England Women manager, Sarina Wiegman has vowed to “enjoy the moment” after the Lionesses’ successful UEFA Women’s Euro title defence.
Chloe Kelly’s winning penalty saw England defeat Spain 3-1 in a penalty shootout to retain the title after she had set up Alessia Russo’s equaliser which cancelled out Mariona Caldentey’s header in a comeback 1-1 draw in Basel, Switzerland.
The victory also meant that Wiegman became the second manager after Germany’s Tina Theune (1997, 2001 & 05) to win three consecutive Women’s Euro titles, which left the 55-year-old amazed at having added another title within this competition to her trophy cabinet.
“European champions again. Sometimes you think, ‘When is this going to stop?’
“I’m just going to enjoy the moment. It’s incredible. This team step up all the time and never give up.”
Turning her attention to the game, Wiegman was pleased with the performance especially in the second half.
“I actually think the game was really good, too. We played really well in the second half but the game doesn’t matter anymore. We won.”
Wiegman’s assistant, Arjan Veurink is now leaving the team to become Netherlands Women manager as agreed prior to the tournament, but Wiegman is thankful to all of the staff for their efforts as she continued to digest the team’s success.
“The staff put so much effort in. They want to support the team, they prepare everything and the players are just lovely to work with.
“I’m sure tears could come later on. It will sink in – ‘What is happening here?!’
“We just try to win every game and it’s really nice when it works.”