Leah Williamson makes England vow as Lionesses celebrate Euros win in style
Leah Williamson insists England's days of fighting for titles are far from over, with the back-to-back Euros winners preparing for the 2027 World Cup. Lionesses captain Williamson has now skippered the side to two straight European Championships victories.
She lifted the trophy once more at Tuesday's celebration parade in central London, and told fans there was plenty more to come. "I've been crying all the way down The Mall," Williamson said on stage at the Queen Victoria Memorial.
"This is unbelievable, probably one of the best things we've been a part of." She added: "My message is, everything we do, obviously we do some things for ourselves and the team, we do it for the country, we do it for young girls.
'This job never existed 30 years ago. We're making history with everything we do. "Thank you so much for being with us, staying with us. This is not done yet."
England did things the hard way at Euro 2025 in Switzerland but successfully defended the title they won on home soil three years ago. Williamson's Arsenal team-mate Chloe Kelly was England's saviour throughout the knockout stages as they came from behind to beat Sweden, Italy and Spain - with all three matches going to extra-time and two decided on penalties.
"There are loads of ways to win a football match,' Williamson added. 'We repeatedly did it the hard way. But you can see how much we care about playing for England and how much we love it.
"2022 was a fairytale. This feels really hard-earned. We're really proud of ourselves."
England boss Sarina Wiegman has a contract until the end of the 2027 World Cup, which will be held in Brazil. The draw for the European qualifying phase will be held in November, with the first qualifying matches themselves taking place in February next year.
England made it all the way to the final of the last World Cup, which was held in Australia and New Zealand. Spain won the trophy on that occasion, but the Lionesses got their revenge on Sunday in Basel.
"Pressure? What pressure?' said Kelly, who scored the winning penalty in the final. 'It feels so good to stand with these girls and all the backroom staff. Thank you to everyone who turned out.
"It's so special. This medal is so special. Everyone knows exactly what it takes to win it. But it's so hard to win. Sarina has done it so many times. It's so special. I'm so proud to be English."
Wiegman pointed to the quality running through the squad after England bounced back from losing their opening game to end up lifting the trophy. 'There is a huge pool of talent in this team,' Wiegman said.
'We want to play to our strengths always. The bonding of this team in this tournament made the absolute difference.
'Everybody was ready to step up and support each other. It was just amazing to be a part of."
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Liverpool make final transfer decision on Marc Guehi after two bids rejected
Marc Guehi remains a Crystal Palace player for now but Premier League champions Liverpool are admirers of the England centre-back and have attempted two transfer bids Liverpool have no plans to return with a third Marc Guehi bid after seeing two approaches rebuffed, it has been claimed. Crystal Palace have been playing hardball over their captain, with England star Guehi one of a number of in-demand Eagles stars. Palace appear determined to keep hold of as many senior figures as possible as they gear up for a European campaign. Ebere Eze remains a target for Arsenal, while plenty of clubs are known to be fans of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Liverpool aren't the only admirers of Guehi. Newcastle and Tottenham made efforts to sign the defender last summer, but he stayed at Selhurst Park and helped Palace win the FA Cup. Guehi is in the final year of his contract, but that hasn't seen his team entertain a sale on the cheap. According to Foot Mercato (via Sport Witness), Palace still want close to £48m for their skipper. Neither of Liverpool's two offers have hit that mark, and the Reds are now said to be ready to look at alternative targets. Arne Slot's side do still need bodies at centre-back, having sold Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen. Ibrahima Konate has yet to agree an extension to his current deal, which expires next summer, while Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have just two years left on their respective deals. Palace and Liverpool are due to face off in Sunday's Community Shield, after winning the FA Cup and Premier League respectively last term. The match will provide a chance for Guehi to remind the league champions of his quality, though he is not expected to look to force a move away. Oliver Glasner's side geared up for the match with a double header against Augsburg, winning one meeting and losing te other. Liverpool also had a double header at the start of the month, winning both games against Athletic Club at Anfield. 'The guys are in top shape; they obviously know the drills. That makes it easy," Palace boss Glasner said after his team's final friendly. "Now it's just a matter of getting match-fit. That's why they needed 90 minutes of exercise in their legs. 'We actually had another friendly match planned… but now we have a Community Shield against Liverpool instead! But of course, we're happy to take that. You could say it could be worse!" Liverpool boss Slot has been impressed with the Reds' new arrivals as they look to make up for the departure of the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold. "We've lost with Trent a lot of creativity from the back," he said after the Athletic friendlies. "Trent's crosses and picking out runners was so special – I think Flo [Florian Wirtz] has this quality as well in a totally different position. But he brings that creativity, the pace of Hugo [Ekitike], the pace of both full-backs – Milos [Kerkez] and Jeremie [Frimpong] today."
Daily Mirror
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
John Stones makes Arsenal admission as he issues strong warning to Man City rivals
Manchester City defender John Stones admitted it wasn't good enough to finish third behind Arsenal last season - and is convinced the club can bounce back in the new campaign John Stones is convinced Manchester City have the 'fire in our bellies' to regain their Premier League title. City surrendered the crown they won in the previous four seasons to Liverpool during an underwhelming 2024-25 campaign. Defender Stones believes lessons have been learned and has detected a strong desire to put things right since the players have reported for pre-season training. The England international said: 'It was humbling for us after all the success that we've had. It makes us realise what we've done, what we've achieved over the years and how proud we should be, but we're obviously frustrated at what we did last season. It's not what we want to replicate. 'To finish third, three or four points behind Arsenal is – to our standards – not good, (nor) how we played through the season. We've got to put that right and get back to our identity, get back to winning matches and having that presence about us and believing in ourselves as a team. 'I'm sure we'll find that and bring it back because it was tough last season to go through what we did. We've definitely come back with that fire in our bellies to go and achieve.' Stones is now fit after an injury-hit past season but was not risked by manager Pep Guardiola during the Club World Cup in the summer. Despite not featuring, the 31-year-old made emphatically clear when speaking to media during that tournament that he would not be leaving the club. Entering the final year of his contract, there had been speculation about his future but the former Everton player hopes that has now been shut down. He said: 'It's laughable to me. I understand why people do it but there's nothing to comment on. I love it here, nothing's happening. I'm here to fight and play and hopefully win some trophies.' Stones was speaking as City held an open training session alongside the club's women's side at the Joie Stadium on the fringe of their training complex on Tuesday. City now have a friendly at Palermo on Saturday before facing Wolves in their opening Premier League game at Molineux on August 16. The side is taking on a different shape with new signings Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani Reijnders having been integrated during the Club World Cup, in which City reached the last 16. Their arrivals continued a squad refresh after the signings of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in January. Stones said: 'Things evolve, football evolves, and the guys that have come in have been great. It takes a bit of time, obviously, to get used to the style of play, what's expected, but the guys have come in for a reason. 'With the quality that they've got, the aspects of the game are different from what we've had in the past. I'm excited to play with them and see what they do.'
BBC News
43 minutes ago
- BBC News
Greenwood nears international return with Jamaica
Mason Greenwood is close to a return to international football after being granted citizenship and given a Jamaican has not played an international since his only England cap against Iceland in September 2020. Within 48 hours he had been sent home, along with Manchester City's Phil Foden, for breaching Covid quarantine secured a Jamaican passport only a change from the Football Association (FA) to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is required for Greenwood to be cleared to feature in next month's World Cup qualifiers against Bermuda and Trinidad and left Manchester United after charges against him, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in February joined Spanish club Getafe on loan and then, in 2024, signed for Ligue 1 side Marseille on a permanent 23-year-old scored in Marseille's pre-season 1-1 draw with Sevilla at the weekend, and has been linked with moves to Inter Milan and Saudi Pro-League club Al-Nassr. Greenwood is part of a renewed drive by Jamaica, managed by former England boss Steve McClaren, to recruit UK-raised players through their family links. Brentford's Rico Henry and Tottenham's Tyrese Hall, who has joined Notts County on loan, also fall into that category. Jamaica are aiming to qualify for the World Cup for only the second time, having done so in 1998.
