We did it.
Against the odds, with grit and resilience and sheer hard work, we did something great, inspiring. And we did it for a second time – winning back to back titles in the Women’s Euros.
There are too many people nowadays lining up to tell you that our nation is broken, divided, failing and flawed. Too many bemoaning the “snowflake” generation for their lack of resilience and staying power.
Well the Lionesses belted an enormous great penalty-shaped hole in that narrative of cynicism on Sunday. Because for 120 heart-stopping minutes, then seemingly a lifetime of penalties, our country came together, united, passionate and proud as we willed England on to victory in the final against Spain.
And they showed us the power of true grit which can make us great.
As former England star Jill Scott said afterwards: “This team never ever gives up.”
There are few things – perhaps there is nothing – which enables us to share our sense of national pride and unity than football (even among those for whom pride is dimmed and unity cracked).
And there is nothing which particularly brings England together than enduring the shared trauma of a penalty shoot out.
Too often we have experienced the pain of when penalties go wrong. But not this time. Admittedly it started badly when Beth Mead had to retake her shot, only for it then to be saved. But true ballsy heroism by keeper Hannah Hampton saved the day.
When Chloe Kelly stepped up to take the final penalty the weight of a nation’s hopes lay upon her. Only nerves of steel could withstand it. Only resilience and grit – those qualities we are told so often are lacking in our younger generation – would do. Kelly was a perfect illustration of what joy those qualities can bring.
As her goal hit the back of the net, a roar of joy swept over garden fences the length of my street. It may have been a rather grey and chilly afternoon for BBQ celebrations but as Serena Wiegman and her team bounced with joy to Sweet Caroline, they were joined by millions the length and breadth of England.
Not that anything had been easy getting to that point.
square FOOTBALL England's history-makers are champions of Europe again
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World Cup winners Spain dominated most of the game and after their opening goal there was a general sense of trepidation that this could end badly. Nails were chewed, pints were sunk (13m of them apparently according to people who count this stuff) and the prosecco was going down at a fair pace too.
England had snatched victory from Swedish and Italian jaws of defeat in the quarter and semi-finals, surely they couldn’t do it again?
At Box Park in Wembley there was screaming and cheering as Alessia Russo’s goal went in.
From there the team dug in and took the game to extra time and the dreaded penalties.
When the TV commentators observed England had never lost a penalty shoot out under Wiegman, a nation of glass-half-empties muttered: “Well there’s always a first time.”
As a nation we have a long history with penalties that far precedes any imported Scandinavian success. But these girls had hearts of Lionesses, nerves of steel and the strength of giants.
With Kelly’s winning strike England fans who’d travelled to Basel for the final erupted in cheers and tears of joy. Princess Charlotte, attending with her dad Prince William, threw her arms up as she cheered. And for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria this was finally something to smile about. (All the more so, after shortly before extra time news had broken that Donald Trump had OK’d the US-EU trade deal.)
All day excitement had been building. Sunday morning’s newspapers featured big images of captain Leah Williamson grasping her England badge in a pose beloved of Sports editors the world over.
Outside Buckingham Palace, royal guardsmen played “It’s coming home”.
Interest in the tournament is unrecognisable to that which it received just a few short years ago. Largely because even a decade ago a women’s Euros was actually unrecognisable in the national calendar. Only a hardcore of women’s football fans might tune in to watch.
This year the semi-final between England and Italy gave ITV its biggest TV audience of the year.
The final was screened on both the BBC and ITV with television bosses confident viewing numbers would beat the 14.8 million who tuned in when England lost to Spain in the 2023 World Cup. More than 45 million people were expected to watch the match globally.
Meanwhile supermarkets were also hoping to be the other big winners of the day with an estimated £100m spent on food and drink over the weekend. Tesco was expecting a 15 per cent increase on Euros spending – including a stonking 450,000 bottles of champagne and sparkling wine.
Switzerland hosted a fantastic tournament, with 29 of the 31 matches sold out and 657,291 spectators in attendance. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin spoke of “unprecedented global interest” – and there was.
But there were disappointments too – none more so than when defender Jess Carter spoke of the disgusting racial abuse she had received on social media. If only those who spread such hate might feel some shame now as they see Carter and the team’s success. I doubt it. For they are the corrupted and cruel whose relish of discord prevents them truly loving their country and feeling pride in its success.
After the match, Kelly said: “I am so proud of this team, so proud to wear this badge, so proud to be English.”
We are too Chloe. Thank you and the team for reminding us of it.
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