The Lionesses captain ran to the bench to high-five every one of the substitutes, before an impromptu team talk with Sarina Wiegman on the sidelines. The leadership the defender has shown throughout this extraordinary, bewildering summer of success has been exemplary. She now has the cold, hard facts to back it up on paper.
This is a captain who has brought two unifying moments of unprecedented joy to what can often feel like a hopeless and divided nation. This week will mark the anniversary of far-right rioting that exploded across the country last year, with similar unrest outside asylum hotels earlier this month. No footballing achievement can patch up those levels of societal ills.
A mural commemorating the England captain in her hometown of Newport Pagnell (Photo: PA)
Williamson, 28, is acutely aware of what all this means, not just for the legacy it will leave for women’s football but for the “respect of women” themselves. The question that loomed three years ago was whether European Championship success would prove a moment in time, won at home in unique circumstances, or whether momentum would continue.
Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Charlotte Edwards and Heather Knight have all won Cricket World Cups. Morgan’s 2019 success captured the public imagination at the time but it did not revolutionise the sport. And none of them have done it more than once.
In her hometown of Newport Pagnell, near Milton Keynes, she has become an idol. Locals crowdfunded thousands to have a mural of her repainted after it was taken down. Interest in girls’ football has soared on the pitches where she used to play.
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“I remember stepping into Arsenal at 12 and saying to my parents, ‘Leah’s going to be England captain one day,'” Kelly said.
There was no obvious successor when Wiegman opted to replace Steph Houghton as captain in 2021, though Williamson’s abilities quickly began to shine through.
It was required more than ever at this Euros. She finished in the top three centre-backs for line-breaking passes and averaged nearly eight ball recoveries per game. She also played alongside three different centre-backs in Jess Carter, Alex Greenwood and Esme Morgan.
“When I look in her eyes, I know that she’s got me and I’ve got her,” Williamson said of Carter after the final.
“It was awful,” Williamson said this weekend. She felt “completely useless.”
Few will remember the missed penalty in the shootout. Only the trophy lift that put Williamson in a class of her own.
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