded an honorary DBE in the King’s New Year Honours List for 2026 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qq6hCGVyYQ

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) December 29, 2025

Wiegman spoke of a mutual respect between England, the European champions, and Spain, the world champions, but it was the Lionesses who came out on top when it came down to spot-kicks once again – Chloe Kelly the hero.

“When we knew we were going into the penalty shootout, we said, ‘Spain are probably disappointed because they really wanted to force a goal and we know we’re really good at penalty shootouts’,” she recalled. “Well, everyone knows what happened then.

“I just started screaming first and hugging the staff then running to the players. The fans were amazing – they were so behind us.”

In Wiegman’s words, the Lionesses are now ‘visible’, ‘seen’ and ‘celebrated’ and nothing is more important.

Heading into 2026, England embark on their 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign with their sights set on another piece of silverware.

“We want to qualify for the World Cup,” asserted Wiegman. “We’re in a group with Spain again – we never get rid of each other – and Ukraine and Iceland. That’s an exciting group.

“We go for a little Christmas break and I’m looking forward to spend some time with the family and go again in 2026.”