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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
It's staying home: England's road to Euro 2025 glory
Over little more than three weeks in July, from Zurich via St Gallen, and Lancy to Basel, Guardian writers have followed every step of England's journey across Switzerland during Women's Euro 2025. Under Sarina Wiegman, the Lionesses became the first England team to win a trophy on foreign soil. Here are our favourite pictures coupled with excerpts from our match reports and blogs. GAME 1: GROUP D 5 JULY, STADION LETZIGRUND France 2 (Katoto 36, Baltimore 39) England 1 (Walsh 87) England's goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, right, fails to save a shot by France's Sandy Baltimore as England stumbled in their opening game of the tournament. Photograph above: Michael Buholzer/AP. Click on the images below to reveal further captions. The hour mark was approaching when Sarina Wiegman rolled the dice or, perhaps more accurately, reached for the comfort blanket. A salvage operation of this scale had not been part of anyone's masterplan, but at least Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly knew exactly how to move the dial at a European Championship. They were the history makers at Wembley in England's most recent appearance on this stage; if it was going to be anyone, it surely had to be them. There were to be no heroics this time, even if Selma Bacha's late clearance was ultimately all that came between Wiegman's players and a draw. That statement is, in itself, illusory because the manager must face questions about her selection here. She had plumped for Lauren James's explosive gifts in the No 10 position, sticking to the claim that the Chelsea forward was ready to ramp up her recovery from injury, but the call backfired badly. England were misshapen and leggy where it mattered; the game simply got away from them and so, with another ill-conceived step against the Netherlands, could their Euro 2025 campaign. A positive reading might be that England were sharpened up here: given the jolt reigning champions sometimes Ames GAME 2: GROUP D 9 JULY, STADION LETZIGRUND England 4 (James 22 60, Stanway 45, Toone 67) Netherlands 0 England's Georgia Stanway celebrates scoring their second goal with Ella Toone in a resounding performance against fellow heavyweights the Netherlands. Photograph above: Annegret Hilse/Reuters. Click on the images below to reveal further captions. From shambolic to sublime, England brushed off fears of a group-stage exit with a thrilling and clinical defeat of the Netherlands. England know how to win knockout matches and that was the territory they had entered a little earlier than planned. They also know how to shake off a defeat against top-level teams, their 2-1 Nations League loss to France in May 2024 followed by a 2-1 win over the same opposition in Saint-Étienne four days later. They also knew they had lost opening games and gone far at the World Cup in 2015 and the Euros in 2009. Messages came in from former Lionesses to remind them of those things, the Euro 2022 group chat still active. The difference between the sloppy and slightly shellshocked play against France and the focused and aggressive football played against the Netherlands in a sunny Stadion Letzigrund was night and day. The threat of an exit had sharpened the minds and the passing significantly, and Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone dictated play from the middle and increased the potency of Lauren Hemp and Lauren James out wide as Andries Jonker's side got narrower and narrower. England's title defence is well and truly alive, but they will be cautious. Suzanne Wrack GAME 3: GROUP D 13 JULY, ARENA ST GALLEN England 6 (Stanway 13pen, Toone 22, Hemp 30, Russo 44, Mead 72, Beever-Jones 89 Wales 1 Cain 76 Ella Toone scores England's second goal against Wales in a widely-expected demolition job that sealed their place in the knock-out stages. Photograph above: Annegret Hilse/Reuters. Click on the images below to reveal further captions. Sarina Wiegman said her Lionesses side found a sense of 'urgency' to book their place in the quarter-finals of the European Championship with a comfortable 6-1 victory over Wales. 'This urgency comes [after the France defeat],' the England head coach said. 'You could see the togetherness of our team. We knew today would be a different game because we knew we would have the ball a lot. I'm very happy with the performance. We knew that Wales really wanted to fight and we tried to stay out of it. I think in most of the moments we did but in the beginning we were sloppy.' A key part of England's improved form during a tough Group D was a shift in gameplan from Wiegman and the coaching staff . One change has been the introduction of Ella Toone back into the No 10 role against the Netherlands with the ever-creative Lauren James moving out to the right. Keira Walsh, the Uefa player of the match, credited Toone for England's change in fortunes. 'She's come in and done an incredible job,' she said. 'People speak about her off ensively, but the defensive work she does for me and Georgia [Stanway] when she's in [the No 10 role] is incredible. She covers a lot of spaces that we can't.' Sophie Downey GAME 4: QUARTER-FINAL 17 JULY, STADION LETZIGRUND Sweden 2 (Asllani 2, Blackstenius 25) England 2 (Bronze 79, Agyemang 81) AET England won 3-2 on penalties England's Lucy Bronze scores a penalty past Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk during the shootout after an epic comeback from two goals down. Photograph above: Martin Meissner/AP. Click on the images below to reveal further captions. The Letzigrund looks gorgeous under a pale pastel evening sun. The noise washes over the athletics track where Carl Lewis and Asafa Powell once broke the world record, and where Sweden are now flying out of the blocks and leaving England trailing in their dust. We do not yet know that in many ways this is simply the prologue, that this devastating early two-goal flurry is actually relatively benign in comparison with the carnage that will follow. We do not yet know that Lauren James will end up playing almost an hour in a double pivot. We do not yet know that Lucy Bronze will end up wearing the captain's armband on her wrist and kicking a giant credit card advert. Hannah Hampton, nose still unbloodied, has not the faintest inkling that this will end up being the greatest night of her career. But they all know something. Even if they're not entirely conscious of it. Even as an utterly shambolic England trail Sweden 2-0 and the obituaries for their campaign are being scribbled, there is a little knot of refusal there, a team with an entirely unwarranted calmness at its core, a team that against all the available visual evidence still trusts that everything is going to work out. Perhaps the hallmark of certain great teams is in sensing almost subconsciously when they are allowed to play badly and when they are not, when the level needs to be raised, when the stakes are at their sharpest. Jonathan Liew GAME 5: SEMI-FINAL 22 JULY, STADE DE GENÈVE England 2 (Agyemang 90+5, Kelly 120) Italy 1 (Bonansea 33) England won in extra time Chloe Kelly celebrates with Michelle Agyemang after scoring the winning goal late in extra-time. Photograph above: Jose Breton/NurPhoto/Shutterstock. Click on the images below to reveal further captions. Chloe Kelly said England's saviour Michelle Agyemang has the 'world at her feet' after the 19-year-old striker's late leveller rescued the defending champions in their nerve-jangling semi-final victory against Italy. England's remarkably late comeback, with Agyemang scoring in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time before Kelly's winner in the penultimate minute of extra time, booked the Lionesses a place in their third consecutive major tournament final. 'Big Mich at it again!' Kelly said to ITV Sport, discussing Agyemang's third goal in four senior international games since her April debut. 'She's unbelievable and she should have scored again: that one that hit the crossbar. She's an unbelievable player and she's got the world at her feet, a young player with a bright future and I'm absolutely buzzing for her.' The match was played two days after Jess Carter revealed she had received what the England team described as poisonous racist abuse on social media. The Lionesses said they were not going to take the knee before the game. Instead, the substitutes stood arm in arm on the touchline before kick-off, including Kelly, who said: 'I'm so proud to stand side by side with the girls in this team; Jess Carter and every single player in this team.' Tom Garry GAME 6: FINAL 27 JULY, ST JAKOB-PARK England 1 (Russo 57) Spain 1 (Caldentey 25) AET England won 3-1 on penalties Click on the images below to reveal further captions. Penalties: England 2-1 Spain (in the shootout). Now the pressure is on Spain and who else but Aitana Bonmatí? She steps up but Hannah Hampton saves!! Penalties: England 2-1 Spain. Now the pressure really is on Spain but England cannot afford to slip up here. For England it's Leah Williamson. The captain misses. Penalties: England 2-1 Spain. So Spain have a chance to level it again here. It's Salma Paralluelo and she misses. Penalties: England 3-1 Spain. Oh my word. These shootouts. If England score here they win the tournament. It's Chloe Kelly. Huge pressure on her shoulders and she scores. ENGLAND HAVE WON THE EUROS ON PENALTIES Wow. Oh my word. What have we just watched? Kelly clutch. Hannah Hampton unbelievable. Niamh Charles coming on in that second half of extra time and scoring a cracking penalty. The whole team able to stay present after saves from both goalkeepers. Sarina Wiegman has been an international manager for three Euros. She has won every single one. Sarah Rendell
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ben Askren returns to hospital in concerning update after double lung transplant at 41
Former MMA star Ben Askren has returned to the hospital with a concerning update after undergoing a double lung transplant last month. The UFC cult hero, 41, was rushed to the hospital with 'severe pneumonia ' on June 7, and has been documenting his difficult road to recovery since. Askren was able to return home on July 22, but later shared with fans that he was struggling to lift a five-pound weight due to the amount of strength he had lost. He also shared a video of him using a stationary bike at hom e on Sunday in an encouraging update. On Monday, however, Askren shared a sobering development with fans from a hospital bed. 'Well, as you guys can probably tell, I'm not home anymore, unfortunately' he began a video. 'I had my first check up this morning - they didn't like the way the last chest tube looked, thought it was infected.' Askren added that he had been put on antibiotics and taken for X-rays. 'Hopefully we get this solved, fast... it wasn't always gonna be smooth, it wasn't always gonna be easy, it wasn't always gonna be all the way up,' he said. 'So hopefully this is a small hiccup and then I'm back home, getting stronger again.' Askren, who previously revealed he 'died four times' before his double lung transplant, said last week that it was 'awesome' to be back at home with his family amid his health struggles. As he spoke about the strength he had lost, Askren struggled to speak at certain points of video and had to catch his breath. The former lightweight fighter told fans he was 'feeling strong' before his recent ordeal, as he was curling 45 pounds and doing hill sprints. Last month, Askren's wife, Amy, shared that Askren had undergone the life-saving double lung transplant. 'We are forever thankful to the donor and his family,' she announced. 'This is the beginning of a new lifestyle for Ben, but every new day he has is a gift. Update #6- not all sunshine and rainbows. — Funky 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@Benaskren) July 28, 2025 'It still doesn't feel real that he was walking around completely healthy just 5 weeks ago. So much can change so quickly. Askren first made a name for himself in the college ranks, as he became a two-time D1 champion with the University of Missouri. He also participated in the 2008 Olympics and put together an impressive decade-long undefeated streak, winning world titles in Bellator and ONE before making the jump to UFC in 2019. He defeated Robbie Lawler in his UFC debut but then suffered losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia before announcing his retirement from MMA. He briefly returned to fighting briefly in 2021 when he boxed against Jake Paul, losing to the social media star via TKO. Askren married his wife in 2010 and they share three children, two daughters and a son.
The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Story not done yet, says emotional Leah Williamson as England celebrate Euro win
The moment was not lost on Williamson as she held back tears among the revelry, less than 48 hours after the Lionesses retained their European Championship crown by beating Spain in the Basel final on penalties. The England captain said: 'I'm holding back tears. I've been crying all the way down the Mall. This is unbelievable and it's one of the best things we've ever been a part of so thanks for coming out. 'Everything we do, we do it for us and our team but we do it for the country and young girls. This job never existed 30 or 40 years ago and we're making history every single step. Stay with us, this story is not done yet.' England showed incredible defiance throughout the tournament, from bouncing back from their opening defeat to France and demonstrating their never-say-die attitude in the knockout stages. They trailed 2-0 in the quarters to Sweden and 1-0 to Italy in the semis as well as going behind in the showpiece against Spain only to battle back to make sure they kept the trophy they won three years ago. Williamson told the crowd: 'There's lots of ways to win a football match and we repeatedly did it the hard way. England players gathered on the steps of the Victoria Memorial during their homecoming victory parade (Yui Mok/PA) 'But you can see how much we care about playing for England and how much we love it – 2022 was a fairy tale but this feels really hard-earned and we're very proud of ourselves so thank you and we hope you are, too. 'The first game maybe rocked us a little bit but I just think we're special people and we love each other, we've got each others' back on and off the pitch. We had tough moments, nasty things to deal with and still we rise.' It was a third consecutive European Championship crown for England head coach Sarina Wiegman, who led the Netherlands to glory in 2017. She said: 'It was chaos. I hoped a little less chaos but they didn't keep their promise to finish things quicker! We just kept having hope and belief and they just showed up when it was really necessary and urgent. 'There is a huge talent pool in this team. In 2022 we had great bonding but I think that made the absolute difference now: everyone was ready to step up and support each other. It was amazing to be a part of.' Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was so instrumental in keeping Spain at bay in a 1-1 draw as well as the 3-1 final shootout success. Asked what she was thinking ahead of penalties, she replied: 'Just do whatever I can for the team – they ran around for 120 minutes and I've got it easy just standing still in my own 18-yard box.' She added: 'Don't let people tell you what you can and can't do. If you've got a dream and you really believe it, go out and do it. I did it. 'I got told many times that I'm not good enough and I shouldn't be playing football from the start. Keep doing it and if it makes you happy, go follow that smile.' Teenager Michelle Agyemang was named best young player of the tournament after scoring late levellers in England's quarter-final against Sweden and then Italy in the semis. The 19-year-old said: 'I don't know what to say. It's surreal, it doesn't seem real seeing people down there. It's crazy to see what we've done and be here today.' The talismanic Lucy Bronze added: 'This moment is unbelievable. We did it three years ago but to do it again and to come back to this is just incredible.' Asked how this party compared to three years ago, Bronze replied: 'I don't remember.'
