Latest news with #MarionaCaldentey
Rhyl Journal
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
England return home to cheers after European Championship success
The Lionesses successfully defended their European crown with a 3-1 penalty shootout victory over Spain in the tournament's showpiece in Basel on Sunday. Welcome home, #Lionesses! 👋 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 28, 2025 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 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.
Metro
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Metro
England's Lionesses parade route and timings confirmed after Euro 2025 victory
England's homecoming trophy parade will take place today following their dramatic Euro 2025 win over Spain. Sarina Wiegman's side defended their title on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time. Mariona Caldentey headed the world champions into the lead in the first half, before Alessia Russo responded with a header of her own in the second half to bring the Lionesses level. It was Chloe Kelly, the winning goalscorer from three years ago, who once again clinched the Euros for England with her winning spot kick in the shootout. And fans wishing to celebrate England's momentous achievement in person will have the opportunity to do so in London today, with the FA having now confirmed the schedule for the celebrations. England will have a homecoming celebration with fans at an event in central London today, Tuesday, July 29. There will be an open-top bus procession along The Mall, which will start at 12:10pm, before ending with a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. The ceremony, which will start at around 12:30pm, will be hosted by former Lioness Alex Scott. The parade and ceremony will be broadcast live by the BBC, ITV and Sky, with coverage getting underway at 12pm. The FA said in a statement: 'The event is free to attend, and those attending will be able to watch the Band of His Majesty's Royal Marines Portsmouth and the Central Band of the Royal Air Force welcome home the victorious England team, enjoy live music from DJ CharStape and see tournament highlights shown on big screens, before Sarina Wiegman and the Lionesses take the stage for a special European Championship winners trophy lift presentation. 'Further details on the homecoming celebration event, including general guidance, timings and travel information, will be shared in due course. London is going to be very busy so people should plan their visits carefully, both coming into central London and travelling home.' England's victory at the last Euros was marked with a large fan celebration in Trafalgar Square, a day after the Lionesses beat Germany 2-1. Around 7,000 were in attendance in central London to help England celebrate their first-ever major trophy. Speaking before the game, the Prime Minister's spokesperson said there were 'no plans' for an extra bank holiday if England won Euro 2025. Sir Keir Starmer's stance was different when he was in opposition back in 2023, when England were last in a showpiece final. 'It's almost 60 years since England won the World Cup,' he wrote on X before the clash with Spain. 'I'm never complacent about anything… but there should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home.' After the men's side reached the Euros final last summer, meanwhile, he said: 'We should certainly mark the occasion, I don't want to jinx it.' The decision not to give the country a bank holiday has split opinion across the political spectrum, however, with Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey leading the calls to grant the country an extra day off work. Davey said on Twitter: 'Back-to-back champions! The Lionesses have done it again and made us proud. How about it, Keir Starmer? Time for that bank holiday?' Champions!Congratulations @Lionesses — what a team. What a game. What dug deep when it mattered most and you've made the nation makers. — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 27, 2025 Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat culture, media and sport spokesman Max Wilkinson said before the final: 'The Lionesses can make history on Sunday and retain the Euros title they won so memorably three years ago. 'If they do that, the Prime Minister should give us a Public Holiday to honour their achievement. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'Retaining the title would be one of our country's greatest sporting achievements. 'Fans and patriots across the country deserve the chance to celebrate the talent, success and historic achievement of this amazing team. More Trending 'A Bank Holiday would also give our hospitality industry a much-needed assist and boost. 'The Prime Minister is a football fan – we've all seen the pictures of him enjoying a kick around with his mates. 'If Wiegman's heroes deliver glory, we'll all be hoping he'll put the ball into an empty net by giving the Lionesses and the rest of us a chance to mark the occasion. 'A Bank Holiday would also give our hospitality industry a much-needed assist and boost.' MORE: Bra expert-approved swimwear for bigger busts: Shop the best supportive styles MORE: Trump insists he turned down invitation to Epstein island MORE: FA chief speaks out on Sarina Wiegman's England future beyond next World Cup
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Summer of women's soccer goes and returns. Plus: USWNT announces fall friendlies
Full Time Newsletter ⚽| This is The Athletic's weekly women's soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive Full Time directly in your inbox. Tournament Hangover The best remedy for soccer is more soccer One day, we will have public health studies about the long-term effects of this Summer of Soccer. If you experienced any of the following, you may be entitled to an extra week off work/school (however, the antidote is just more soccer): Irregular heartbeat from having to endure multiple rounds of penalty shootouts and Video Assistant Review checks that lasted an eternity. Emotional highs and lows between Mariona Caldentey's and Alessia Russo's spectacular headed goals in the 2025 European Championship final, or Ghizlane Chebbak's golazo in front of a packed stadium in Rabat and Esther Okoronkwo's composed penalty that turned the tide back toward Nigeria and their Mission X. A dip in mood now that the games are fewer and farther between, after so much quality soccer. The two continental finals last weekend — Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Saturday and the Euros in Switzerland on Sunday — were so comprehensively high-octane that I am considering taking PTO just to mend my edges, settle my nervous system and bask in the glory of this game. In Rabat, Nigeria — which had nine titles to its name before Saturday — was very much the away team. They were down two goals at halftime of the WAFCON final, yet found a way to hand the Moroccan hosts their second straight championship loss. Morocco are hosting a third consecutive WAFCON next year, raising questions about what it means to host even when you lose big games. England also entered the half losing the game thanks to that well-worked Caldentey goal, but as the now-two-time European champions have shown throughout their Euros campaign, they don't need to hold a lead to win a game. They only led for four minutes and 52 seconds across all three knockout round matches, including two that came down to penalty kicks. Spain deserve credit for their dominant performance, only losing in the final. A lot of that comes down to the investment. As Laia Cervello Herrero writes, the Spanish federation is finally putting more backing behind the team after the fallout from its previous errors. Unlike Spain, England were unconcerned by on-the-ball aesthetics nor healthy bones, as Lucy Bronze revealed that she'd been playing on a fractured tibia the whole tournament. (She told BBC after the match: 'It's very painful, but I'm going to party.') That's mad even by Bronze's extreme standards. But then again, hasn't the madness of the best kind been the case all summer? Want to re-live the tournament? You can read about England's penalty kick specialist Chloe Kelly, who is cool as ice, and the European champion goalkeeper that you'd never know has a problem with depth perception. — Tamerra Griffin 🎧 On the 'Full Time' podcast: The Euros crew in Switzerland joins Jillian Sakovits from the final to assess a truly mad finale. They're coming home The European trophy might be heading home with England, but many of the stars from the tournament are returning home to NWSL. Here are a few to keep an eye on when league play returns Friday. If, like me, you couldn't get enough of Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger at the Euros, she'll rejoin her club teammates and Euros finalists Esther Gonzalez and Jess Carter at Gotham this week. And the second half of the NWSL season will see AKB go head-to-head with some of the league's most dangerous attackers: Washington Spirit's Trinity Rodman on Aug. 9 at home Orlando Pride's Barbra Banda on Aug. 29 Angel City's rising forward line on Sep. 7 Italy's run to the Euro semifinals sparked a new light in the country. Part of their attack, forward Sofia Cantore, is headed to NWSL, after signing a three-year deal with the Spirit, becoming the first Italian player in NWSL history. While she didn't score for the Azzurre during the tournament, she has notched more than 40 goals and 20 assists in 120 appearances across multiple Serie A teams. France shook up its squad, opting for younger players and leaving out veterans like Wendie Renard, the country's top goal scorer Eugenie Le Sommer and San Diego Wave's Kenza Dali. But the changes proved too much as they fell to Germany in the semifinals. Delphine Cascarino was part of getting Les Bleus to that stage, and she could be back as soon as this weekend for the Wave's match against the North Carolina Courage. —Asli Pelit Meg's Corner: That major tournament bump A month ago, I wrote that the Euros, WAFCON and Copa América Feminina would be a far more revealing look at the state of the game in the U.S. than a World Cup — and with the main international break now at a close and the NWSL returning this weekend, there's so much to be encouraged by. As much as the Euros had grown in accessibility and importance here since the 2017 edition, this summer was truly the moment the tournament broke through. The vibes were immaculate in Switzerland, but so were the increases in TV numbers for Fox Sports. I might have had issues with Fox's usual approach to broadcasting a tournament, but watching this major tournament felt like a premium product akin to the World Cup or the Olympics. The same can't really be said for WAFCON and especially Copa América — also on Fox, yet a shadow of the Euros production and schedule. Tamerra and I have been discussing how these two tournaments have lagged behind the shine of the Euros over the past two weeks, but the soccer itself has provided plenty of reasons for increased investment. The NWSL couldn't have asked for better results or better performances from its players this summer. The social feeds have been popping, and teams have already reactivated the marketing email machines. At least a couple of teams are offering free tickets to first-time fans to get them through the doors. NWSL Is Back: Where did we leave off? Re-examine the standings during these final moments of calm before the storm, and there's so much to study in the season's back half. As a reminder, we left off with all 14 teams facing each other exactly once, bringing us to the midpoint of the 2025 season. Last year was a true four-team race, with a clear quartet vying for the title. This year, nobody can keep pace with the Kansas City Current, who have an eight-point cushion over Orlando. The Pride and Spirit set a new single-season wins record with 18 last year; KC already has 11. Will anybody complicate their Shield quest? Esther is the golden boot front-runner, after capturing the same award at Euro 2025, but Gotham is narrowly clinging to the final playoff place. With 2024 qualifiers North Carolina and Bay FC on their heels, the 2023 champs will need to find a rhythm quickly. Seattle Reign has bounced back from a disappointing 2024 and is sixth in the table. That second tier is awfully compact, with just four points separating the Reign and second-place Orlando. Will into contention to win the title? Trinity Rodman is back in training, ending a lengthy absence as she received back and spine treatment. Her return will be quite welcome, but with the USWNT star's contract expiring after the year, it won't just be her performances that Spirit fans will study closely. — Jeff Rueter What to Watch 📺 Seattle Reign vs. Angel City FCFriday at 10:30 p.m. ET, NWSL+ The Reign are riding high after edging out the Portland Thorns in a 5-4 penalty shootout win during a fiery midseason friendly at Providence Park last weekend. While it will be nice to see Lynn Biyendolo, Sofia Huerta, Jordyn Bugg, Jordyn Huitema and Claudia Dickey back, Angel City's latest additions, Icelandic forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir and Evelyn Shores, could debut under Alexander Straus in this one. Copa América semifinalsArgentina vs. Colombia today at 8 p.m. ET, FS1Brazil vs. Uruguay tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET, FS1 The winners of these matches will meet in the final Saturday (5 p.m. ET). Brazil remains the favorite to win it all, especially after Colombia's underwhelming showing against the defending champions last week. Will Argentina continue its unbeaten streak to top Colombia? Will Uruguay upset Brazil, which has featured in every single Copa America final? We can't wait to find out. Full Time First Looks It's party time: The USWNT will return to action in October for a round of games and celebrations for recently retired players. First, the U.S. will honor Alex Morgan at Subaru Park outside Philadelphia (the site of her first goal) on Oct. 23 and then Connecticut native Alyssa Naeher in Hartford on Oct. 26. Both games will be against Portugal. The final game of the window will be in Kansas City, Mo., against an opponent yet to be determined. Lasso's return: Speaking of Kansas City, 'Ted Lasso' has officially begun production on season four of the Apple TV series, which is expected to follow AFC Richmond's endeavors into women's soccer. While the Current declined to confirm whether they are involved in the filming, lead actor Jason Sudeikis, a KC native, joined co-stars Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham around multiple Kansas City landmarks recently and popped up for a surprise appearance at a Mumford & Sons concert on July 24. 📫 Love Full Time? These stories can also be found on Yahoo's women's sports hub, in partnership with The Athletic. Also, check out our other newsletters. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. NWSL, Full Time Newsletter 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Lionesses celebrate Euro 2025 win
PA Media/dpa London England headed to Downing Street for a celebratory reception after returning home to cheering crowds following their Women's European Championship triumph. The Lionesses successfully defended their crown with a 3-1 penalty shootout victory over Spain in the tournament's showpiece in Basel on Sunday evening. 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 travelled to Westminster and a reception hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and sports minister Stephanie Peacock. The team arrived just before 7 pm (1800 GMT), with Number 10 decorated for the occasion with St George's flags draped over windows and bunting along the railings. England head coach Sarina Wiegman told Sky Sports News the Downing Street reception was 'very, very special.' 'Downing Street, you don't come there normally and it was really nice how they built it up like this,' she said, gesturing towards the St George flags on display in windows and bunting along the railings around Number 10. 'It is very special to be able to go inside and also in the garden. The people there were very nice, they also put up some pictures of what we have done at the Euros.' 'It was lovely, a very warm welcome. I've felt love all over but today even more so,' she said. When asked about speculation that she could be in line for an honorary damehood, the Dutchwoman said: 'I haven't thought about that. I feel so much respect from England, the Royal Family too.' 'I think the most important thing is feeling valued. It's very special to get so much respect from England.' After almost a month of competition in Switzerland, the team's aeroplane branded with the word 'home' touched down in London 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 Wiegman. Outside the airport, crowds were lined up to welcome the team and the trophy back home. 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.
Powys County Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Powys County Times
England arrive at Downing Street to celebrate European Championship glory
England headed to Downing Street for a celebratory reception after returning home to cheering crowds following their Women's European Championship triumph. The Lionesses successfully defended their crown with a 3-1 penalty shootout victory over Spain in the tournament's showpiece in Basel on Sunday evening. 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. Welcome home, #Lionesses! 👋 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 28, 2025 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 travelled to 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. England head coach Sarina Wiegman told Sky Sports News the Downing Street reception was 'very, very special'. 'Downing Street, you don't come there normally and it was really nice how they built it up like this,' she said, gesturing towards the St George flags on display in windows and bunting along the railings around Number 10. 'It is very special to be able to go inside and also in the garden. The people there were very nice, they also put up some pictures of what we have done at the Euros. 'It was lovely, a very warm welcome. I've felt love all over but today even more so.' When asked about speculation that she could be in line for an honorary damehood, the Dutchwoman said: 'I haven't thought about that. I feel so much respect from England, the Royal Family too. 'I think the most important thing is feeling valued. It's very special to get so much respect from England.' 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 Wiegman. Outside of the airport, crowds were lined up to welcome the team and the trophy back home. 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.
