England’s Lionesses stand on the brink of history as they prepare to face Spain in the Women’s Euro 2025 final in Basel on Sunday. A victory would see Sarina Wiegman’s side retain their European title and cement their place among the greatest English sports teams of all time.
Wiegman’s record since taking over in September 2021 is remarkable. England have won 34 of 47 competitive matches, a win percentage of 72.5%. That compares favourably with Sir Alf Ramsey’s World Cup-winning side (72.2% between 1966 and 1971) and surpasses the men’s “golden generation” (67%) and Gareth Southgate’s tenure (59.8%). Sunday’s final will be England’s fifth in as many summers, following the men’s Euro finals in 2021 and 2024 and the women’s Euro 2022 triumph and 2023 World Cup final loss.
England’s route to the final has been anything but straightforward. After an opening defeat to France, they came from 2-0 down with 11 minutes remaining to beat Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final against Italy, substitute Michelle Agyemang scored a late equaliser in injury time, and Chloe Kelly netted the winner deep into extra time. More than 10 million viewers tuned into ITV for the semi-final, the channel’s highest audience of the year.
The growth of women’s football in England is striking. At the London 2012 Olympics, only 24,549 attended Team GB’s first match, a fraction of Cardiff’s 74,500 capacity. By contrast, the 2025 Women’s FA Cup final drew 74,412 to Wembley. Wiegman, asked about her team’s knack for dramatic comebacks, said: “I don’t know. I am the lucky one – to work with so many people, good players and good staff.”
