Sarina Wiegman, Burna Boy and how England celebrated becoming proper football royalty (again)

New York Times

4 days ago

The ever-so-serene Sarina Wiegman, who in football rules with her head, not her heart, is not usually emotional. But when Chloe Kelly dispatched her penalty to crown England European Champions for the second time, the Dutch head coach screamed 'Chloe!', hugged the winger and kissed her on the cheek. Pure unbridled joy.
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When Wiegman's favourite artist Burna Boy entered the stage in front of Buckingham Palace at the Lionesses' homecoming on Tuesday, her jaw dropped in shock.
'Oh, no way!' she shouted into the microphone.
The England boss rapped with the Grammy-winning Nigerian artist, nailing every word in 'For My Hand', her most listened to song in 2023. They danced together, holding each other so tight, so tight, as the lyrics go, in front of 65,000 people lining the Mall and millions watching on live television.
Sarina Wiegman x @burnaboy
The duo we didn't know we needed… 😅
📽️ @BBCSport pic.twitter.com/9HkBf7aot0
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) July 29, 2025
The Summit of Emotions was the 2025 European Championship tagline, and Wiegman had just scaled to the top of the mountain.
On the pitch at St Jakob-Park in Basel, less than 40 hours before, emotions were running high.
Alessia Russo embraced a tearful Ella Toone, playing in her first tournament without her father Nick, who died last September, three days short of his 60th birthday. Beth Mead, whose mother, June, died in January 2023, has been a shoulder to lean on throughout this tournament.
'I went up to see my family and my mum said there was a spare seat next to her,' said Toone after the game. 'He (my dad) was there. That was the sign I was looking for today. Same as Beth (Mead). We knew they were there for us.'
'My family, my dad, everyone who has got me here today, they have been my support network from the very start, I can't wait to celebrate with them.'
The players, clutching white pizza boxes, came through the mixed zone, where post-match interviews take place, with Don't Stop Believin' blasting out of the boom box speaker.
For Aggie Beever-Jones, she could not have had a better 22nd birthday. 'What a present!' she said. 'This will be the best day of my life. I can't quite believe it.'
'I wish they were all here,' captain Leah Williamson said about her cousin's family watching from Milton Keynes. 'You are going to make me cry… We're going to party as hard as we can. For anybody that has work tomorrow, we'll do your party and for anybody that doesn't, let's get lit!'
At the Dolder Grand, the team's five-star hotel in Zurich, where the words 'the home of New England' are printed on the wall, family and friends, as well as Reggie, their barista's dog, greeted the team.
Sporting T-shirts with the words 'Champions 25', gold medals hung around their neck, they entered the function room, glasses of fizz in hand. Lucy Bronze wrote: 'England champions of Europe' in black marker pen at the top of the tournament wall chat, taking England's disc-shaped badge home as a souvenir.
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Tall white banners with each player's name and photo draped down from the ceiling. Silver inflatable balloons spelling 'Lionesses' hung above a table dressed with red balloons, six footballs on top of big glass jars with the result of each of England's six games, and the words 'Strong. United. Unforgettable. You made us proud' printed in red ran along the bottom. Some attendees piled into the photo booth, which printed snaps with the caption: one family.
Just as they did at Euro 2022, Wiegman and Williamson cut a three-tiered white cake with a red cross and black and white football on the top. A DJ kept the tunes rolling, on the dancefloor some players bobbed up and down on loved ones' shoulders and Toone delighted the crowd, belting out 'River Deep — Mountain High'. She dedicated it to former England team-mate Rachel Daly, a nod to her rendition at the Euro 2022 homecoming. The party did not stop until the early hours of the morning.
On Monday, Williamson was reminded of the postcard the Switzerland team and captain Lia Walti had sent to every participating nation at the beginning of the tournament. The team went for one last woodland walk before heading to the airport. Lauren Hemp's Lego model of the Beauty and the Beast castle was safely packed.
Players were handed personalised Nike boarding passes, seat number 2X — a nod to their back-to-back European triumph — and they flew home in a jet branded with Nike's swoosh and the word 'Home' written on it. The letter H was spelt 'II', another hat tip to their second major tournament title.
The Lionesses arrived at Southend private jet centre on Monday afternoon, changed into their Marks & Spencer outfits and had their hair and make-up done, before heading directly to No 10 Downing Street for a celebration reception hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
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England flags and bunting surrounded the buildings of the traditional residence of the serving British Prime Minister, and the team were invited into the garden. While the players went out in Soho on Monday night, the Shard lit up London's night sky with St George's flag. The four-star Hilton London Metropole in Paddington put them up for the night, naming one room Suite Caroline.
A spectacled elderly gentleman with a dark green coat and an England scarf around his neck sat on the London underground on Tuesday morning. He was heading to the Lionesses' homecoming, a portable folding stool leaned against his knee. Next to him was a young girl wearing a Lionesses shirt.
Groups of tourists on foot and bike expecting to see the royals' residence at Buckingham Palace were instead treated to the queens of Europe, proper England football royalty.
Some fans had arrived at 4am to claim their spot. England flags, shirts with the phrase: 'Everyone is Watching the Lionesses', a cardboard cutout of Williamson and banners reading 'Mamma Mia we won it again' filled the 65,000-strong crowd lining the Mall's 1km stretch of road linking Buckingham Palace with Trafalgar Square. Back in Euro 2022, the capacity was capped at 7,000. As Kelly said, it was so nice they had to do it twice, but this time it was nearly 10 times the size.
'The last time they won it, they inspired my daughter so much, she got into football, and since then, she's been on a real journey,' said Anthony Brown, father of Emily, who has just returned from an international youth World Cup in Sweden.
'They've given so much to her and to us as a family,' he told The Athletic. 'The determination they showed was incredible. We just had to be here.'
'This is sick,' said Georgia Stanway as she boarded the open-top bus led by the Band of His Majesty's Royal Marines Portsmouth.
At the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, screens replayed England's nerve-wracking highlights — but this time it was in the knowledge that there would be a happy ending.
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Former England international Alex Scott presented a show worthy of champions, filled with crowd pleasers: Sweet Caroline, Freed From Desire, River Deep — Mountain High and Islands in the Stream, Chloe Kelly saying it's so 'f***ing special' on live TV, singers Katy B and Heather Small from M People who sang Proud, one of the team's go-to songs in the dressing room.
Tracey Harvey, inspired by Kelly's confidence, climbed a wall in Hyde Park to get a better view of the stage. 'We got a bit rebellious!' she laughed.
'This England team, they never give up — and I love that attitude,' Harvey told The Athletic. 'Work together and be strong. Don't listen to what people might say to put you down.'
Young player of the tournament Michelle Agyemang said it seemed 'fake' and Wiegman must have thought she was in a dream when she and Burna Boy serenaded the crowd.
Beever-Jones and Esme Morgan danced aeroplane-style, while a very croaky Lucy Bronze, scarf tied around her head, said she did not really remember when Scott asked her how the party compared to three years ago.
Kerry Davis, the first Black woman to play for the England national team and Manchester City youth player Jane Oboavwoduo brought the trophy onto the stage. The duo had a photo with Lauren James, goalkeeper Khiara Keating and Agyemang, which James captioned on social media: 'Past, present, future'.
Jess Carter was the only squad member missing from the celebrations as she decided to return to National Women's Soccer League side Gotham for their fixture this weekend.
Rachel Joseph persuaded her mum Lucy to attend. Asked what this England team means to them, Rachel became emotional.
'Oh my god,' she said. 'Oh, it's everything for women. To see females doing so well… for people like my daughter to see women out there do whatever they want and win it's…(Lucy, almost tearful, pauses)… it's so important for young girls.'
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The smoky metallic smell of sparklers filled the air as red pyrotechnics lit the sky.
'Thank you so much for being with us,' said an emotional and hoarse Williamson. 'Stay with us, our story is not done yet.'
As Burna Boy says: It's been a hell of a ride for every single moment.