William to cheer on Lionesses at Euro 2025 final
Kensington Palace has confirmed that William is to attend Sunday's final in Basel in his role as patron of the Football Association.
It comes after football fan William congratulated the reigning champions on their thrilling comeback to reach the final in a last-gasp victory over Italy in extra time in Switzerland on Tuesday.
In a message on X, football fan William wrote: 'Brilliant performance @Lionesses! One game from glory! #WEURO2025.'
Brilliant performance @Lionesses! One game from glory! ⚽️ #WEURO2025 https://t.co/31iNvDjkUv
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) July 22, 2025
They will play the winners of the semi-final between Germany and Spain, which takes place later on Wednesday.
Chloe Kelly had 'no doubt in her mind' about taking the pressure-cooker extra-time penalty that sent England into the final, according to defender Alex Greenwood.
The Lionesses were on the brink of elimination by Italy when 19-year-old substitute Michelle Agyemang forced extra time, drawing the sides level with an equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time to cancel out Barbara Bonansea's 33rd-minute opener.
Then, with another shootout minutes away, Beth Mead was brought down and Kelly stepped up to the spot, where she was initially denied by Laura Giuliani, but buried the rebound to complete England's second successive stunning comeback.
'That takes a lot of courage to step up to take that,' Greenwood said.
'I asked her, she had no doubt in her mind, she was confident enough to take it.
Support has been flooding in from some of England's top sport stars.
Former England skipper Sir David Beckham and seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton both posted an image on Instagram stories with the full-time 2-1 scoreline and the jubilant team in celebration after the nailbiting finish.
The messages read 'Well done @lionesses, never a doubt'.
Sir Lewis added three handclapping emoji's to a shot he posted of Agyemang sprinting in delight after her vital goal.
The #RedRoses react to THAT Agyemang goal😍
Come on @Lionesses! 😍@O2 #WearTheRose pic.twitter.com/pPmfLeaxz4
— Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) July 22, 2025
England's men's captain Harry Kane also said 'Congratulations @lionesses!! One to go!' Instagram stories post set against a photograph of the players.
There was also support from two key Lionesses from the Euro 2022-winning squad who pulled out ahead of this year's tournament.
In posts on their Instagram stories, England defender Millie Bright described reaching that final as 'sensational' while former goalkeeper Mary Earps showed a clip of the frenzied reaction of England's Red Roses rugby squad as Agyemang levelled up the scoreline.
Earps added a note saying 'women supporting women'.
Bright made herself unavailable for selection for the Euros, saying she was unable to 'give 100% mentally or physically' while Earps retired from international football five weeks before the Euro defence campaign in Switzerland.
An unbelievable feeling 😄 pic.twitter.com/Am6zk31XOo
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 23, 2025
On Wednesday, defender Lucy Bronze said: 'I think the fight, the talent, the hard work we have in this England team is unbelievable and to get back-to-back European finals is not an easy feat.
'Not many teams have done that.'
The Lionesses have now reached three top flight finals in a row, including a loss at the World Cup.
Kelly described it as an 'unbelievable feeling'.
She said: 'It's unbelievable. Such a great feeling. This team deserve nothing but that.
'Three finals on the bounce and we want more.
'This is an unbelievable feeling.'
It's what she does. 3 goals in 4 caps for her country and was on the pitch for 5 mins. Take a bow Michelle Agyemang 19 years old. Wow 🔥. I can't breathe I just went absolutely mental 🤣. #Euro2025 #Lionesses #England pic.twitter.com/9fjpVO9aPq
— Lianne Sanderson (@liannesanderson) July 22, 2025
Former Lioness Lianne Sanderson gave high praise to Agyemang, posting on X: 'It's what she does. 3 goals in 4 caps for her country and was on the pitch for 5 mins. Take a bow Michelle Agyemang 19 years old. Wow.
'I can't breathe I just went absolutely mental . #Euro2025 #Lionesses #England.'
She added: 'Roll on Sunday wow this team. I honestly don't know how they do it but they find a way. I've got a headache, I'm losing my voice but again on we go. Well done team .
'Commiserations for they were brilliant, football can be so cruel sometimes but that's the nature of the beast. Get in!!! #England #Italy #Lionessess #Euro2025.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Verstappen accuses race organisers of being overcautious with rain delay
Max Verstappen accused race organisers of being overcautious on Sunday when they decided to delay the start of the Belgian Grand Prix by 80 minutes following heavy rain. The four-time world champion said he believed that instead of suspending the race after one formation lap behind the Safety Car, Race Control should have kept the field out on the track to clear standing water. "It wasn't even raining," he said, referring to the decision taken at the scheduled race start time of 1500 local time (1300 GMT). "Of course, between Turns One and Five, there was quite a bit of water. "But if you do two or three laps behind the Safety Car, then it would have been a lot more clear -- and the rest of the track was ready to go anyway. "It's a bit of a shame. I knew that they would be a bit more cautious because of Silverstone, but this also didn't make sense. "Then, it's better to say 'let's wait until it's completely dry' and we'll start on slicks because this is not really wet weather racing for me." Instead of staying out, however, the field were taken back into the pit lane to wait for more than an hour, waiting until improved weather conditions prevailed. The race then began with a rolling start after four laps behind the Safety Car. Verstappen finished off the podium for the third consecutive race as series leader Oscar Piastri led team-mate Lando Norris home in a convincing McLaren 1-2. "On the intermediates, we made a choice with the set-up and then they only allowed us to drive in almost slick conditions," said the Dutchman. "That was a bit disappointing because we spoke, after Silverstone, about being a little more cautious, but this was the other extreme for me. "So, the choice that we made with the set-up of the car was then the wrong one, because they didn't allow us to race in the wet. "And, once we had the dry tyres, we were just too slow on the straights. That with all the general balance problems I have with this car just made everything worse." str/ea
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hamilton agrees with Verstappen that Belgian GP should not have been delayed
Lewis Hamilton said he agreed with Max Verstappen that the start of the Belgian Grand Prix should not have been suspended. Verstappen branded race director Rui Marques' move to bring out the red flag after a single formation lap in the rain at Spa-Francorchamps as 'silly' and 'way too cautious'. Following a delay of one hour and 20 minutes – which the FIA said was due to 'poor visibility' – the race eventually got under way, albeit in a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car. Hamilton was able to switch from intermediates to dry tyres after just seven racing laps. And when it was put to Hamilton, who made up 11 places to finish seventh, that Verstappen claimed the race should have started immediately, he replied: 'I would agree. My car was set up for that, and they waited for it to dry. Especially at the end. It was a dry line with hardly any spray.' There have been 49 driver/rider fatalities at Spa-Francorchamps in the last 100 years – most recently Dutch 18-year-old Dilano Van 't Hoff in 2023, and Frenchman Anthonie Hubert in a Formula Two race four years previously. The last Formula One race at Silverstone also took place in wet conditions, and Hamilton, 40, continued: 'It was just a reaction to Silverstone. 'We sat down and spoke about it after Silverstone. Lots of drivers in the last race said we shouldn't have restarted, because of a lack of visibility. And as soon as someone up ahead said, 'visibility is pretty bad' which, it wasn't great but it wasn't as bad as the last race, they just decided to wait. 'They still did a good job. Of course we did miss some of the extreme wet weather racing, which would have been nice. But for some reason the spray here is like a fog.' In 2021, the rain-hit race was abandoned after just two laps behind the safety car. Defending the decision to delay the start of Sunday's event, Hamilton's Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc said: 'On a track like this you cannot forget about the history and what has happened in the past so I would rather be safe than go early.' Oscar Piastri, who won in Belgium to extend his championship lead over Lando Norris to 16 points, continued: 'We have given the FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side. 'If you were being picky you might say we could have done one fewer lap behind the safety car but is the risk worth it? 'The first time we tried to start the race, with only Lando ahead, I couldn't see a thing, so you can imagine what it is like for the guys at the back.'
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
49ers activate Ricky Pearsall from PUP list and Brock Purdy returns to practice
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers activated second-year receiver Ricky Pearsall from the physically unable to perform list and he practiced for the first time this summer. Niners quarterback Brock Purdy was also back at practice Sunday after missing a session on Friday for personal reasons. Pearsall had been out since injuring his hamstring during the offseason program. The Niners are counting on a big season from the 2024 first-round pick after trading away Deebo Samuel and with Brandon Aiyuk expected to miss the start of the season recovering from knee surgery. Pearsall had a difficult rookie season, missing almost all of camp with injuries to his hamstring and shoulder and then sitting out the first half of the season after being shot in a robbery attempt in San Francisco. Pearsall returned in Week 7 and finished the season with 31 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games. Pearsall had a strong finish to the season with 14 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns in the final two games. ___ AP NFL:
