Inside Lionesses' Euros triumph over Spain: How one brave call from Sarina Wiegman led to another magical night and cemented her status as England's greatest manager, writes TARA ANSON-WALSH

Daily Mail​

a day ago

There was an air of calm around the Movenpick Hotel in Basel on Sunday morning as the Lionesses set out on their matchday walk.
They wandered around the block, largely undisturbed, save for a steady procession of fans trailing behind in a Pied Piper-esque march.
On their return, the players slipped into their usual routines. Leah Williamson and Chloe Kelly disappeared for their pre-match naps, while Michelle Agyemang found her focus at the piano. The 19-year-old played for two hours – mostly gospel – completely absorbed in the movement of her fingers across the 88 keys.
As they have throughout this tournament, England settled naturally into their roles and rhythms. Like everything else in Switzerland, it all ran to time.
So why, then, do so many still question Sarina Wiegman – herself a known stickler for punctuality – and her management of a match?
She is endlessly criticised for her predictability, yet here she stands with a third trophy in her grasp. Wiegman is the most successful manager in English footballing history, and she clearly deserves every accolade and then some.
She's made following this England side a privilege. Where questions of entitlement may have arisen following the 2022 success and 2023 World Cup final qualification, she kept the team grounded – and delivered again.
So, bearing all that in mind, if Wiegman wasn't going to change her starting XI before the final, she was hardly going to start experimenting on the biggest night of all.
That's simply how the Dutch coach operates. Every player knows their job – and Alessia Russo remains England's first-choice striker.
The decision to stick with Russo – who had only scored once all tournament, against Wales – was justified by the tireless off-the-ball work she brings.
With the No 23 on the back of her shirt in a nod to basketball legend Michael Jordan, Russo rattled Spain early on when Williamson's dinked ball over the top set her free. She surged into the box and let fly, but was turned away smartly by Spain's No 1, Cata Coll.
Russo is perfectly suited to playing against sides like Spain – who typically sit deep and pass with patience. But the world champions sprung a surprise in the final, coming out with greater intent and aggression than in any of their previous knockout games.
After that early chance went begging, Russo remained busy – chasing down loose balls, pressing high, disrupting the Spanish build-up. Her selfless, relentless running once again on full display.
By half-time, it looked like another industrious shift would go unrewarded – just as it had in the previous two knockout matches.
But then the moment came, and Russo seized it. And fittingly, it came from her new permanent Arsenal team-mate, Chloe Kelly.
There may not be enough words to capture Kelly's contribution to England this summer. Once again, she stepped up, slicing a ball in from the corner of the 18-yard box that dipped and curled beautifully into Russo's path. Falling backwards, the striker managed to steer a header goalwards.
The roar that followed was deafening and the relief was etched across Russo's face. If ever there was a time to break her knockout-stage scoring duck, this was it.
Remarkably, the goal also took Russo to the top of England's goal involvement tally at Euro 2025 – adding to the three assists she produced against the Netherlands.
Wiegman, so often criticised for her reluctance to make changes, then made the most surprising call of the night, replacing Russo just 14 minutes later with Agyemang.
Agyemang has been the ideal impact sub when England have needed a presence in the box. But this wasn't the moment. This was a midfield battle, and Russo had been instrumental in dropping deep to support the defence. With her gone, England lost their outlet.
To her credit, the 19-year-old did her job when England needed her to help out at the back – but for the first time in three appearances, she couldn't find the back of the net. A testament to the newfound expectations of this kid to spring a surprise.
As it turned out, it didn't matter, because England were soon faced with the brutal tension of a penalty shoot-out.
The players with gold medals around their necks certainly think it's time to trust Wiegman
Beth Mead, who had had another excellent game off the bench, fell on the wrong side of luck by first scoring despite slipping in the run-up. VAR overruled the initial goal and Mead was forced to take again, going the opposite side.
Hannah Hampton saved twice and then Kelly stepped up to make history with this team once again.
Kelly was Wiegman's brightest spark on the night in attack, slotting in well after being called upon in the first half to rescue an embattled Lauren James, whose ankle injury had finally caught up with her despite training well on the eve of the match.
And then, with an aura of someone who was genuinely enjoying being in that position, kicked England to glory once again. It simply had to be her.
So, after all this, is it time to finally trust that Wiegman knows what she's doing? The players with gold medals around their necks certainly think so.