‘A lot of emotions': England fans head to Zurich after Euro 2025 semi-final drama
Among them was a group of five who had taken the plunge and travelled without overnight accommodation, eventually returning to their campsite in Lucerne. The tournament has reached that heady stage where plans are excitedly patched together on the hoof; there is something about the logistical dilemmas behind plotting routes to a major final that clears tired minds and bleary eyes.
Others with more carefully laid itineraries were still trying to make sense of it all. 'A lot of emotions,' said 15-year-old Izzy, who was travelling with her mother, Emma. 'It was so nerve-wracking. Then Michelle Agyemang scored and we just flipped.' The pair were sitting two rows from the pitch at Stade de Genève, level with the halfway line, offering an intense picture of those frantic final moments when England pulled it out of the fire again.
From their home in Hethersett, near Norwich, Izzy and Emma had forged tentative plans to attend the competition's latter stages. But they had to wait until England had beaten Sweden on penalties, prevailing in an extraordinary shootout last Thursday, until they could push the button on their trip.
For Emma, an English teacher who has seen interest at her school surge with the Lionesses' progress, there was particular pride in watching Lauren Hemp star for Sarina Wiegman's side. She hails from the Norfolk town, North Walsham, where the Manchester City forward grew up and cut her footballing teeth. But it was the 19-year-old Agyemang, little known to the wider world before her extraordinary impact from the bench this month, who captured imaginations on Tuesday evening. 'A gamechanger,' said Izzy, who wore a shirt bearing the name of the England midfielder Jess Park.
Next comes the scramble for final tickets, which they were optimistic of securing upon arriving in Zurich for a few days' sightseeing before England's showdown. This tournament's friendly, inclusive feel has left fans impatient to sample the big-game experience on foreign soil again. 'It's been so nice,' Izzy said. 'Not that many of my friends follow the women's game so it's been great to be around everyone here, where we can talk about everything.'
On an afternoon train to Zurich, Adie and Amy relieved Chloe Kelly's penalty-rebound winner through a video taken from their position a matter of yards away behind the goal. The phone camera shook wildly as wild celebrations unfolded. They were among a group of friends who had played football together at the University of Leeds and frequently travel to support England's women at tournaments.
'It's great to see how much bigger the games have become,' Amy said. 'We were in Nice for the World Cup in 2019 and you would barely have known there were matches on. Now you see people out and about everywhere in England shirts.'
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Their party have tickets to the final secured and were pleased, during the journey, to learn two friends will be able to join them. First they were due to attend the second semi-final, between Spain and Germany, whose outcome would have a huge bearing on perceptions of England's chances. A Spain victory would revive memories of the 2023 World Cup final, where La Roja beat them 1-0 in a dominant display.
'We're staying positive, we're manifesting,' Amy said. 'Our motto has been: 'No fear.' And as we've seen, it only takes one second to score.'
England may need a few more seconds than that if their final opponents are on song. But Basel will pulsate to the jubilation of even more tired, ecstatic supporters if they pull through and complete the job on Sunday night.
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Metro
2 minutes ago
- Metro
England Euro 2025 hero second favourite to win Sports Personality of the Year
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2 minutes ago
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The Independent
2 minutes ago
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Why Sarina Wiegman is the best manager in the world
And Sarina dancing, two stars on the shirt. Yes, it's a predictable line, but it is said with all the more meaning given how fans sang "Three Lions" after a sensational and utterly unpredictable Euro 2025 victory for England. 'I kept asking myself, 'how can this happen?' Sarina Wiegman herself said, with the immediate payoff: 'But it happened.' 'The most chaotic, ridiculous tournament I have played.' No wonder she was dancing at the end, and then laughing that the image had already been projected to the world before she even arrived at her press conference. The victorious England manager was still, of course, utterly composed. She naturally knew exactly what to say, just like before the game. 'Enjoy it,' was the main message as the players left the dressing room. They can certainly enjoy it now and relish every moment. Wiegman admitted it will be a rare match she watches back for reasons other than tactical analysis. Before the final - and even during it - enjoying it might have seemed a dubious prospect, especially when Spain seek to exhaust and exasperate you with possession for so long. And yet it again brought out something Wiegman and her players very much enjoyed. Digging in. Showing grit. Pride. 'Proper England,' as repeatedly rang out during this tournament, especially at the end. The defining and decisive images of these games - almost as much as Alessia Russo's header or Chloe Kelly 's penalty - were blocks, tackles, players still putting it in when they had so little left to give. Wiegman admitted that was what stood out for her. 'The fight,' she said. 'We said it a couple of times, the players said 'proper England'. Today we also had to defend very well. They were challenging us. But you see how we give everything to defend the goal. I do enjoy that, because that says something about the team and the togetherness and the will to really want to win.' There's more to these words than Wiegman just enjoying that togetherness. She ensures togetherness. Wiegman talks about 'the most chaotic, ridiculous tournament,' and she can speak from more experience than anyone, given that this is her third successive Euros victory. That is a record that shouldn't really be possible, but she's managed it. She only fortifies her claim to be the best coach in the women's game. 'She's bloody amazing,' tournament-winner Chloe Kelly beamed. 'She's an incredible woman, what she's done for this country, we should all be so grateful for. 'What she's done for the women's game, not just in England, in the Netherlands she's done it, she's taken it to a whole other level. The work doesn't go unnoticed from the staff behind her, they're incredible people and I'm so grateful to have worked with such amazing staff members.' As if it needs to be said, Wiegman knows how to win tournaments. Even her sole recent 'failures', in the 2019 and 2023 World Cups, were narrow defeats in finals. Getting that far twice still displayed her aptitude for this, for driving a team through knock-outs. It comes from creating the right team culture. Gareth Southgate got that and got England's men further than anyone else. Wiegman gets it, but has even more. There are, of course, bigger debates to be had about the performances, how the best team only occasionally wins tournaments, and even football identity and tactical ideology. But those are debates for the Football Association and Dan Ashworth. Wiegman can only manage what she is given, and it clearly works in terms of maximising it all for results. It may not always be pretty - England again came back into a game by going direct. It may not even maximise performance given how close England repeatedly came to going out. This was the fifth different rescue act they needed, having survived multiple times more scares. But Wiegman ensures they know how to get there. They squeeze the most out of their talent in a different way than coming together as a collective in a tactical sense like Spain have shown repeatedly. "We have players that have talent, and the togetherness of this team is really incredible, but also the belief that we can come back,' Wiegman said. "The players say we can win by any means, and we just never, ever give up. Today of course, we had moments where we really had to fight, but I thought we also had some very good moments in the game.' In response to a question about the player of the match, Hannah Hampton, whose entire tournament vindicated yet another Wiegman decision, the manager was tactful. Mary Earps and Millie Bright, of course, weren't mentioned in any of this. "Every player has their one story and journey and hers has been incredible. Starting the tournament and losing the first game, there was so much riding on every game, we had five finals. She had to step up and I think she has been amazing. It's a little bit like a fairytale to stop those two penalties in the final.' She's right as regards individual stories, though. Lucy Bronze had her energy, and that willingness to play through pain. Jess Carter had far more serious issues, and saved her best display for the final and the toughest challenge. Michelle Agyemang had her impact, and now her award for young player of the tournament. Kelly, then, evidently had points to prove. Her year had started with a struggle for minutes at Manchester City, and so much doubt. It culminates with… well, she can describe it herself. 'There were a lot of tears at full-time, especially when I saw my family, because those are the people that got me through those dark moments. I'm so grateful to be out the back end but if that's the story to tell someone experiencing something the same, that sometimes it doesn't last and just around the corner was a Champions League final - won that - and now a Euros final - won that. 'So, thank you, everyone who wrote me off.' That could be said of England as a whole, given how this tournament went, but they ended it still as European champions. Kelly ultimately puts that down to one person. 'What she's done for me individually, she gave me hope when I probably didn't have any. She gave me an opportunity to represent my country again. I knew that I had to get game time and representing England is never a given.' Neither is tournament victory. Wiegman has made it as close to a guarantee as you can get. So, how will she actually enjoy herself? She's already put two stars on their shirts.
