England return home to cheers after European Championship success
Alessia Russo cancelled out the opener from Arsenal team-mate Mariona Caldentey and after drawing 1-1 following extra time, an entertaining final ultimately boiled down to penalties.
Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton made two brilliant saves in the shootout before Chloe Kelly fired home from the spot to ensure England retained their European title.
The Lionesses left their team hotel in Zurich on Monday morning with skipper Leah Williamson carefully escorting the trophy to the bus.
After almost a month of competition in Switzerland, the team's aeroplane branded with the word 'home' touched down at Southend Airport on Monday afternoon.
Holding the trophy, Williamson was first to step off the plane alongside head coach Sarina Wiegman.
Outside of the airport, crowds were lined up to welcome the team and the trophy back home.
The team were greeted by fans waiting outside of the airport (Yui Mok/PA)
The Lionesses are set to celebrate their win with a reception at Downing Street later on Monday, hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and sports minister Stephanie Peacock.
A homecoming open-top bus parade follows in central London on Tuesday, where there will be a procession along The Mall and the celebration will finish with a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.
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Metro
a few seconds ago
- Metro
Why England hero Jess Carter decided to miss Euro 2025 trophy parade
Lionesses defender Jess Carter was a surprise absentee from England's Euro 2025 trophy parade. Around 65,000 fans and members of the Royal Family attended England's joyous trophy parade in London on Tuesday afternoon. The England squad, which retained their Euros title with a penalty shootout win over Spain, was taken along The Mall in an open-top bus. The players then gathered on a stage in front of the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace where the merriment continued. All but one of England's Euro-winning squad attended the parade, with Carter a surprise absentee following her crucial performance in the final. There had been scrutiny over Carter's place in the team earlier in the tournament but she justified Sarina Wiegman's faith with an impressive performance against World Cup holders Spain. As well as missing the trophy parade in central London, Carter also missed the England squad's visit to Downing Street on Monday evening. That is because the 27-year-old immediately flew back to the United States after the Euro 2025 final to prepare for another game. Carter's club side Gotham FC return to NWSL action on Saturday with an away match against Chicago Stars. According to talkSPORT, it was Carter's decision not her club's to return straightaway, even though it meant missing two days of celebration back in the UK. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video That appears to be the case as fellow England players Esme Morgan and Anna Moorhouse, who also play club football in America, attended the parade. Carter's decision to miss the celebrations divided England fans, with many saying it was a shame she was not involved after helping the Lionesses become two-time European champions. 'Jess Carter deserves to be there,' one fan posted on X with a crying emoji, while another said: 'I so wish Jess Carter was there to feel the love too.' Others said it was an example of 'elite mentality' from Carter, though there were also complaints about the congested football calendar which gives little time for breaks, even after major tournaments. Carter revealed she would be 'taking a step back from social media' during Euro 2025 due to the racist abuse she was suffering. 'From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,' said Carter, who is yet to post following England's Euros victory. 'While I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don't agree, or think, it's OK to target someone's appearance or race. 'As a result of this I will be taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with.' That abuse – plus the prospect of playing in a Euros final – left Carter 'scared' to even play in Sunday's showpiece event in Basel. 'I was super scared to play today for the first time in my life,' Carter told ITV after the match. 'But when I woke up and I saw my team, and the support I had and the belief I had from my teammates, my family and my manager, I knew I could just come out and give it my all. That's all you can do. 'To have that faith from Sarina to put me back in the squad, and that she believed I could help this team win a trophy, was amazing. It gave me a lot of confidence going into this game.' More Trending Speaking at England's trophy parade, Lionesses captain Leah Williamson said: 'I've been crying all the way down The Mall! 'This is unbelievable, probably one of the best things we've been a part of. We're making history every single step. Stay with us, this story is not done yet.' Chloe Kelly, who scored England's winning penalty against Spain, added: 'This is incredible. Pressure, what pressure? 'It is so good to stand side by side with every single one of these girls throughout the whole tournament, and the staff that you don't see behind the scenes.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: 'What is Sarina doing?!' – Ian Wright 'baffled' by Wiegman decision in Euro 2025 final MORE: Legendary Lioness hero 'tipped for glittering TV career' after Euros 2025 win MORE: When is the next Women's World Cup and where is it being held?
Metro
a few seconds ago
- Metro
'What is Sarina doing?' - Wright 'baffled' by Wiegman call in Euro 2025 final
Ian Wright says he 'couldn't believe' Alessia Russo was taken off after scoring against Spain and feels Sarina Wiegman was 'very fortunate' to avoid a backlash as England went on to win the Euro 2025 final on penalties. For the third match on the bounce, the Lionesses were forced to come from behind after conceding to a Mariona Caldentey header midway through the first half in Basel. Just as they had done against both Sweden and Italy, the holders dug deep and managed to wrestle the momentum back in their favour, with Russo reacting brilliantly to nod home Chloe Kelly's pinpoint cross and level in the 57th minute. The two teams could not be separated after extra-time and it was England who eventually prevailed after another nerve-jangling shootout, with Kelly scoring the decisive spot-kick to seal a famous 3-1 win over the world champions. The Lionesses' latest triumph – which came at the end of a rollercoaster campaign – marked the first time in history that an English team had won a major tournament on foreign soil. It also further cemented Wiegman's legendary status as an international head coach. The 55-year-old first lifted the trophy with the Netherlands in 2017 before steering England to back-to-back titles over the last three years. Dissecting the final on the Crossways podcast, Wright was somewhat reluctant to criticise Wiegman considering just how far England had come since she took over the reins from Phil Neville. However, the iconic ex-Arsenal striker believes there were a couple of key decisions which could easily have gone against the England boss on another day. 'I've got to say, the Russo substitution is the most baffling thing I'll ever see if she's not injured. I could not believe it,' Wright said. 'Michelle [Agyemang] came on and, obviously, she's amazing, Young Player of the Tournament, only coming off the bench and doing enough to win, that was amazing on her part. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'But I think she [Agyemang] needs Russo on there with her in this time. 'They would have caused Spain so many problems because Russo would have dropped off, she would have been in the box. 'What is Sarina doing taking her off?! What's she doing taking her off?! I couldn't believe it.' According to Wright, Wiegman has proven beyond doubt that she is a 'genius' and a 'legend' – but hauling Russo off with 20 minutes remaining made little sense in the context of the match. 'She was feeding off scraps,' Wright said of Russo. 'When you're playing in a game like that, all you're hoping for is one chance that you can try and take, which she did, and then you get a second wind. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'When she went off you could see it. She's so sweet and she's saying thank you to everybody but you can see it in her mind, she must be thinking, 'What the f***'s going on?! What are you taking me off for?!' 'In the end, she's very fortunate. She's obviously shown she's a great coach with three European Championships on the spin. That's legendary. 'But some of the decisions… you're thinking to yourself, 'If that's what you're doing on purpose because you see the outcome in your head then you are a genius!', but she is a genius with what she's done.' Wright was similarly taken aback that Wiegman opted to 'gamble' on Lauren James' fitness when she had a player of Kelly's quality raring to go the start. 'With Lauren James, it's a Euros final. If she thinks, 'You know what? If I can get something out of myself I might be able to do it', then you're going to play,' he continued. 'And I think it was a gamble that I don't think Sarina should have taken, especially when you've got Chloe there. Chloe is ready to go and she showed that when she came on. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'I thought it was strange. Again, you're talking about somebody who is obviously not fit enough. 'Then, we know that [Lauren] Hemp can come back and work back as well and help and you've got Ona Batlle, Aitana Bonmati and Athenea del Castillo all on that side, that's the most attacking they can be on that side, and you've got Lauren James whose natural game is not to track back and try stop those players. 'She's half fit and it just felt like, 'Oh my gosh, what's going on?!'' More Trending Given the journey Kelly had gone on following a 'dark' time in her career at the start of the year, Wright had to fight back the tears when the Arsenal forward stepped up to convert the winning penalty. 'Who in history has had the opportunity to do that? She has won us a tournament the last kick,' he went on. 'I got emotional as well when she did it. I just had a feeling and I felt like I was going to cry. 'I was just so pleased for her and I wanted it to happen and I wanted it to happen for us a country.' Did Wiegman make a mistake bringing off Russo? For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Legendary Lioness hero 'tipped for glittering TV career' after Euros 2025 win MORE: When is the next Women's World Cup and where is it being held? MORE: Lionesses trophy parade: England celebrate historic Euro 2025 victory in London
The Guardian
a minute ago
- The Guardian
Tate director blames Brexit and Covid for slump in visitors
The Tate galleries in London are struggling to attract young European visitors after Brexit and the pandemic, with the art institution's leader blaming the demographic shift for a steep decline in attendance figures. Maria Balshaw, the director of Tate, said the impact of Covid and leaving the EU was keeping 16- to 24-year-olds away from the two sites in the capital. Annual attendance data from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) released in March showed that Tate Modern and Tate Britain had a 27% decline in attendance since 2019 – a drop of 2.2 million visitors. Tate's attendances were particularly poor compared with other cultural attractions in London: the National Portrait Gallery only had a 3% dip over the same period, while the British Museum had 4%. Balshaw highlighted internal research that showed domestic visitor numbers are at 95% of pre-Covid levels, but international numbers are only at 61%. 'The figures speak for themselves,' she told the Art Newspaper. 'Tate Modern alone welcomed 609,000 visitors from Europe, between ages 16 to 24, in 2019-20 but then 357,000 in 2023-24. 'And if you think about that age of person: they are profoundly affected by the combination of Brexit changing their educational and work opportunities and then Covid profoundly affecting the end of their studies and the way they choose to live their lives. They are, in general, also travelling less.' Critics of Tate and Balshaw blamed 'woke' curatorial choices for the disappointing attendance figures – with some suggesting free entry might need to be abolished. The attendance figures came just after Tate announced it would be cutting 7% of its workforce in order to address a funding deficit left over from the pandemic. A Tate spokesperson said at the time: 'Such changes ensure we have the stability we need to continue being as ambitious and innovative as ever'. The Guardian understands there are no specific plans to attract young Europeans, though the institution has recently announced a series of late openings that often attract younger audiences. Tate Modern, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, welcomed more than 76,000 people during its birthday weekend – a turnout insiders hope could signal a rebound in 2025.
