England arrive at Downing Street to celebrate European Championship glory
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, and after returning to England the team headed for Westminster and a reception hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and sports minister Stephanie Peacock.
The team arrived just before 7pm, with Number 10 decorated for the occasion with St George's flags draped over windows and bunting along the railings.
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.
In a post on X, the team shared a photo of the Euros trophy draped in an England flag on a seat on the plane.
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)
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.
A trip to the Palace or Windsor Castle may be on the cards for the winning squad as it is understood possible plans for a reception in the autumn are being explored by royal aides.
Defender Jess Carter has not joined her team-mates for the celebrations in London as she has returned to the United States ahead of Gotham FC's NWSL match against the Chicago Stars on Saturday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd transfer news: Ollie Watkins' feelings clear on move as another striker ruled out
Manchester United have turned their attention to Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins as they look to sign a centre-forward in the summer transfer window for Ruben Amorim Manchester United are determined to sign a striker before the Premier League season begins. Ruben Amorim has already been given much-needed attacking reinforcements in the summer transfer window, but there's still a missing piece of the puzzle. Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have arrived for a combined fee of £133.5million, but United are in real need of more goals. Cunha scored 15 goals in the Premier League last season for Wolves, while Mbeumo struck 20 for Brentford, yet neither are comfortable as a No.9. That is where United have been trying to find a new player. But with no European football to offer targets, having finished a lowly 15th last season, they missed out on Liam Delap to Chelsea, Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool and Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal. All is not lost yet. The summer transfer window remains open until September 1, but Amorim is preparing for their opening Premier League game against Arsenal on August 17, when his old Sporting Lisbon player Gyokeres will be unleashed against him. Here are the latest transfer stories from Mirror Football involving United. Watkins keen on Man Utd move Ollie Watkins is Manchester United's No.1 choice in their pursuit of a centre-forward, Mirror Football understands. Benjamin Sesko has been considered, but the RB Leipzig striker isn't considered as good an option as Watkins, who is an experienced Premier League striker. United are, however, unwilling to pay Aston Villa's £60m valuation for the England star. Instead, they hope to negotiate down to around £40-45m for the 29-year-old forward. One of the things in their favour is that Watkins is understood to be keen on the move. While he has been an important player for Villa in recent years, he has clashed with Unai Emery over selection in the Champions League and would undoubtedly be the main man at United, where rotation would be less of an issue. Dortmund emerge as Sancho option Jadon Sancho had appeared to be set for a move to Juventus, but a third spell at Borussia Dortmund is now thought to be a serious possibility for the winger. Sancho is part of the bomb squad at United, having been told he has no future at the club under Amorim's management. He had agreed terms with Fenerbahce last month, before that move collapsed. Next came Juventus, with the Italian side thought to be close to signing the 25-year-old for £21.6m. According to reports, United could now flog Sancho to Dortmund for £15-17m, giving him a third spell at the club. Sancho made his name in Germany initially, joining United for £73m on the back of his form there, and also spent time on loan at Dortmund in 2024. Jackson off the cards Manchester United won't be signing Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea this summer. Jackson is exploring his options after the arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap left him contemplating a season on the bench. United held talks with his agent, but Chelsea's asking price has put them off. The Blues floated the figure of £100million, with an actual valuation of £80m still way too high for the Senegal international, who has a typically ludicrous but classic Chelsea contract expiry date of June 2033. Watkins is now United's No.1 target, with Sesko another option. United have spoken to Sesko's agent, but he is younger, more inexperienced and has no Premier League experience.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Sarina Wiegman boogies to Burna Boy at England Euros parade in London
Of all of England's remarkable achievements of the past month, Sarina Wiegman dancing to afrobeats on stage in front of 65,000 people may be the most extraordinary. This episode was the highlight of England's parade for the Euro 2025 trophy, which made the equivalent event in 2022 feel like small fry. Starting along The Mall, concluding in front of Buckingham Palace and watched by an exultant crowd, this was a final, emphatic symbol that this team has the nation fawning. Three years ago England marked their first Euros title with a ceremony in Trafalgar Square. While the mood was euphoric and emotional, the occasion felt a little underwhelming and as if it had been thrown together at the last minute. Held the day after England had won the final in front of 87,192 people at Wembley, the celebration attracted 7,000 fans. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Yet on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after England had won their second successive Euros title by toppling Spain in Switzerland, the team enjoyed a massive, spectacular and at times surreal parade. Several fans defied police instructions by climbing over fences for better vantage points. Unlike in 2022, when supporters were generally happy to offer mellow congratulations, spectators were immersed in Lionesses mania. Most importantly, the 2025 version had Wiegman's dance moves. She initially cut a reserved, cerebral figure after becoming England's head coach in 2021, and remained relatively restrained throughout the Euro 2022 triumph. She has since gradually let her guard down, and showed more emotion than ever during England's thrilling run to Euro 2025 glory. Yet even her animated approach in Switzerland had prepared no one for the scenes on Tuesday. First, two bits of context. In a press conference in November 2023, Wiegman admitted that her favourite song was For My Hand by Burna Boy, featuring Ed Sheeran. During Euro 2025 she occasionally broke out into a dance to celebrate England's dramatic victories. The outcome? Burna Boy surprising Wiegman during the parade, of course. The singer emerged just after Wiegman had been interviewed, prompting an expression of shock from the usually calm and collected coach. Before anyone could quite process what was happening, Wiegman was unveiling her dance moves while her players cheered her on from behind. This was a trivial moment with a meaningful undertone. Wiegman has been perceived as a stern, blunt Dutchwoman who is brilliant at winning football matches but not exactly much fun at a party. However, as she displayed some rather nifty footwork, it was clear that she knows how to enjoy herself too. Some supporters will never accept a foreigner leading the national team but, if any coach can become an honorary Englishwoman, it is Wiegman. She has delivered unprecedented success and is now sufficiently beloved by the country to feel comfortable making herself look silly in front of an enormous audience. There were other memorable moments from the parade. A tearful Leah Williamson could barely talk as she looked down The Mall. Lucy Bronze at least acted the most hungover. Chloe Kelly was unsurprisingly the one to drop the f-bomb. Heather Small made a late cameo to sing Proud. There was room for the profound too, as the Euros trophy was brought on to the stage by Kerry Davis, the Lionesses's first black player. Nevertheless, Wiegman stole the show. She is a prodigious tactician, empathetic woman-manager and, as the parade revealed, a goofy dancer. Right now, it is impossible not to love her.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
I'm obsessed with snorkelling in Scotland: starfish below, sea eagles overhead – and it really isn't that cold
People always ask me: isn't it too cold to snorkel in Scotland? And I reply that while it's obviously much cooler than it would be in Spain, the sea does warm up from May, when the temperature rises from about 9C to as high as 12-15C by August and September. I go snorkelling in Scotland all year round. I work for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, developing snorkel trails on the Scottish coast and creating guides to the places you can go to enjoy snorkelling in a particular area. But even so, the Wildlife Trust always recommends wearing a wetsuit. In the UK, we sometimes think that to connect with nature you have to go to really exotic, faraway places and spend a lot of money. But actually, it can be more effective to connect with the local marine life on your doorstep. Snorkelling doesn't cost much money or require a great deal of training. It's one of the most accessible sports to enjoy in the sea: some of the best snorkelling I've ever done has been in water I could stand up in. It's also a very sociable activity because you should never snorkel alone. You should always have a buddy (and ideally a mug of hot chocolate waiting for you afterwards). One of my favourite snorkelling experiences is swimming over a kelp forest, which are prevalent around Scotland. You see these beautiful, golden fronds of kelp undulating with the waves, which are home to an incredible amount of small fish, colourful beadlet and dahlia anemones, starfish and brittle stars. Sometimes, you can even see them catching prey. Another time, I saw a huge show of sand eels beneath me. Then I put my head up and saw some seals on the beach and a pod of dolphins in the sea, coming over to say hello – right at that moment, some sea eagles flew low over our heads. When I talk to my colleagues in other European countries about snorkelling, they often talk about the overcrowding caused by tourism and how that is a hugely challenging part of their job. I feel very fortunate that in Scotland, we don't have that same strain on many of our natural places. Having said that, I've noticed snorkelling in Scotland has increased a lot in popularity since the pandemic, and coastal communities are leading the way in championing that. I think people are realising that it's an amazing thing to do for yourself for health reasons – mental and physical – but also for society, because it can remind you that the sea is an extraordinary place where nature is in decline. Hopefully that inspires more people to protect it. Research also suggests that cold water immersion can have physiological and emotional benefits. I find, when I get into the water, the coolness takes away all my worries and anything that was niggling away at me in my mind. Finally, there's so much cultural history in Scotland tied to the sea and coastal communities. Sometimes, you might be snorkelling below a castle or through sea caves or a harbour – you gain an understanding of the connection between people and the sea over time. The Scottish Wildlife Trust's latest project, Sea the connection, aims to reduce barriers some people face when connecting with the sea. As told to Donna Ferguson
