Three takeaways from the Lionesses' Euro 2025 success

BBC News

15 hours ago

England have made history and have won their second European Championship tournament in a row.They beat Spain 3-1 on penalties with Chloe Kelly taking it home for England, smashing the final penalty in the net! Take a bow.It was a tense contest in Basel as Mariona Caldentey gave Spain the lead and Alessia Russo drew level for the Lionesses before the game went to penalties. The spot kick success capped off a memorable evening in Switzerland for Serena Wiegman's team.But the road to lifting the trophy wasn't easy, and, along the way, England faced lots of setbacks and overcame adversity, from surviving the 'group of death', to the heroic comeback against both Sweden and Italy, not forgetting THAT penalty shootout in the quarter finals.It's rare that success ever comes without some setbacks. Thinking about what we can learn from the Lionesses' incredible journey, we've gathered some advice from our Bitesize Study Support archives to help you overcome the challenges you might face as you work towards your goals – whatever they might be! So let's kick off…
1. Boost your resilienceLike England's journey to success in Switzerland, the run up to GCSE or Nationals results day can be like a rollercoaster for your emotions – you have ups and downs, and twists and turns.But there are things you can do to help build resilience to help get you through to the other side. Our expert Dr Heather Branigan told us that setbacks are an inevitable part of school and life, "so developing skills in resilience is a great way to keep going in the face of adversity". Heather says, "mindfulness activities can be useful for developing resilience. So, the next time you start to feel stressed or anxious, take five minutes to just pause".
2. Find out what motivates youThe thought of getting their hands on the EURO trophy was just the kind of motivation that Serena Wiegman's team needed in moments of difficulty, and you can help get through difficult moments in your studies, like results day, by figuring out what motivates you.Author Natasha Devon told us, "people who understand what drives them are better able to make choices which lead to them being happy, healthy and fulfilled." Natasha continues, "taking time to understand your intrinsic motivators now will really prove helpful in the future." You can find out more about what intrinsic motivators are in this article.3. Don't focus on perfectionIt would be amazing if England played perfectly and won every game 10-0, but in reality there were times when they just had to get the job done, like with their 2-1 fightback against Italy in the semi finals. We could do well to remember that we don't need to aim for perfection in our studies, especially on results day when things might not go the way we expected.Natasha Devon says 'Make GOOD ENOUGH your new best friend…instead of focussing on a perfect result, focus on a good job." Dr Radha has some great advice for after results day, she said "If you got the grades you wanted then celebrate yourself, if you didn't get the grades you wanted…celebrate yourself anyway!"If you've found the above tips helpful and want to know more about ways you can improve your studies, then we have plenty more tips in our study guides, why not check them out?
If you need supportYou should always tell someone about the things you're worried about. You can tell a friend, parent, guardian, teacher, or another trusted adult. If you're struggling with your mental health, going to your GP can be a good place to start to find help. Your GP can let you know what support is available to you, suggest different types of treatment and offer regular check-ups to see how you're doing.If you're in need of in-the-moment support you can contact Childline, where you can speak to a counsellor. Their lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.There are more links to helpful organisations on BBC Action Line.