Leah Williamson: 'The mentality in the squad is incredible'

Leah Williamson was "really, really proud" of her team-mates after England came from two goals down to beat Sweden on penalties in the EURO 2025 quarter-final.

The Lionesses were in trouble after 45 minutes in Zurich but Sarina Wiegman’s substitutes turned the game around in the second half, Chloe Kelly setting up two goals, the second of which was scored by Michelle Agyemang.

They went on to win 3-2 on penalties after seven kicks each, a remarkable victory. 

Williamson heaped praise on the whole team, reserving a particular word for the players who came on.

She said: "That's what I'm most proud of.

"You hope that you create an environment where everybody is ready and everybody feels valued enough that when it's their time, they can step up and do their job.

"That's what you just saw. Everybody covered so much ground, did work for themselves and they can help each other out. I'm so proud of them.

"That was awful to watch at the end but I just love that we never give up. We've said it before but we're never done, we don't believe that we're ever done.

"The fightback and the quality to stay in it mentally is just incredible."

Williamson did cause some alarms by hobbling off with an apparent ankle injury in extra time, but insists getting off the pitch was her main priority rather than worrying about the damage.

She said: "It wasn't about me and a game like that requires you to be at 100%.

"Nobody can put a foot wrong and it wasn't the time to be on the pitch."