Meet the BABS! Lionesses' 'Brothers and Boyfriends' group ready to roar England to glory
After a rollercoaster tournament, the Lionesses are now a mere 90 minutes from glory - if their nerves can hold out in the Euros final. England will take on Spain inside the sold-out St Jakob's Park stadium in Basel on Sunday night at 5pm BST.
Fans have flocked to the Swiss city on packed out planes after bagging last minute tickets, with many heading straight for the fan zone on Friday to soak up the atmosphere. And after two miraculous knockout victories, players' families believe the Lionesses ' mantra 'never say die' will see them bring it home again.
Georgia Stanway's older brother, John-Paul said: "After the last couple of games I just can't see them losing, they're just too relentless."
Speaking of the nerves at the semi-final against Italy, he added: "Even at the last second, you still felt at 94 minutes that they still weren't going to go home. It's a weird feeling, at one-nil down and you still don't feel they're ready to go home. "It's a credit to the team and everyone involved."
Ranked first in the world, the Spaniards left the Lionesses heartbroken with a 1-0 victory in the Australian World Cup final of 2023. On Sunday the superstitious Lionesses wear their white shirts to play Spain - the same colour they wore when they clinched the European Championship title three years ago.
And after two nail-biting games, which saw the Lionesses on the brink of eviction from the tournament, the nation, the players and their families are all hoping they can win inside 90 minutes.
Stanway's dad Paul said his 'nerves were shot' after the 120 minute semi-final against Italy, while Ella Toone admitted she felt 'physically sick' watching the penalty shootout with Sweden in the quarters.
But the rollercoaster of emotion has only served to bring the tight-knit players families even closer together. Ella, 25, from Tyldesley said: "We've sent them on a rollercoaster this tournament. Sometimes when you're in the moment and you're playing, you forget about how it's making your family feel and when you see them after games and you hear all the stories about how they're all jumping on each other and celebrating together, it's amazing. They've really bonded this trip."
She added: "It really reminds you of why you're here and who you're here for and why you do what you do. Hopefully we can kick on in this last game and make it one for them to remember too." And so close are some of the lads following the Lionesses, that they've even got a group chat dubbing themselves 'the BABs' AKA 'the brothers and boyfriends'.
John-Paul Stanway explained: "The name of our group chat which we've had for a few years is the BABs, which is the brothers and boyfriends. We've coined that phrase over the past few years and we now have a fair few of us in it, we try to keep adding to it." On Friday night the BABs enjoyed one last blowout together in Zurich as they gathered for a pub crawl before heading to Basel for the final tomorrow.
Ella's boyfriend Joe Bunney, her brother Joe Toone, were pictured sinking the pints with Georgia's brothers John Paul and Sol Stanway at the Big Ben Pub. John Paul also posed up alongside the Russo clan, including Alessia's dad Mario and brothers Giorgio and Luca.
When they've not been roaring the Lionesses on in the dugouts the boys have been sightseeing together and working out together. Posing topless from their early morning gym sessions, Alex Greenwood's boyfriend Jack O'Connell has also been invited into the fold of BABs this tournament.
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