England's Lionesses face new challenges and 'noise' in Euro 2025 title defense
England will look to eliminate the 'noise' when it kicks off its campaign to retain the Women's European Championship crown.
The defending champions travel to Switzerland as one of the favorites at the 16-team tournament, despite recent upheaval in the squad, after winning last time and finishing runner-up to Spain in the 2023 World Cup.
Euro 2022 saw England triumph on home soil and secure the country's first senior title since the men's team won the World Cup in 1966. And, in a soccer-mad country, that success has ratcheted up the hype around the Lionesses.
'My experience is before a major tournament there's always noise,' England coach Sarina Wiegman said. 'So we expect noise until we go into the tournament, and it probably stays.
'The difference is that … now, just the attention and the visibility of the women's game has increased so much. So it sounds like that's more noise, but there's just more talk, more journalists here … we just have to deal with it and move on and focus on football.'
The 55-year-old Wiegman, who took charge of the Lionesses in September 2021, is bidding to make it a hat trick of European Championship titles, as she steered the Netherlands to the trophy in 2017.
However, a chaotic week leading up to her Euro 2025 squad announcement saw several key, experienced players pull out of selection for the tournament.
Star defender Millie Bright declared herself unavailable, saying she was not ready '100% mentally or physically,' while goalkeeper Mary Earps and midfielder Fran Kirby retired from international soccer. All three were in England's title-winning team at Euro 2022.
'We can only control ourselves and how good we can be,' England captain Leah Williamson said. "That noise it's there, it is a factual thing, and of course there will be times when it will weigh heavier than others, but ultimately I think we're very much focused on this new task which has changed dramatically.
'The two tournaments of the Euros are incomparable really in terms of what's out there and what's to come," she added, "so I think it will be very exciting for us and we're excited for that new challenge as this new team.'
Bright had knee surgery but Earps' surprise move came after she fell behind Chelsea's Hannah Hampton in the goalkeeping pecking order. It leaves Hampton as the only capped shot-stopper in a relatively inexperienced squad.
The group includes 13 players who lifted the trophy three years ago, but there are also seven players heading into their first major tournament.
And Wiegman is hoping to have found a winning blend of experience and youth.
'When I came in, the team was very experienced. But I do think we have enough experience in the team,' Wiegman said. "There's about 16 players who have played a major tournament. Also with playing at such a high-level club, you are experienced with having media around, playing for big crowds. So I don't think that's a problem.
'I think the experience is enough, the balance with very young, with players that are coming in and playing the first tournament, they are so eager too."
In the build-up to Euro 2025, the Lionesses had ups and downs in the Nations League, where in their last three games they lost at Belgium 3-2, beat Portugal at home 6-0, and lost at Spain 2-1.
So there is uncertainty surrounding the team's title defense, which begins with a Group D opener against France on July 5 in Zurich.
'Before every tournament, things are different,' Wiegman said. "And, to be honest, before every tournament you have your doubts. I think that's completely normal because if we all knew what was going to happen, then it would be very boring too.'
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
37 minutes ago
- USA Today
Brutal heatwave hits players and fans at FIFA Club World Cup across America
MIAMI GARDENS, FL — You can hear the music thumping inside the stadium, blaring outside of it. It's only natural to feel the anticipation build. 'Let's get down, let's get down to business' is the catchy Tiësto hook that plays before every FIFA Club World Cup match. This was my sixth time hearing it at Hard Rock Stadium since the tournament began, but my first as a paying patron for a match between Brazil's Fluminense and South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday, June 25. My excitement, however, was quickly hit with a snag before I got past the security gates to get my ticket scanned. FIFA says 'fans are welcome to bring empty, transparent, reusable plastic bottles, up to one liter (33.8 oz) into the stadiums.' A security attendant told me to finish mine before I could enter. Okay, understandable — I thought — since the policy is 'empty.' I was three-quarters of the way done with mine. I had bariatric surgery nine months ago, so it was a test to finish my superfood-infused water with a smaller stomach. But I was able to. Then, another attendant reached for my bottle and tossed it in a garbage can. 'I thought FIFA allows a water bottle,' I said. 'Not here,' she replied as the bottle fell on top of others in the can. A mistake on the attendant's part, and since the tournament began FIFA has been in communication with stadium staffs to address these misunderstandings and confusion on entry policies. FIFA also released a statement last week regarding the extreme heat across the United States, which adds to mounting concerns about player safety and fan welfare during the Club World Cup and next year's FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. 'FIFA's top priority is the health of everyone involved in football,' a spokesman said. 'FIFA will continue to monitor the weather conditions to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.' The noon and 3 p.m. start times to matches have also been an issue at the height of the heat, providing primetime viewing in other parts of the world. 'I think it's part and parcel of football," English captain Harry Kane said after Bayern Munich's win over Boca Juniors. You have to be able to adapt. ... There's something special about these World Cup games, and next year will be the same. "When you come off that pitch and you're sweating and you're dripping and you're cramping and you've given everything on the pitch – there's a special feeling inside, especially when you win.' Meanwhile, German giant Borussia Dortmund refused to have players sit on the bench directly in the sun in Cincinnati for their June 21 noon match. It was 87°F (30.5°C). 'Our subs watched the first half from inside the locker room to avoid the blazing sun at TQL Stadium – never seen that before, but in this heat, it absolutely makes sense,' the team said, sharing a photo of players in the locker room on social media. Watch FIFA Club World Cup free on DAZN. Sign up now. Here are a few things FIFA could consider before the World Cup next year to address the heat concerns: – Install mist systems and climate-controlled benches, like NFL teams use during late-summer and winter games, at hosting venues. It might not directly help the players on the field, outside of their cooling breaks in the 30th and 75th minutes, when they hydrate, eat an electrolyte chewable and/or apply a wet towel on themselves. But it's a good starting point. – Only four of the 11 American venues hosting World Cup games are indoors and should be prioritized for day games: Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, AT&T Stadium outside Dallas, TX, Houston's NRG Stadium and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Teams should also get a proceeding night match if they play an early game in the sun. – FIFA should coordinate with stadium vendors to sell water at cheaper price points. MetLife Stadium sells water for $5, while Hard Rock Stadium for $6. Maybe, FIFA and Ticketmaster could consider a nominal water fee on ticket sales, and just give fans water for free at the concession stands. Hey, just thinking out loud. – Ticketmaster and other ticket-selling platforms should be transparent and communicate to consumers when and where seats are shaded at stadiums, so they can make informed purchases. Club World Cup attendance amid heat wave I've attended events at Hard Rock Stadium, as a patron and journalist, for nearly 20 years. I bought a resell ticket on Ticketmaster in section 106, row 2 for $37, figuring I could help a seller offload their purchase. My seat was also covered by the stadium's canopy for the entire match. But not everyone was so comfortable. Fluminense fan Matt Benac sat with his back braced up against a concrete wall inside the stadium concourse, waving his black hat in front of his face flushed red, trying to relieve himself from the blazing sun at halftime. Benac was among five sections of Fluminense fans baking in the lower level where there's no escape from the sunlight unless intercepted by a cloud. There weren't any on this day. 'It's too hot for me to handle,' said Benac, who is from Rio de Janiero, where Fluminense plays. 'I'm just out here sitting in the shade trying to have a good time. But it's hard with the sun out there. It's getting me exhausted.' Despite the conditions, football loving fans will still show up for their favorite teams – and pay the price of bottled water multiple times. Fluminense fan Rafael Daceo held four empty cups under his arm while shirtless, standing next to his girlfriend Carolina Casaes inside the stadium corridor. They moved from Rio de Janiero seven months ago to be students at Madison College in Wisconsin, and were sunburnt from a trip to the beach a day earlier. More than welcoming the sun, they attended the Fluminense match because being a fan is in their blood. Daceo said his father is a Fluminense fan, and his grandfather before them. Casaes said her entire family was watching the match back home in Rio. 'I'm feeling like I'm here with my dad, my brother and my step-father because they love Fluminense. I'm feeling like I'm with them. They are watching, too,' Casaes said. 'I'm so grateful to be here. I feel like I'm in Brazil. It's not the same, but the energy is the same. We really miss Brazil right now. Here, we feel a little bit of it.' Just participating in Club World Cup has brought pride to the players and their fans. The Fluminense fans cheered until the very end, even raising their intensity in the final 10 minutes of the match as they finished a scoreless draw against the Sundowns but advanced to the Round of 16. Sundowns players even danced on the pitch in front of their supporters in the stands, after the final whistle concluded their participation in the tournament. Vuyani Makabe, a South African from Vancouver who flew across the continent for the Miami match, was filled with pride watching his team. 'I never thought as a kid my Mamelodi Sundowns, who I grew up supporting, would actually be competing in a World Cup, and me watching them in Miami,' Makabe said. 'This is a dream come true.'
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Less than a year away from hosting the World Cup, and the US looks far too much like the bickering Red Sox than a serious contender
This 2026 World Cup, which includes seven matches at Gillette Stadium — dubbed Boston Stadium for the tournament — represents the biggest moment for the careful choreography of soccer social climbing by the US since hosting the seminal 1994 World Cup. The American Dream was that the next time the US men hosted the World Cup they would be in a position to talk about lifting it. However, that looks risible. Advertisement Turmoil and disarray surround the program as the clock ticks closer to the first 48-team World Cup and American soccer's stress test. The US was reeling entering the CONCACAF Gold Cup this month, suffering four straight losses between the Nations League and friendlies. It marked the first time since the Dark Ages (1988) that the team dropped four consecutive matches on home soil. Advertisement However, the US can pick up some positive momentum with a strong showing in the ongoing Gold Cup. The Red, White, and Blue won their group (3-0-0) and face regional rival Costa Rica on Sunday in Minneapolis in the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament. But the Gold Cup field is as close to the World Cup field as Luke Kornet is to Bill Walton. And the squad the US is fielding feels more experimental than aspirational. After a long season with AC Milan, Christian Pulisic (middle) chose not to make himself available for the US men's national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Maurizio Lagana/Getty That decision brought Pulisic under fire from former US men's team players, including co-all-time leading scorer Landon Donovan. It's giving serious Rafael Devers-Craig Breslow vibes. In addition to Pulisic's absence, his AC Milan teammate Yunus Musah also asked out of the Gold Cup. Injuries to dynamic defender Sergiño Dest, striker Folarin Balogun, and left back Antonee Robinson robbed the roster of other top-flight talents. Plus, more starting-caliber players (Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, and Gio Reyna) missed this tour of US duty due to the odious and extraneous FIFA Club World Cup. Advertisement Although ranked 16th in the FIFA world rankings, the US is currently closer to northern neighbor Canada than global powerhouses Argentina, Spain, and France. After a 2-1 victory in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place match in March, Canada downed the US in consecutive matches for the first time since 1985. Jonathan David and Canada currently have a two-game winning streak against the US, the latest win coming in March in the third-place game of the CONCACAF Nations League. Michael Owens/Getty How's that for a 51st state? This hardly sounds like the stuff of a giant leap for the beautiful game in the US next year. Rather, it's the continuation of US soccer stagnation, a frustrating trend because the talent pool is better and deeper than ever. Long before America had Project 2025, we had The US advanced to the Round of 16 in 1994. Since then, they've been beyond that just once — advancing to the They delivered a perfunctory performance in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, reaching the Round of 16 despite only winning one match, 'We can show that we can hang with the best teams in the world, some of the best players in the world, and that's a lot of progress for US Soccer,' said team captain Tyler Adams. 'We're moving in the right direction for sure, but we need to keep pushing because we're not there yet, but we're close.' Advertisement They don't feel that close, although much can change in 11½ months in international soccer. Still, the US men struggle to live up to the lofty status of their female counterparts. They're Rosie the Riveting with the ball at their feet, playing an aesthetically appealing and successful brand of soccer (four World Cup wins). So, there's nothing intrinsic to our nation preventing soccer success. An ideal model for the US men would be another country wrapped in red, white, and blue, France. Marshalling their cultural and demographic diversity, Les Bleus are a top-five world team with a history of legendary players. That mantle handed to the magnetic Kylian Mbappé. The French didn't qualify for the World Cup the last time it was here. But since 1998, they've captured two World Cups and lost in the final twice on penalties, including to Argentina in 2022. If we can emulate their military parades, we should also be able to emulate their soccer program. The 2026 World Cup stands as a tremendous stepping stone for US soccer, but between now and kickoff, the US men's program has to stop finding stumbling blocks. Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Euro 2025: Norway's female soccer leaders blaze a trail for equality and progress
GENEVA (AP) — In the male-dominated world of soccer leadership, many of the trailblazing women have come from Norway. The Norway team at the Women's European Championship is captained by the first Women's Ballon d'Or winner, Ada Hegerberg, and led by a female federation president, Lise Klaveness, who is one of just three such leaders among the 55 UEFA member countries. Klaveness, who played for Norway's team that was runner-up at Euro 2005, sees a decades-long tradition of the federation being progressive, promoting women and speaking out at international meetings. Before her, there was Karen Espelund, the first woman to join UEFA's executive committee, and Ellen Wille, whose speech at a FIFA congress helped create the Women's World Cup. They all worked with Per Omdal, a long-time federation president who in 2022 was awarded one of Norway's highest civic honors to recognize his support for women's soccer. 'We are not perfect at all,' Klaveness told The Associated Press in a recent interview. 'Of course everything can be better, but I feel like I inherited something proud and value-based.' Captain Ada The captain of Norway's team at Euro 2025 in Switzerland — her squad will play in a group with the host, Finland and Iceland — fits perfectly into the national tradition. Hegerberg is a talented pioneer, winner of the first Ballon d'Or for women in 2018, and unafraid to have principles. The Lyon forward won the award in the second season of a five-year, self-imposed absence from the national team to protest a lack of equality for women from the federation. Even the award ceremony gave an unwanted opportunity for Hegerberg to show strong character and earn more admiration. Collecting the trophy on stage in Paris, she quickly shut down a French DJ's provocative comment about the sexualized dance twerking. In 2022, within weeks of Klaveness being elected, Hegerberg ended her exile. 'Ada already now sees she's part of something bigger … the connection in history,' Klaveness told the AP, describing the captain as 'a very beloved player.' World Cup origin story Hegerberg's exile meant missing the 2019 World Cup in France, the eighth edition of a tournament FIFA's all-male leadership finally launched in 1991. Wille's words at FIFA's annual meeting in 1986 were key to that progress. A member of the Norwegian federation's executive committee, her speech urging FIFA to do more for women's tournaments was a rare female contribution to any debate at its congress. Norway lost that first World Cup final to the United States but won the next title in 1995. UEFA pioneer At age 15 in 1976, Espelund was in the first wave of players when the Norwegian federation formally recognized women's soccer. She later played for the national team. In 2002, at a volatile FIFA congress, Espelund was a rare women in a leadership role as the federation's general secretary alongside president Omdal. Espelund took the platform to challenge FIFA's embattled then-president Sepp Blatter about its fragile finances ahead of him winning re-election. In 2011, with FIFA again in turmoil amid another controversial Blatter election and promises of governance reform, Espelund was appointed the first woman on the UEFA executive committee which she served for five years. Klaveness became the fourth in April. Inspiring role model Klaveness, a labor lawyer and judge, made an international impact in her first month as Norwegian federation president. At FIFA's congress in Qatar on the eve of the 2022 World Cup tournament draw Klaveness was alone in drawing attention to the host nation's treatment of migrant workers and criminalization of homosexual acts, and soccer's responsibility to acknowledge the issues. She later pushed the case at the Council of Europe for migrant workers' families to be compensated. Klaveness describes Omdal, a former UEFA vice president, as 'still my mentor' whom she sees each week. 'He really fought for a women's league in Norway and (to) have 50% (representation) on boards.' Now Klaveness is herself a role model for women in European soccer, including Norway's coach at Euro 2025, Gemma Grainger. 'I feel like Lise is a great example for me and for any female, to really stand by what she says,' Grainger told the AP. 'For her to stand up and talk so openly and fight for more than football is a true inspiration.'
