England Women manager, Sarina Wiegman doesn’t “want a nerve-wracking game” as the Lionesses face Spain in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 Final.
England enter the showpiece match as the reigning champions but needed extra time to beat Italy in the semi-finals from behind, after they had scraped past Sweden on penalties in a nerve-dangling Quarter-Final as both matches pushed the emotions of fans to the absolute limit.
Wiegman consequently hopes that the nation’s nerves aren’t tested as much in the final against Spain tomorrow (27 July) in Basel, Switzerland, but acknowledged that the tension of both knockout matches so far reflects the sport’s progress in terms of competitiveness.
“You want to do well. You don’t want a nerve-wracking game but it shows what the competition is. The women’s game is improving so much and every game is a hard game. I’m really glad we made it through. When you are in some situations, you hope you can turn it around.
“The most important thing is that the players think we can win and change a game and that’s what we’ve shown.”
Wiegman added that she felt like she was “having a heart attack too,” in response to her hidden emotions during the Lionesses’ last two matches but has vowed that the team will prepare based on what is needed to beat Spain.
“We want to be best prepared. We try to prepare on what can happen in the game and what we need. That is how the squad is built.
“We figured out what we need if need to change things. We have spoken through all the scenarios but during the game it’s what you think is necessary. When we want to change, we can do it.”
Wiegman also revealed that she prepares her team talks prior to kick off and is often spontaneous in reaction to how things unfold.
“I think about what I want to say but that comes quite early before the game starts. It’s just how it feels and what I think I should say.”
England had an extra 24 hours preparation for the final like they did in 2022 and Wiegman revealed that they used that additional day to prepare extra hard for the final.
“We played the first semi-final. We enjoyed an extra day of rest after a very intense group stage so we really used that extra day off and hopefully that will help us tomorrow.”
Winger, Lauren James limped off at half-time against Italy with an ankle injury but Wiegman confirmed that she expects everyone to be “fit” for the final, with no injury issues having emerged in their training session.
As the reigning Women’s Euro champions, England will feel pressure after they lost to Spain in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final through Olga Carmona’s winner, but Wiegman believes that both teams want to perform to their best.
“I think every tournament you want to perform. Going into the finals is already very special and there are only two teams that can do it. It’s very special. You want to win a final and we will do everything to make it happen.”
Since that Women’s World Cup Final meeting, England met Spain twice in this year’s Women’s Nations League with both teams having each taken victory at home, which Wiegman believes has allowed both teams to learn from each other in terms of strengths and weaknesses.
“We’ve played each other a lot over the last couple of years because of the Nation’s League. We will have learned from them in the games we have played. Tomorrow is a different scenario but hopefully we can look at the strengths.”
Goalkeeper, Hannah Hampton is set to start her first major final at international level and Wiegman complimented her on how she has handled the pressure as the first-choice goalkeeper following Mary Earps’ retirement.
“I hope she will not be too busy tomorrow. This is her first major tournament where she is the starting goalkeeper and she has done very well I think.”
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