England manager Sarina Wiegman has admitted that the Lionesses are uncertain whether Lauren James will be fit for Sunday's Euro 2025 final against Spain. The Chelsea forward was substituted at half-time in the semi-final win over Italy after sustaining an ankle injury and has been a doubt for the showpiece match.
Speaking on Friday, Wiegman said: 'She's still recovering. She's doing things on the pitch and we have two more days so we're going to give her time. We don't know yet if she'll be ready, but that's what we're going to go for – aiming for 23 players available for the game on Sunday.'
If James is unavailable, Arsenal's Beth Mead, who replaced her in the semi-final, could start, while super-sub Chloe Kelly is also under consideration. Meanwhile, Ella Toone has praised the maturity of 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang, whose late equalisers against Sweden and Italy have been crucial to England's campaign.
'She might get papped eating a pasty like I did! I'll have to warn her about that,' Toone joked. 'She's definitely in the team bubble now, but I think when she gets out she'll be recognised a lot more than she was before the tournament.'
England are contesting their third consecutive major final, and Toone highlighted the team's fighting spirit. 'You can see the fight from the team. We'll give 100% and we'll fight like we always do. We'll have that togetherness to hopefully get over the line,' she said.
Wiegman is in her fifth major final in a row, and Toone praised her motivational team talks. 'No matter what Sarina says, you listen, because she's reached five major tournament finals so she definitely knows what she's doing,' Toone added.
