Football is chaos – Sarina Wiegman hails ‘incredible' European title defence
Wiegman's side lost their opener to France and needed extra time in all of their games after the group stage in Switzerland, but emerged victorious in the most nail-biting and dramatic fashion.
The 55-year-old, who has now won the last three Women's European Championships – previously with Netherlands in 2017 and England in 2022 – said on BBC One: 'I can't believe it. The word 'team' really described who we are – a team.
'We said we can win by any means and that's what we have shown again today. I am so proud of the team and the staff. It is incredible.
'I just can't believe it, but I have a medal around my neck and we have a trophy. It has been the most chaotic tournament on the pitch – all the challenges we had on the pitch against our opponents.
'From the first game it was chaos. Losing your first game and becoming European champions is incredible. Football is chaos.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
12 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Hibs braced for hostile Belgrade 'Gravediggers' as David Gray explains Thibault Klidje situation
Place in Conference League playoff at stake Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Rip away all the noise and nonsense, the sound and fury that make European competition so reliably fascinating for those with a dog in the fight, and there is still a game of football to be played. Hibs will need to remember that as they take to the field in front of 30,000 roaring Serbs at the Partizan Stadion on Thursday night. Against a team whose supporters revel in the nickname of 'The Gravediggers', David Gray's men must not allow themselves to be buried under the avalanche of animosity likely to come tumbling down from the stands here. They have to impose their own game upon a young Partizan side still developing as a European force. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At stake is a place in the UEFA Conference League play-offs where qualification for the league phase will be up for grabs. Something Hibs thought was already in their possession not so long ago, only for Aberdeen to rip that prize from their grasp courtesy of an odds-defying Scottish Cup win over Celtic. Hibs expect a hostile reception from Partizan Belgrade fans on Thursday night. (Photo by) | Getty Images Partizan, knocked out of the Europa League on penalties by Larnaca but handsome Conference League conquerors of Ukrainian wanders Oleksandriya last time out, represent a formidable enough challenge. But not the most fearsome opposition ever laid before a Scottish club at this stage of qualification. 'Firstly, you expect it to be quite a hostile environment, one that the players maybe haven't experienced before,' said Hibs manager Gray, whose team took Midtjylland deep into extra time at Easter Road before suffering their own Europa League exit last week, the former club captain adding: 'Some of them might have, but going over there, it's a different environment, it's a bit hostile and from what I've seen, a very intense, aggressive nature. 'So discipline is going to be a big thing as well from our players in making sure we do things properly. It's another brilliant test against a top side and we know we need to be at our very best. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's no different from the Midtjylland test, which was a difficult one, but we need to take confidence from that. I say to the players all the time, you need to believe you can go over there and get a result, and if they were doubting or weren't fully believing before the first leg over in Denmark, they certainly were when they came home, which shows the level of performance and the level of quality we've got as well.' Partizan are aware of the threat posed by Hibs striker Kieron Bowie, whose double secured a 2-0 win over Dundee on Sunday. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group) | SNS Group Hibs certainly boast top-line quality in their starting XI, with Partizan boss Srdjan Blagojevic singling out stand-in skipper Martin Boyle as the one to watch. Although, among the Belgrade media corps attending the MD-1 event at the Partizan Stadion yesterday, the name of Kieron Bowie was also given a frequent airing; it's impossible to sneak that sort of bruising talent under the radar against even the most lax opposition. And Partizan are no slouches. As for the options available to Gray as the game goes on, well, there is some strength in depth. Even if it will take a while for latest signing Grant Hanley to get up to speed. Record signing situation explained On that subject, might Hibs finally get a proper look at record signing Thibault Klidje? Having cost the Easter Road club over £1 million, there's a natural clamour to see what the Togolese international striker has to offer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Gray is prone to caution on that subject, however, stressing: "Yeah, I understand that as soon as you see the price, people talk about getting him in the team. But the boys are obviously doing well, and I don't want to push him either. 'The expectation is one thing, but he needs to settle. He needs to get used to me and the way we're working and get used to the intensity, because it's a different way of playing. "I've noticed he's really settled around the group now, which is pleasing. Coming to a foreign country, the players have made him feel really welcome, which is great. He's getting used to my accent slightly, which is probably good for him as well, and he's got his own place now. "He's starting to settle a lot quicker, and I'm sure we'll see a lot of improvement from him pretty quickly. But I'm not putting too much pressure on him right now. We're just going to make sure that we keep progressing when we can.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hibs fans have seen little of record summer signing Thibault Klidje thus far. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group Hibs really rattled Midtjylland in the opening exchanges of their first leg at the tidy-but-tame MCH Arena, attacking with intent and taking an early lead through Jamie McGrath's cheeky free-kick. But, of course, that desire to really test opponents, not the worst tactic if Hibs are to put the Gravediggers in a sombre mood from the off, only works if you've got the defensive strength to avoid conceding a crazy number of chances at the other end. "Yeah, I think we've demonstrated that a few times now,' said Gray. 'The defensive organisation needs to be there. That's the most important side to it. 'We'll always have players who can score goals. And defence is not always the back five or the back three. The defence starts right at the very front. 'I think we saw that against Dundee at the weekend. The front two, Martin Boyle and Kieron Bowie, really worked hard with Junior Hoilett in behind them. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The effort that goes into that, the organisation behind the ball, it's something that we do work a lot on. It's a massive part of the game because tactically, the players are really switched on nowadays, at every level. "We need to be ready for that, even more so in Europe. It's a bit of an unknown because you don't watch these teams week in, week out. "But the hard work goes in from our point of view to make sure we educate the players to know exactly what the challenge is and then put a game plan in place that we feel gives us the best chance to win the game.
Belfast Telegraph
an hour ago
- Belfast Telegraph
It's unfair to enforce seasonal change and play during summer when most of the Irish League is part-time: Chris Shields
Linfield warrior Chris Shields has argued it would be unfair and wrong to enforce summer football on part-time Irish League players. Speaking during Linfield's European odyssey in the summer of 2025, Shields has reiterated his caution about any change to the Premiership fixtures calendar.
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Hibs braced for hostile 'Gravediggers' as David Gray explains Thibault Klidje situation
Place in Conference League playoff at stake Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Rip away all the noise and nonsense, the sound and fury that make European competition so reliably fascinating for those with a dog in the fight, and there is still a game of football to be played. Hibs will need to remember that as they take to the field in front of 30,000 roaring Serbs at the Partizan Stadion on Thursday night. Against a team whose supporters revel in the nickname of 'The Gravediggers', David Gray's men must not allow themselves to be buried under the avalanche of animosity likely to come tumbling down from the stands here. They have to impose their own game upon a young Partizan side still developing as a European force. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At stake is a place in the UEFA Conference League play-offs where qualification for the league phase will be up for grabs. Something Hibs thought was already in their possession not so long ago, only for Aberdeen to rip that prize from their grasp courtesy of an odds-defying Scottish Cup win over Celtic. Hibs expect a hostile reception from Partizan Belgrade fans on Thursday night. (Photo by) | Getty Images Partizan, knocked out of the Europa League on penalties by Larnaca but handsome Conference League conquerors of Ukrainian wanders Oleksandriya last time out, represent a formidable enough challenge. But not the most fearsome opposition ever laid before a Scottish club at this stage of qualification. 'Firstly, you expect it to be quite a hostile environment, one that the players maybe haven't experienced before,' said Hibs manager Gray, whose team took Midtjylland deep into extra time at Easter Road before suffering their own Europa League exit last week, the former club captain adding: 'Some of them might have, but going over there, it's a different environment, it's a bit hostile and from what I've seen, a very intense, aggressive nature. 'So discipline is going to be a big thing as well from our players in making sure we do things properly. It's another brilliant test against a top side and we know we need to be at our very best. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's no different from the Midtjylland test, which was a difficult one, but we need to take confidence from that. I say to the players all the time, you need to believe you can go over there and get a result, and if they were doubting or weren't fully believing before the first leg over in Denmark, they certainly were when they came home, which shows the level of performance and the level of quality we've got as well.' Partizan are aware of the threat posed by Hibs striker Kieron Bowie, whose double secured a 2-0 win over Dundee on Sunday. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group) | SNS Group Hibs certainly boast top-line quality in their starting XI, with Partizan boss Srdjan Blagojevic singling out stand-in skipper Martin Boyle as the one to watch. Although, among the Belgrade media corps attending the MD-1 event at the Partizan Stadion yesterday, the name of Kieron Bowie was also given a frequent airing; it's impossible to sneak that sort of bruising talent under the radar against even the most lax opposition. And Partizan are no slouches. As for the options available to Gray as the game goes on, well, there is some strength in depth. Even if it will take a while for latest signing Grant Hanley to get up to speed. Record signing situation explained On that subject, might Hibs finally get a proper look at record signing Thibault Klidje? Having cost the Easter Road club over £1 million, there's a natural clamour to see what the Togolese international striker has to offer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Gray is prone to caution on that subject, however, stressing: "Yeah, I understand that as soon as you see the price, people talk about getting him in the team. But the boys are obviously doing well, and I don't want to push him either. 'The expectation is one thing, but he needs to settle. He needs to get used to me and the way we're working and get used to the intensity, because it's a different way of playing. "I've noticed he's really settled around the group now, which is pleasing. Coming to a foreign country, the players have made him feel really welcome, which is great. He's getting used to my accent slightly, which is probably good for him as well, and he's got his own place now. "He's starting to settle a lot quicker, and I'm sure we'll see a lot of improvement from him pretty quickly. But I'm not putting too much pressure on him right now. We're just going to make sure that we keep progressing when we can.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hibs fans have seen little of record summer signing Thibault Klidje thus far. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group Hibs really rattled Midtjylland in the opening exchanges of their first leg at the tidy-but-tame MCH Arena, attacking with intent and taking an early lead through Jamie McGrath's cheeky free-kick. But, of course, that desire to really test opponents, not the worst tactic if Hibs are to put the Gravediggers in a sombre mood from the off, only works if you've got the defensive strength to avoid conceding a crazy number of chances at the other end. "Yeah, I think we've demonstrated that a few times now,' said Gray. 'The defensive organisation needs to be there. That's the most important side to it. 'We'll always have players who can score goals. And defence is not always the back five or the back three. The defence starts right at the very front. 'I think we saw that against Dundee at the weekend. The front two, Martin Boyle and Kieron Bowie, really worked hard with Junior Hoilett in behind them. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The effort that goes into that, the organisation behind the ball, it's something that we do work a lot on. It's a massive part of the game because tactically, the players are really switched on nowadays, at every level. "We need to be ready for that, even more so in Europe. It's a bit of an unknown because you don't watch these teams week in, week out. "But the hard work goes in from our point of view to make sure we educate the players to know exactly what the challenge is and then put a game plan in place that we feel gives us the best chance to win the game.
