Lionesses' never-say-die attitude driven by new approach to team bonding

Telegraph

6 days ago

Before the start of Euro 2025, England manager Sarina Wiegman asked each of her players to share a personal story about their journey in football.
For some, it was about the lack of opportunities to play when they were growing up. For others, there were more emotional anecdotes of some of the hardships and struggles they have faced along the way.
Wiegman's aim was to bring her players closer together before heading to Switzerland to defend their European Championship title and, as they prepare to take on Italy in Tuesday's semi-final, it is a tactic that appears to have paid dividends.
This week defender Jess Carter opened up on how she has been inundated with racist abuse on social media throughout the tournament. England's players released a joint statement condemning the 'online poison' and have decided they will no longer take the knee before matches.
Carter, who has stepped away from social media as a result, has received the full support and backing from her team-mates.
'I think if anything it's probably brought us together as a team,' Georgia Stanway said.
'We've made ourselves very vulnerable'
Being vulnerable and sharing experiences is something Wiegman has actively encouraged.
Beth Mead and Ella Toone have spoken openly about their shared grief over losing a parent. Mead's mother, June, died from ovarian cancer in 2023 while Toone's father, Nick, passed away from prostate cancer last year.
Before the tournament, Lucy Bronze opened up for the first time about her autism and ADHD diagnoses while Chloe Kelly spoke out about her unhappiness and struggles with mental health during her time at Manchester City.
'I think we've made ourselves very vulnerable, whether it's individually, Sarina herself has made herself really vulnerable, staff, players,' Mead told the BBC.
'I think that gives us so much more togetherness, so much more trust in each other, that we're willing to share really tough moments with each other and how can we help each other.
'I'm super proud of how we've dealt with that as a squad. In the past I think teams I've been a part of might not have been able to do that so positively and quickly in hard moments.
'I think Sarina has really instilled that into us as a team. She's got our back, we've got her back. You can see that in the way we've come back in performances when it's not gone quite right but we still give that proper England attitude.'
'It brings the group so much closer together'
The Lionesses had to come back from two goals down against Sweden and then through a chaotic penalty shoot-out to reach the semi-final stage. Wiegman said after the game that it was a sign that her team are 'never done' and players have put a large part of that never-say-die attitude down to the team spirit they have fostered.
'I think being vulnerable is probably one of the most important things because it brings the group so much closer together,' Stanway said. 'I think when times are tough on the pitch, you want to be able to rely on your team-mates and you want to be able to look at them in both good and bad and understand that you're both on the right journey and you're both on the right path to exactly what you want at the end, which is to win.