The Euro 2025 final is the epic sequel to the 2023 FIFA World Cup, or is it?

RTÉ News​

15 hours ago

The final fixture of the 2025 UEFA Women's European Championship will soon be upon us and who better to see off the tournament than England and Spain.
This Euro 2025 final match-up has drawn comparison to that of the 2023 FIFA World Cup but is this an accurate comparison?
While these teams went head to head nearly two years ago, throughout Euro 2025, they have shown themselves to be less of a threat on the pitch to other participating nations and to each other.
You could say there was unfinished business between the two, particularly on England's part as they aim to win another European Championship and measure up to the nation that made them runners-up at the World Cup.
With the exception of wins against the Netherlands and Wales, It is fair to say that England are still in the tournament by virtue of luck rather than their prowess on the pitch. Their performance at Euro 2025 so far has contrasted greatly to the dominant side on display in 2022, one that brought the talent of Alessia Russo and Beth Mead to light.
The Lionesses did not start the tournament on the front foot, losing 2-1 to France, a scoreline that took the footballing world by surprise. While Sarina Wiegmann's side were able to pull off a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands and a 6-1 win against Wales, England's performance was overshadowed by their games against Sweden and Italy.
While it is easier to go up against a national team with a substantially lower ranking, it is something else entirely to play against one at the same level. Prior to their quarter-final on 17 July, England and Sweden's FIFA World Rankings were fifth and sixth respectively. With this in mind, it would have likely been a more difficult task for England to win against Sweden by a large margin.
However, thanks to a 2-2 stalemate due to the introductions of Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang, England and Sweden were pushed into additional game time and then penalties. With a 3-2 penalty scoreline, England were through to the semi-finals.
While close ranking could be used to justify England's late dominant performance against Sweden, the same cannot be done in the case of their semi-final fixture against Italy.
Italy came into the semi-finals as underdogs, having previously failed to reach that stage of the Women's Euros since 1997. With a national ranking of 13, there is an eight place difference between Italy and England. As such, the Lionesses were caught off guard when Italy's Barbara Bonansea scored the opening goal in the 33rd minute of the game.
England would fail to equalise until six minutes into overtime when Agyemang once again saved her team after coming on as a substitute. In a twist of fate, a penalty was then awarded to England due to Emma Severini's challange on Mead. In the end, Chloe Kelly was able to seal the deal by scoring the penalty ending Italy's Euro campaign in heartbreak.
In the same token, Spain does not look to be in good shape either.
While Spain do not look to be struggling in the area of winning matches, similar to their English counterparts, they are taking more time to score against teams ranked substantially below them. Placed in a group with Belgium, Portugal and Italy, their closest ranked group opponents were Andrea Soncin's side at 13th in the world to Spain's second. Despite this, it was Italy who scored the opening goal just 10 minutes into their group stage match.
More often than not when Spain have taken the lead at Euro 2025, they do so at later stages of their matches. For instance, in their quarter-final against hosts, Switzerland, Spain failed to score until the 66th minute thanks to a late goal by Athenea del Castillo. Even worse than this was their semi-final against Germany, Spain only scoring in the 113th minute during additional time when Aitana Bonmatí drove it home, sealing their place in the final on shaky ground.
While both teams have talented rosters and a bright younger generation moving up the ranks, the question remains: Will this final really compare to the one witnessed at the 2023 FIFA World Cup?