New-look Lionesses head to Switzerland looking to conquer Europe once again
The Lionesses are tasked with defending their first major title at this summer's European Championship, having lifted the trophy at Wembley and transformed women's football across the country.
But four of Sarina Wiegman's unchanged starting line-up from 2022 have now retired.
Ellen White hung up her boots shortly after, then Rachel Daly retired from international football in 2024.
FIFA Best and Sports Personality of the Year-winning goalkeeper Mary Earps shockingly called time on her England career late last month, quickly followed by attacking midfielder Fran Kirby.
Add an announcement from World Cup captain Millie Bright, who made herself unavailable for selection in order to address her physical and mental health, and some started to wonder if this could be a summer of struggle for England.
But the Lionesses have brushed aside that speculation, insisting once again this is a 'new England' ahead of their title defence.
Arsenal striker Russo has a bigger role to play this summer (Bradley Collyer/PA)
While many of Wiegman's 13 2022 returnees – like Arsenal striker Alessia Russo and Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton – have significantly stepped up in responsibility, seven major tournament newcomers will also be looking to make their mark.
Aggie Beever-Jones has enjoyed a breakout season at Chelsea, last month completing a hat-trick on her Wembley debut for England, while 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang – who has returned to Arsenal after a Brighton loan spell – scored 41 seconds into her maiden senior international appearance in April.
Stalwarts like Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze – heading into her seventh major tournament and fourth consecutive Euros – will provide the experience.
And while England may not be able to replicate the magic of that maiden trophy on home soil, winning one away from home would be another historic achievement.
Wales have qualified for their first major tournament (Nick Potts/PA)
Wales, meanwhile, qualified for their first major tournament after beating the Republic of Ireland in a dramatic 2-1 second-leg victory to win their play-off 3-2 on aggregate.
Boss Rhian Wilkinson has used Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), Wales' highest peak, as a metaphor for their mission in Switzerland.
Wales are the lowest-ranked team in the Euros, drawn in a very difficult group with holders England, 2017 winners the Netherlands and 2022 semi-finalists France, but Wilkinson has insisted her side are not simply just happy to be included.
CARFAN CYMRU 🏴
On the plane to #WEURO2025! ✈️🇨🇭
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) June 19, 2025
Speaking from the top of Yr Wyddfa, she said: 'As we've moved towards the Euros we've talked about the summit, the Everest part of it. That something is impossible until it isn't.
'Outside Wales people can think whatever they want.
'Our goal is to show up and deliver to the best of our ability. I am sure people will be looking up Wales on a map very soon.'
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Daily Mirror
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Liverpool won £17.5m transfer fight as Xabi Alonso phone call tipped the scales
Former Liverpool and England defender Glen Johnson has recalled what convinced him to sign for the Reds ahead of Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City A phone call from Xabi Alonso helped persuade Glen Johnson to snub Manchester City and Chelsea and join Liverpool. In 2009, the Reds harboured high hopes that Johnson would be the final piece needed to reignite their Premier League title aspirations. After going agonisingly close the previous season, trailing Manchester United by four points after just two losses, they were on the hunt for an edge to convert draws into victories. With a keen eye on an attacking right-back, Rafa Benitez targeted the England ace, then of Portsmouth. And after fending off interest from Chelsea and Manchester City, Liverpool secured Johnson's signature. Even Xabi Alonso's return to Spain that summer was not enough to deter Johnson, especially after Steven Gerrard's persuasive powers came into play during a stint together with England. The departing Alonso also did his bit. Reflecting years later in 2021, Johnson told the Liverpool Echo:"If a club like Liverpool comes knocking, you obviously immediately have an eye on it and an interest. "But what swung it was we played for England that summer, just before I signed, and I had a good chat with Stevie. And then I spoke to [Fernando] Torres and Alonso as well before signing. I just thought these were some of the best players in the world. "They don't need to phone me but they were phoning me to let me know how much they wanted me to join. Straight away, I felt like I knew them and it made me feel super welcome before I signed and everything just felt right." The fact that Liverpool were only able to spend £17.5m to sign Johnson from Portsmouth by cancelling out £7m the financially-stricken outfit owed to them for Peter Crouch was a sign that a period of instability lay ahead, with multiple managerial changes and new ownership. Johnson said: "There were a lot of issues with owners. Rafa lost his job and we sold three of our best players and didn't replace any of them. You just can't do that, it's as simple as that. "The owners didn't want to replace the players who went out the door with the same quality of players. It was a tough couple of years. "We had three or four managers in a very short period of time. That is a setback at any club. With all the issues going on in the background, the best players leaving, the managers leaving, it's hard to string some sort of foundation together." The arrival of FSG in October 2010 brought a much-needed sense of stability. The following season, Johnson would lift the only trophy of his Reds career, the League Cup. Despite that triumph, Kenny Dalglish left the manager's position, with Brendan Rodgers replacing him at the helm. Under Rodgers' guidance, Liverpool went tantalisingly close to clinching the Premier League title. A slip from Gerrard against Chelsea and a notorious comeback by Crystal Palace saw Liverpool's title hopes dashed in the final stages of the season, allowing Man City to take the title. However, Johnson insists that those two matches were not the decisive factors in Liverpool missing out on the title. "Second half of the season, we were unbelievable," he said. "We weren't great at the start of the season at all but we started to play football that just blew teams away. "We won nearly all of our games and the games that we won, we won nearly all of them in the first 20 minutes. We were playing some great football and were unlucky we didn't get over the line." Reflecting on his six years with the Reds, Johnson, who left Anfield for Stoke in 2015 and retired three years later, said: "Our starting XI was great. It was a good side with great players. Fernando Torres, even now, doesn't get spoken about as much as he should. "Fernando was unbelievable, literally unbelievable, but obviously Luis Suarez was as well. They're two slightly different players, I don't think I can pick [between them]. "Stevie was good in training. Fernando wasn't good in training at all, but you don't mind that because he'd come to life at the weekend so you'd accept that all day long. Luis was a good trainer but Stevie would always be the one leading by example most days. "I'm happy with my time there and I loved every single minute of it. It felt like I had some of my best years there. I played an awful lot of games, which I feel super proud about. It's just a shame we couldn't win more." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Lee Carsley has England excelling at another big summer kickabout
In the wake of an end-of-season senior international break during which England could scarcely have looked more underwhelming, a penny for the current thoughts of those Football Association blazers who decided to appoint Thomas Tuchel as Sir(!) Gareth Southgate's replacement following Lee Carsley's six-month interim spell in charge. While it's probably safe to say a chimp with a tactics board could navigate England's passage through the qualifiers to next summer's World Cup finals, Tuchel has been hired at great expense on a short-term contract with the sole target of lifting the trophy next summer. When the inevitable handwringing starts (should he fail to do so), folk will want to know to know exactly why a 'forrin' – and a German one at that – with a penchant for being difficult and precisely no international management experience got the job ahead of an oven-ready homegrown replacement who seems seriously clued-in when it comes to excelling at summer kickabouts. Whether or not the criticism will be justified remains to be seen but what we can probably all agree on is that when it comes to securing England's progress through under-21 tournaments, Lee Carsley seems to have the Midas touch. Having masterminded England's victory at the last Euros, he is now on the cusp of helping an almost entirely new set of players retain the title won by their country two years ago in Georgia. Having already seen off tournament favourites Spain in the quarter-finals, England booked their place in the final with a 2-1 semi-final victory over the Netherlands in Bratislava. Harvey Elliott – one of just two 2023 winners in the 2025 squad – scored both goals, either side of an opportunistic Noah Ohio strike from 40-yards that caught out England's goalkeeper at his near post. Mercifully, it was the only time of the evening James Beadle was not about. 'We've got so much quality,' trilled Carsley, who is looking to emulate Dave $exton by managing England to back-to-back Euros success. 'But, more importantly, we've got a squad that believes that they can win. There's more belief, which is important if we're going to go that one step more, which is generally the hardest step now – getting over the line.' One player who found it conspicuously difficult to get over the line on Wednesday was Elliott, the Liverpool midfielder taking the impromptu decision to celebrate his opener with an ill-advised knee-slide towards the touchline that was abruptly and painfully curtailed by a dry surface that had been slowly baking in the evening's 33°C heat. Despite knacking himself in the process, Elliott was able to play on and is hopeful of being fit for the final. 'I don't know what I've done to my knee, but it's bloody hurting,' he said after the game. 'So hopefully it's nothing too silly. It's a silly decision from me, to be honest, but it's just one of them, live in the moment. You do these things, but I forgot the pitch was ridiculously dry and it is the price I have got to pay.' Next up? Germany on Saturday, when hopefully the pitch will be well watered, all the better to facilitate celebratory tomfoolery that is as aquatic as it is acrobatic. Join Scott Murray for piping hot MBM updates from Juventus 1-2 Manchester City from the Copa Gianni, with kick-off at 8pm BST. 'You guys don't have variety, it's pasta, pizza, fish, steak. You know what the problem is with Italian food? It's good specific food that you do very well, but in America if I go to a burger joint or a steak house, then I go to another place, it's a completely different taste. [In Italy], I go to this restaurant and get a pesto pasta, I go 10 minutes down the street and order a pesto pasta, it's the same thing' – Weston McKennie risks a diplomatic incident on Juventus' official podcast, Talk With Us. 'The USA is the country with the worst food in the world. They would even deep-fry the soles of their shoes. How can McKennie say there's no variety in Italian food? There are 200 million Yanks and all you eat are hamburgers' – former Italy international Emiliano Viviano hits back in style. 'Re: yesterday's Daily. Is it fair to describe Preston's 2025-26 home kit sponsorship deal as a mashup?' – Tony Christopher. 'Another example of a current shirt meeting the two out of three standard for what makes a good sponsor: Ipswich Town. Ed Sheeran's music is local and bad for you. Good design? Meh' – Tim Mason. 'First time writing to you but I had to take umbrage with your description of the Newcastle Brown Ale logo on the Toon shirt (of which I was once a proud owner) as 'Tin', when the original logo comes from a bottle. While it was sold in 'Tin', as any Toon fan would tell you, the original and much better version was always sold in a bottle' – Mike Todd (and no others). Please send your letters to Today's winner of our prizeless letter o' the day competition is … Tony Christopher. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here. 'It would be easy to think I would feel slightly envious of what is available now and it would have been interesting to see how good I could have been if I had the same setup' – Bayern and Denmark superstar Pernille Harder is our guest columnist as she returns to coach 80 girls at FC Midtjylland, the team where she began my career but had to leave in her teens as they had no women's team. ITV will use Eni Aluko as a pundit in its coverage of Women's Euro 2025 next month – but has not secured the services of Ian Wright. Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez is now Liverpool's Milos Kerkez after the Reds parted with £40m. 'It's a real honour for me, a privilege to come to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, [the] biggest club in England,' parped the Hungarian. More hot left-back news: Myles Lewis-Skelly has signed a new long-term Arsenal deal that will make him one of the best-paid teenagers in the world. The Gunners have also offered £9.3m for Brentford's Christian Nørgaard and are poised to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea this week. Our Copa Gianni round-up is here, and it's going very well for the Brazilian sides. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola has channeled his inner lifeguard before Manchester City's game against Juventus in the searing Orlando heat. 'My advice to people is to bring water, hats and towels,' sighed the Spaniard. Ederson, meanwhile, has distanced himself from a move from Manchester City. 'Some friends send me a lot of news but 99% is fake news,' he Trumped. Birmingham and Ipswich will kick off the Championship campaign on 8 August with a Friday night game, while Wrexham have a tough first assignment at Southampton. Average broadcast audiences for the Women's Super League have dropped by 35% year on year, a report by the Women's Sport Trust has found. Darren McGregor will not play in his own testimonial match for Hibernian against Bolton next month after being involved in a vehicle collision. 'While 'Daz' can't feature in the match, he will still be able to attend with the game commemorating his fantastic career,' a club statement cheered. And hats off to Tottenham for designing a fairly bland black away kit that they claim has a 'razor-sharp silhouette fit, engineered for speed and built for stealth'. 'Al Nassr forever,' grinned Cristiano Ronaldo, once he had remembered to open his eyes after striding barefoot onto some scenic Saudi Arabian sands. If the video to announce CR7's chunky new pay packet resembled a tourist board promo (or perhaps a Love Island trailer?) more than it conveyed a piece of contract news, then perhaps Ronaldo was simply just relaxed into a slumber by his beachy surroundings. Incidentally, the nearest coast a five-hour drive from Riyadh, where the club is based. So with Ronny lingering on 99 Al Nassr goals and now threatening to plunder plenty more, his new deal until June 2027 puts to an end this particular transfer saga. Will Ronaldo finally retire when he's 42 and the deal expires, or will he actually go on forever? Our all-singing, all-dancing guide to every one of the 368 players at Euro 2025 is ready for your perusal, with stats, individual profiles and pictures for every single participant. Roll up! Roll up! Our Euro 2025 team guides are coming thick and fast. The latest offerings have an Iberian flavour: Portugal and pre-tournament favourites Spain. 'We must look England straight in the eyes': read our big interview with France's Grace Geyoro, who spoke to Anna Carreau as she closes in on 100 caps for her country. Lyon thought they were too big to fail. Now they face (at least) a season in Ligue 2, writes Luke Entwistle. And in today's Mill: Liverpool couldn't get Viktor Gyökeres, could they? On this day in 2006, Ukraine defeated Switzerland on penalties in a last-16 fixture best remembered as the dullest World Cup tie in history. After 120 goalless minutes of football summarised by Mick McCarthy as 'bloody awful', Ukraine won 3-0 on penalties as the Swiss went out without conceding a goal during their four games.
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Dwayne Peel reflects on 20 years since battling the All Blacks with the British & Irish Lions - and reveals why coaching in Welsh rugby is his toughest task yet
It has been 20 years since Dwayne Peel took on the toughest challenge of his career as a player, battling the All Blacks with the British & Irish Lions. 'Blimey, has it been that long?' Peel asks, his mind wandering back to facing the likes of New Zealand superstars Dan Carter and Tana Umaga. 'That makes me feel a bit old.' Two decades on from starting all three Tests in a 3-0 series defeat in the southern hemisphere, Peel is now in the midst of the hardest job he's had since moving into coaching. As the man in charge of Welsh side Scarlets, he is bidding for success against a backdrop of financial cuts and political wrangling. The off-field uncertainty is such that currently, the Llanelli-based side does not have complete certainty over their long-term future. 'I don't think anybody's had assurances,' Peel adds matter-of-factly. Welcome to the madcap world of the game in Wales. Peel says the job is the hardest he's had in coaching after previous stints with Bristol and Ulster Peel is working through the carnage and his team punched above their weight in the campaign just finished. The Scarlets ran eventual United Rugby Championship winners Leinster close in their quarter-final clash in Dublin and secured qualification for next season's Investec Champions Cup, the draw for which will be made on July 1. These achievements might not seem worthy of champagne popping. But they must also be analysed with the current state of the broader Welsh rugby ecosystem in mind. In Peel's own words, Wales' four domestic sides have 'undoubtedly' been hamstrung by the multitude of problems the game in the country is facing. 'It's been difficult to manage,' the decorated former scrum-half says. 'That's the reality of where we are with what's going on off the field and finances getting cut. 'I don't need to spell out what's happened. It's made things tough. But you have to work in the parameters you have and make the best of them. 'We competed hard this season with a young squad, most of whom have come through our system. There's a lot to be proud of. If you look at the end of the URC, Leinster ran away with games. But even to the last minute of ours with them, I thought we were right in it. 'We've laid a good foundation. Now, our challenge is to build on that.' Wales' four domestic sides operated off playing budgets of just £4.5million in 2024/25 due to financial problems. All four teams – Dragons, Cardiff, Ospreys and Peel's Scarlets – have had to cut the size of their squads as a result. For contrast, while Leinster's annual squad spend is undisclosed, it is thought to be near to £15m. To that end, when they took on the Irish giants in Dublin, Peel was essentially bringing a knife to a gun fight. But his young Scarlets still caused some damage, albeit in a narrow defeat. 'We wanted to strive for the play-offs so to do that and get Champions Cup off the back of that was fantastic,' Peel says. 'The pedigree of this club has been built on the European Cup since its inception. We haven't played Champions Cup rugby for a good few years now, so that's something to look forward to. 'We've lost a lot of world-class Lions experience and a lot of leadership, but that's led us to rapidly bringing through a lot of exciting, young talent over the past season and they have been brilliant for us. It's been well-documented playing budgets have gone down. Last year was painful because we were really in transition. 'We had to do it. But the key was to get through that and build. We've got some quality young players, particularly in the back-line. The foundation has taken a long time to bed in here, but I think we're at a point where we've got that now. 'The Champions Cup will be another level up. It's the next challenge. As much as that brings excitement, we've got a small squad. That does put stress on the group. 'I've got some concerns around that in terms of player numbers but we've left the club at the end of this season in a better position than when we started.' There is never a dull moment in Welsh rugby. And as things stand, both the Ospreys and Scarlets are in a standoff with the country's governing body – the Welsh Rugby Union. The two west Wales regions opted not to sign up to the WRU's new Professional Rugby Agreement. They did so, they say, because of a lack of clarity on how the four clubs would be funded fairly and equitably going forward, following the WRU's takeover of Cardiff, which they felt could lead to the capital club being favoured. But the reality of that outcome is that the money Peel has to play with moving forward could be even less. The WRU is actively exploring the possibility of cutting its number of professional teams from four to three or perhaps even two. No-one, as Peel points out, can currently be sure of their position. It makes running a rugby team close to impossible. Welsh rugby's problems have been shown by the current 17-Test winless run of their senior men's side. The WRU remain on the lookout for a new head coach too. And yet the Scarlets have still shown promise. In the likes of Blair Murray and Tom Rogers, they have talented young players. Centre Macs Page is one to watch out for too and looks likely to win his first Wales cap in Japan in the weeks to come. 'We've done a good job of making it about the rugby and not worrying about what's going on above us,' Peel says. 'We've got 150 years of history here and produced some great teams. We have to represent that history as best we can. If you look at our metrics in terms of number of international players and where we finished the season, I feel we're in a good position. The club means so much to the whole of west Wales. 'In the next couple of seasons in Welsh rugby, the academies are going to be extremely important. We've had the likes of Tom and Macs come through and play very well. 'They're the future of the club and we've got to keep bringing those players through. There is a romantic side to this for me in terms of understanding what we represent. 'I came through the door here at 15. I played for 10 seasons. I grew up as a supporter and I've been so all my life. At some point, that has to provide an extra layer of drive.' Peel has Scarlets blood running through his veins. He had a brilliant playing career – the fact he was such a key man for the Lions in 2005 reflective of his talent. Playing at that level showed Peel rugby's elite. It is at that highest level that he hopes soon the Scarlets and Wales will return to. 'It was a dream of mine to play for the Lions,' he says. 'It was a tough tour on the playing side, but what an experience. We came up against a bloody good All Blacks team who were almost untouchable in the Tests. 'People look back on 2005 now and talk a lot about Sir Clive Woodward and Alastair Campbell. Clive was always innovating. That tour was very different to what I was used to with Wales. It was far bigger. For example, with Wales at the time we weren't used to having a chef travelling with us. Ultimately, it was about the rugby and we were well beaten. Alastair couldn't go out there and pass or kick for us.' Peel was a television pundit for the 2025 Lions' tour-opening defeat by Argentina in Dublin but expects Andy Farrell's side to have success in Australia. He pinpoints the pace of three outstanding No 9's in Jamison Gibson-Park, Alex Mitchell and Tomos Williams as key to the Lions game plan. But Peel's focus is already turning to next season, once a family holiday and clearing out the family's garden pond have been taken care of. 'From an international point of view, the structure in Wales has to be right for the game to flourish,' he says. 'We need to find a DNA as our national sport. 'When I look at other sports in Wales, like the football team, I think they've got an identity behind them and a feelgood factor about who they represent. That can be a big driver. There is good talent in Wales. 'We always produce good rugby players. The next Wales coach will have an opportunity to bring those players through. The regions have a role to play in that. 'I do get frustrated at what is happening. But I do see positivity and there is an opportunity to get things right. We're a proud country. Over the last 20 or so years, Wales has been a successful rugby nation. 'We're on a bit of a blip currently, but we need to keep striving to get back to where we belong. A high-speed tempo suits Welsh rugby and always has. 'Wales were in a quarter-final of a World Cup three years ago. Sometimes, you have to go through bad periods. As a proud Welshman, I'm sad when Wales lose. 'But I don't think we're at a dead loss from any perspective. There is opportunity out there, we just have to get it right.'
