Beever-Jones' maturity helping her embrace a 'surreal' first major tournament at Euro 2025

Yahoo

13 hours ago

By Laura Howard
As Aggie Beever-Jones sits in front of the turreted grandeur of the Dolder Grand Hotel, her demeanour emanates a calmness reflected only by the clear expanse of Lake Zurich below.
She is speaking to the travelling English media at her first major tournament but demonstrates a maturity beyond her 21 years.
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It is a quality Beever-Jones notes in herself, having had to grow up quickly to pursue a career in football.
'Off the pitch I've had to move away from home quite young and learn about council tax and all that stuff,' she reflected.
'Just growing up, I'm quite mature for my age and that reflects onto the pitch now just being able to feel comfortable.
'Sarina [Wiegman] has said I always look so relaxed on the ball and to never take that away.
'That's ultimately when I do play my best football, when I'm relaxed and around so many brilliant players.'
But despite the calm, the experience feels just as surreal as it might look for Beever-Jones.
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The hillside setting of the five-star hotel, with sweeping driveways and views over Zurich's old town, proves a far departure from the more familiar environs of cramped press rooms at Chelsea's Kingsmeadow where the nearest hill would provide a view of Kingston Lidl, at best.
'It's weird, although I'm doing this right now, it still doesn't even really feel like it's happening,' said Beever-Jones.
'Even when we landed and we came to this hotel I was just in awe. The guys have done a brilliant job of making it feel like a home away from home and we're so aware that we're in one of the best hotels.
'The most surreal thing is probably coming on the other day and making my international tournament debut.'
Beever-Jones has experienced a rapid rise to prominence over the past two seasons.
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After successive loan spells at Bristol City and Everton she returned to Chelsea for a breakthrough season that led to Emma Hayes hailing her a future England legend.
As Chelsea won the Women's Super League for a fifth consecutive season, Beever-Jones's made her mark with 11 goals in 17 appearances in the league, most of them off the bench.
The 2024/25 season required adjustment as her league starts doubled along with her minutes, but she delivered nine goals in 22 league matches as Chelsea went undefeated domestically.
Those two seasons led to an England debut in July 2024, followed by her first international goal in April 2025.
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And, befitting the pace of her rise domestically, she went onto score her first senior hat-trick at Wembley in a 6-0 Nations League victory over Portugal in May, to all but book her seat on the plane to Switzerland.
'The times I have played for England I've absolutely loved it. Whenever you play for England, you put the shirt on and you have immense pride. I never take it for granted,' she said.
'Scoring the hat-trick at Wembley is a day that I'll never forget. Even that feels surreal to me. I thought I was in some dream.
'But there's obviously expectation whenever you play for England and that's what makes us one of the best teams in the world. There's always that expectation that we have to do well.'
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When it came to Euro 2025, expectation on Beever-Jones abounded.
Her role leading up to the tournament had been as one of Wiegman's 'finishers', coming on to inject energy in the closing stages or to change the game where needed.
But when England faced the very scenario of a two-goal deficit with minutes to go in their opening match against France, Wiegman instead turned to 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang.
'Me and Sarina had a conversation and obviously I have to respect her decision. She said it was a tough game, and she looked elsewhere, and I have to respect that,' said Beever-Jones.
'For myself, I know my strengths and I know I've done it coming off the bench for two years at Chelsea and making an impact.
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'Sarina is well aware of that, and I respected that decision. She knows I'll be ready no matter what whenever the time comes.'
But Beever-Jones did get that moment of surrealism in England's 4-0 win against the Netherlands, coming on for her major tournament debut in the 84th minute.
'Seeing all my family with my England shirts on, I just know, although it's me making my debut, so many people have helped me get to this point,' she reflected.
'It's nice to have my family here and have some messages from people who've really helped me along the way. It reminds you of where you've come from.'
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With that first bit of action under her belt and a match against Wales on the horizon, no doubt there will be hopes of more minutes, and even a goal.
The expectation remains sky high after all. She follows in the footsteps of a precedent set by Alessia Russo and Ella Toone - Wiegman's 'finishers' at Euro 2022.
'Everyone knows the impact Tooney and Less had last Euros and there's a lot of noise going on around who's going to be the next two to do that,' said Beever-Jones.
'For us, we're just happy that we have such a world-class squad of 11 players who start and people who can come on and create that impact regardless of who it is.
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'You have starters, you have finishers and equally you have people who might not set foot on the pitch, but everyone is equally as important as one another and that's what brings this team together.'
For now, with the calmness and maturity that comes as second nature, she is content to take it all in and reap the lessons she can learn from the more experienced Lionesses.
'They gave us a journal. I've seen people using it however they wish but I'm quite big on writing stuff down, so I've got a little memory book,' explained Beever-Jones.
'I'm quite into photography so I take pictures. I've got a book full of memories and the little details you might forget.
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'Every day we go to wellness and one of the physios writes a quote on the wall and I always write it down and try and find the joy in the little things.
'It can get a bit repetitive doing the same thing every day so it's nice to find the little things and take a step back and appreciate everything else that's going on.'
In a setting like Zurich, it is unsurprising Beever-Jones has turned to photography as a way to take it all in.
And while the gallery of her career may already tell a story of silverware and success, with her 22nd birthday falling on the day of the final in Basel, she might be hoping for more than a polaroid to commemorate that particular milestone.
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For now, though, Beever-Jones remains focused on the temporal present with the task of reaching the Euros knockouts the next step on her ladder to the top.
'My milestone for this year was getting selected for Euros and obviously I feel extremely lucky to be here now and within that it's just taking it as it comes,' she said.
'My milestones are just to keep going, smiling, keep playing good football and enjoying it.'