The English Are Never Done: A Title Won the Hard Way

This was more than just a tournament for the Lionesses, and it wasn’t just about defending their European title. It was about what they carried with them to and throughout this tournament; what they had lost, what they came back from, what they thought was their career’s end.

Leah Williamson, England’s captain, stood in the center of it all in the backline. After her ACL tear in 2023, she spoke about the silence that followed the injury in the stadium as the worst part. “It went deadly silent,” she said to Telegraph Women’s Sport. Knowing that the opportunity to play in the 2023 World Cup and helping her club team, Arsenal, on the road to the possibility of a Champions League final was gone. “Horrendous,” she called the journey home from Manchester United.

After working tirelessly, she returned to help Arsenal win the 2025 Champions League Final this past season. But, for over two years, she had waited for this. A chance to be part of a major tournament with her Lioness teammates again. Tonight, she stood as captain in a Euros final once again, lifting the trophy, not from a smooth path or winning streak, but from the quiet, determined climb back to the top. We will never fully understand what she has gone through to return to captaining this team and help them win another European Championship, but she is the core of this team’s mentality of never say die.

She wasn’t the only one who had come through the dark.

Beth Mead also missed the 2023 World Cup with her own ACL injury. But hers came with something even heavier, grief. She lost her mother to ovarian cancer in 2022, and this was her first major tournament without her. Her England teammate, Ella Toone, understood, as she had lost her father earlier in the season. Throughout the tournament, the two leaned on each other and the support of their teammates. Three moments stood out for these two players, highlighting what this tournament meant to them. A moment seen after the Italy game and after the final gave a tiny glimpse into who they were playing for. Both Mead and Toone made a small tribute to their loved ones, putting their hands together while clapping, kissing their fingertips, and pointing to the sky. It said everything words couldn’t. The second moment was with Toone and Alessia Russo. The known best friends were captured at the end of the final, taking in the moment together and sharing a long hug. The emotion was bigger than a victory. Toone, still grieving the recent loss of her father, stood alongside someone who had been by her side through it all. Both so close to him, both carrying his memory. After the match, Toone posted on social media a photo with Mead, writing, “We did it for our angels in the sky. Forever with us & forever proud.”

Chloe Kelly, who was the absolute game-changer in this tournament, had hit a breaking point at Manchester City this past season. In January, she almost decided to walk away from the game as a whole. Her playing time was minimal to none at Manchester, with only one start the past season. Therefore, head coach Sarina Wiegman could not call her into England National Camp. Then came the moment Chloe Kelly chose to speak up. In a bold and honest Instagram post, she spoke out about the club for trying to control her career and for letting harsh narratives about her spread. She did not stay silent in the face of mistreatment. She was standing up for herself at a time when speaking out could have risked everything. It could’ve been the end of her football story, but, on final transfer day, she took a loan from Arsenal, where she began to find that joy again.

In an interview with The Times, she described this speaking out as “Powerful. As women, we should [take control].” In the Euros, she didn’t just play. She made a “progressing through rounds” impact. Her confidence shone bright in her penalty kick against Sweden; she smiled just before sending an unstoppable strike into the back of the net. Chloe Kelly’s journey to this final was anything but smooth. From almost walking away from the game to taking a public stand against her club and fighting for her career, she showed what it means to bet on yourself. In the post-match press conference, Kelly spoke about what it meant to win by saying, “Thank you to everyone who wrote me off. I am grateful.”

19-year-old Michelle Agyemang had only made her England debut in April. She wasn’t expecting to be here, but she showed up when it mattered most, scoring in knockout matches’ final minutes and earning Young Player of the Tournament. It was a rise that no one could have predicted, but as time dwindled in knockout matches, she showed up as the Lionesses’ savior to continue.

Jess Carter helped hold the back line steady when she made her start of the tournament in the final. Her strength never wavered, even as she faced racist abuse online throughout the tournament. She spoke out as her teammates had her back the whole time. She was fighting through something someone should never face, and now has won a second European Championship.

Revealed after the final, Lucy Bronze was playing the entire tournament with a fractured tibia. She pushed through an injury that would take most people off the field. During this tournament, she had an interview with Sports Direct. She said, “I think you should be proud of having goals and trying to achieve them and striving for that. I think that is something I have always done in my career, and I’d love to leave that where people can see that and want to do the same thing. ” She also continued to say in a press conference, “I will give anything and I will give everything when I play in an England shirt. I wanted all the girls to know that that’s my why, is to give everything for this team.” This was a reflection of the resilience and mentality she brought to every game and what helped England find their second consecutive European Championship win.

And above them all, Sarina Wiegman. The coach who made this more than a team. She made it a family. Three finals in three major tournaments, always there for her players, not just as athletes, but as people. She gave them the belief to keep going when it would’ve been easier to give up and go home.

This win wasn’t clean. It wasn’t easy. But it was real.

This title was earned by a team that has grieved, been doubted, injured, and rebuilt. Every corner kick, every attacking third, every shot in by the skin of their teeth, came from somewhere deep inside this resilient team.

This was about so much more than football.

They didn’t just defend their title.

They carried one another over the finish line.

And in doing so, the words from Leah Williamson held:

The English are never done.