England women down Spain on penalties, retain Euro title

Gulf Today

7 days ago

Defending champion England has won the Women's European Championship after defeating Spain in the final.
The match in Basel was a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final where Spain defeated the Lionesses 1-0.
Coincidentally, the same countries played in the men's European Championship final last year. Spain won that match 2-1.
England has defended its European title by defeating Spain in a penalty shootout. The game was tied at 1-1 after extra time.
England won the shootout 3-1 with Chloe Kelly scoring the winning penalty kick.
It's 1-1 at full time and the players are coming off the pitch for a quick break.
England equalized when Alessia Russo made it 1-1 in the 57th minute.
Chloe Kelly whipped one of her trademark crosses into the box from the left and Russo rose above the defense to make it 1-1.
England's Chloe Kelly celebrates after winning the penalty shoot-out. Reuters
Spain heads into the break in the lead after Mariona Caldentey's goal in the 25th.
Both teams traded early blows but Spain looked stronger after the goal. La Roja kept most of the possession and did not allow England to threaten much.
England also trailed at halftime in the quarterfinal against Sweden and semifinal against Italy, but still won both games.
Mariona Caldentey has made it 1-0 for Spain in the 25th minute.
Ona Batlle whipped in a cross from the right, after good work by Aitana Bonmati, and Caldentey headed it powerfully home.
Swiss former player Lara Dickenmann carried the trophy out onto the field after the closing ceremony of Euro 2025.
A large circular banner was unfurled in the center of the field in tribute to the host nation, while smaller banners were displayed nearby with "Thank You' in Switzerland's four official languages -Italian, French, German, and Romansh.
England's players celebrate after winning the UEFA Women's Euro final match against Spain.
Agence France-Presse
Two large Alpine-inspired shapes were then carried onto the field, with the England flag on one and Spain's on the other.
Nearly 30,000 inflatable clappers had been distributed to the fans beforehand, while 40 members of the closing ceremony cast also had them on the field.
The Asturia Quartet, an all-female string ensemble, performed the national anthems.
In somewhat of a surprise change, Athenea Del Castillo has been named in Spain's starting lineup in place of Claudia Pina.
Del Castillo's only other start in the tournament was in the final group-stage match, against Italy, when many regular starters were rested with Spain already through.
The Real Madrid forward scored one and set up another. She also scored the opener in the quarterfinal win against Switzerland just four minutes after coming onto the field.
Pina was decisive the last time Spain played England, scoring twice to help her team to a 2-1 comeback victory in the Nations League last month.
The only other change to Spain's lineup from its semifinal victory over Germany is the return of defender Laia Aleixandri from suspension, with María Méndez dropping back down to the bench.
Lauren James has recovered from injury and starts for England with coach Sarina Wiegman making just one change.
England's players celebrate after winning the UEFA Women's Euro final match against Spain.
Agence France-Presse
James had to come off at halftime in England's semifinal victory over Italy on Tuesday with an ankle problem and was seen applying ice to her injury during the match.
James has started all five of England's games at Euro 2025 and has been named in the lineup for the final.
Defender Jess Carter returns after being omitted from the starting lineup for the first time against Italy, for tactical reasons, two days after revealing she was the target of racist abuse online during the tournament.
Basel's soccer stadium has a capacity of 34,250 during Euro 2025 and no empty seats are expected at the final. With an hour to go until kickoff, thousands of fans have already taken their seats.
Even before the final, the tournament has broken the total attendance record for a Women's European Championship.
A total of 623,088 spectators have attended the 30 matches so far, surpassing the previous total attendance record of 574,875 from Euro 2022.
There have been intermittent torrential showers and thunderstorms but that has not dampened the spirits of thousands of Spanish and England fans that have been gathering in the fan zones in Basel.
The rain teemed down about two hours before kickoff but the sun came out shortly afterward and the skies above St. Jakob-Park have cleared up for now.
England got off to a rough start with a 2-1 defeat to France, becoming the first reigning champion to lose its opening match at a women's Euros. The team bounced back with a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands and a 6-1 thrashing of Wales.
Then came the craziness of its quarterfinal against Sweden when it was trailing 2-0 with 12 minutes to go before equalizing and taking the match to extra time and a penalty shootout.
There were nine failed penalty attempts before England finally triumphed 3-2.
England left it even later in its semifinal against Italy. Teenager Michelle Agyemang leveled in stoppage time to force extra time and fellow substitute Chloe Kelly scored in the 119th minute to secure a 2-1 win, just as it appeared another penalty shootout was looming.
Spain swept through the group stage, winning all three matches against Portugal, Belgium and Italy - scoring 14 goals and conceding three.
Spain found it tougher to get past Switzerland in the quarterfinals but finally broke the resistance of the host nation with two quickfire goals midway through the second half. Spain also missed two penalties and hit the woodwork three times.
Like England, its semifinal lasted 120 minutes. It took a moment of magic from two-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí in the 113th minute to secure a 1-0 win over Germany.
Agencies