New-look Lionesses head to Switzerland looking to conquer Europe once again
England head to Switzerland with a new look but with the same goal as three years ago when they conquered Europe.
The Lionesses are tasked with defending their first major title at this summer's European Championship, having lifted the trophy at Wembley and transformed women's football across the country.
But four of Sarina Wiegman's unchanged starting line-up from 2022 have now retired.
Ellen White hung up her boots shortly after, then Rachel Daly retired from international football in 2024.
FIFA Best and Sports Personality of the Year-winning goalkeeper Mary Earps shockingly called time on her England career late last month, quickly followed by attacking midfielder Fran Kirby.
Add an announcement from World Cup captain Millie Bright, who made herself unavailable for selection in order to address her physical and mental health, and some started to wonder if this could be a summer of struggle for England.
But the Lionesses have brushed aside that speculation, insisting once again this is a 'new England' ahead of their title defence.
While many of Wiegman's 13 2022 returnees – like Arsenal striker Alessia Russo and Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton – have significantly stepped up in responsibility, seven major tournament newcomers will also be looking to make their mark.
Aggie Beever-Jones has enjoyed a breakout season at Chelsea, last month completing a hat-trick on her Wembley debut for England, while 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang – who has returned to Arsenal after a Brighton loan spell – scored 41 seconds into her maiden senior international appearance in April.
Stalwarts like Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze – heading into her seventh major tournament and fourth consecutive Euros – will provide the experience.
And while England may not be able to replicate the magic of that maiden trophy on home soil, winning one away from home would be another historic achievement.
Wales, meanwhile, qualified for their first major tournament after beating the Republic of Ireland in a dramatic 2-1 second-leg victory to win their play-off 3-2 on aggregate.
Boss Rhian Wilkinson has used Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), Wales' highest peak, as a metaphor for their mission in Switzerland.
Wales are the lowest-ranked team in the Euros, drawn in a very difficult group with holders England, 2017 winners the Netherlands and 2022 semi-finalists France, but Wilkinson has insisted her side are not simply just happy to be included.
Speaking from the top of Yr Wyddfa, she said: 'As we've moved towards the Euros we've talked about the summit, the Everest part of it. That something is impossible until it isn't.
'Outside Wales people can think whatever they want.
'Our goal is to show up and deliver to the best of our ability. I am sure people will be looking up Wales on a map very soon.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
Germany U21s accused of pinching BEER MUGS by ‘crying hostess' who stormed team bus past security with machine guns
A 'VISIBLY DISTRAUGHT' woman stormed past a security armed with a submachine gun onto the Germany Under-21 team bus to accuse them of stealing BEER MUGS. Antonio Di Salvo's men are aiming to tame our Young Lions in Bratislava tonight and become European champions. 3 3 And it seems £35m-rated star striker Nick Woltemade and Co's thirst for success has got the better of them. Germany secured their spot in the showpiece by thumping France 3-0 on Wednesday at Kosicka Futbalova Arena. Now explosive reports in their homeland have revealed that afterwards they were confronted by one of the stadium's VIP hostesses on the team bus. The fuming woman, described as being 'visibly distraught' and having 'her makeup smeared by tears', stormed the coach as staff and players waited for the few remaining stars to complete post-match doping tests. The lady marched straight past a security guard armed with a submachine gun and four stewards to board the coach and headed straight for boss Di Salvo, who was seated near the front. She then pulled out her phone and began taking several photos as the Germans looked on in total bemusement. The mugs, worth €3 each, were believed to have been provided for the match officials to enjoy some post-match fluids. Instead, 15 of them went missing and stadium staff were quick to point the finger of blame at the German players. A stadium supervisor told BILD: 'German players simply stole around 15 beer mugs. They probably think it's all free — but it isn't. 'That's why my employee ran onto the bus. She wanted to take photos as evidence.' Germany denied all accusations of theft and instead claim that somebody else, not associated with them, must have removed the mugs. U21 press officer Markus Beer said: 'It was all completely different. The woman had brought several beer mugs into the catacombs, presumably for the referees. Then later, empty mugs were there, which were suddenly gone. 'Someone must have thrown them away. She obviously thought our players had simply taken them. But that was definitely not the case.' It remains unclear whether the mugs were eventually recovered by the distraught woman and staff at the Kosicka Futbalova Arena. 3 But Lee Carsley and his England side will be going all out to ensure it is Woltemade and his pals who look the mugs at the Stadion Tehelne Pole in the Slovakian capital. And hopefully it will be them crying into their beer steins later should our boys lift the European Championship for a second-consecutive time. England's Under-21 Euros squad in FULL ENGLAND are looking to retain their status as Under-21 European champions this summer in Slovakia. Here is Lee Carsley's full squad for the blockbuster tournament: Goalkeepers: James Beadle (Brighton and Hove Albion), Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Chelsea), Tommy Simkin (Stoke City) Defenders: Charlie Cresswell (FC Toulouse), Ronnie Edwards (Southampton), CJ Egan-Riley (Burnley), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Brooke Norton Cuffy (Genoa), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool) Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough), Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton and Hove Albion), Tyler Morton (Liverpool), Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth) Forwards: Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town), Sam Iling Jnr (Aston Villa), James McAtee (Manchester City), Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal), Jonathan Rowe (Marseille), Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City)
Reuters
36 minutes ago
- Reuters
Yamaha's Quartararo pips Ducatis to clinch Dutch Grand Prix pole
June 28 (Reuters) - Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo claimed his fourth pole position of the season in qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix on Saturday while Ducati's MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez will start on the second row. Quartararo is joined on the front row by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia and Gresini Racing's Alex Marquez while Marc was only fourth fastest at Assen, where he crashed twice in practice on a bruising Friday. Marc leads brother Alex by 40 points heading into the sprint while Bagnaia, third in the championship, is 110 points behind. But the session belonged to Quartararo who clocked one minute and 30.651 seconds to claim his 20th MotoGP pole. "The goal is to try to make a great start, great laps in the sprint and see a little bit how it's going on," Quartararo said. "I love this track... So hopefully we can turn this pole position into a great result on Saturday and on Sunday." As expected, it was the Ducati machines of the Marquez brothers and Bagnaia who traded fastest laps early in the session but Quartararo laid down the gauntlet when he clocked one minute and 31.047 seconds. Alex and Marc then broke the one minute and 31 seconds barrier but Quartararo and Bagnaia responded by going faster to take the top two spots. A desperate Marc pushed too hard on his final lap and went off track, settling for fourth-fastest, marking only the second time he is off the front row on the red Ducati, while Alex was livid with himself when he could not set a faster lap. Bagnaia has won at Assen in the last three years and the Italian said he was happy with the feeling on the bike after struggling early in the season, with the twice champion claiming only one victory in the first nine rounds. "I'm very happy. It's the best weekend so far this season... Surely this afternoon will be tough but we need to start well, set our pace and see if I can win," Bagnaia said. Marc will have Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi and VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli for company on the second row.
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Spanish Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati's Euro 2025 in doubt as she is admitted to hospital with 'scary' viral meningitis days before tournament kicks off
Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí has been hospitalised with viral meningitis just days before Euro 2025 begins. The two-time Ballon d'Or winner could miss a significant chunk of the tournament, which kicks off in Switzerland on Wednesday. The 27-year-old didn't train on Thursday because of a fever and was ruled out of a pre-tournament friendly against Japan. A day later she was admitted to a hospital in Madrid, where she posted a photo of her watching Spain's 3-1 victory from a hospital bed with a cannula in her arm, alongside a flexing arm emoji. Spain boss Montse Tomé confirmed the star has viral meningitis, adding: 'We can't talk about deadlines' for a return. 'Talking about meningitis can be scary but it is controlled,' she said. 'Aitana, for us, is a very important player, we will wait for her yes as long as we can. 'The information I have told you is what I have and I am not going to explain more, if I said something more I would be wrong.' The Spanish Football Federation said Bonmatí underwent medical tests after first suffering from a fever. But the fever remained and more extensive tests were carried out which confirmed she had meningitis, reports in Spain claim. Viral meningitis typically tends to get better on its own within a week to 10 days, according to the NHS. Bonmati claimed her second consecutive Ballon d'Or trophy in October. The midfielder won the league title but missed out on a fourth Champions League to Arsenal The Barcelona star has scored 30 goals in 78 matches for Spain and was a vital cog in the side which won the 2023 World Cup and last year's Nations League. She won a sixth league title and fifth Supacopa de Espana this season but was unable to claim a fourth Champions League win after Arsenal beat Barcelona 1-0 in the final last month. Spain face Portugal in their Euros opener in Group B in Bern on Thursday. They then take on Belgium on 7 July and Italy four days later.
