England captain Leah Williamson said the Lionesses are determined to not be a “flash in the pan” and “continue their legacy” as game-changers as they prepare to face world champions Spain in the Euro 2025 final in Basel.
The Lionesses have reached a third consecutive major tournament final and will defend the European title won at Wembley three years ago against a Spain team who defeated them in the World Cup final in 2023.
Sarina Wiegman’s side have the opportunity to be the first English team to win a major title on foreign soil and Williamson, who was also captain for their historic success at Euro 2022 but then missed the World Cup through injury, said the Lionesses are motivated to add to their story.
“You don’t want to be a flash in the pan, a memory. When we spoke before 2022, we said it was the start of something and we are still trying to play our role in that as well,” Williamson said.
“Being here and being on this stage, we know how powerful that is and I hope it continues to grow. I hope the respect for the women’s game, the respect for women and women’s sport continues and we can try our best to continue to elevate that.
“The beautiful thing about 2022 was that I’m not sure any of us will ever be a part of something like that again in terms of the change, the story and journey.
“Being away from home is special in a different way. You go out to represent your country somewhere else and the weight of that is important to consider. It sometimes adds a little extra.
“The history on the line, it seems [when] this team enters a new year there’s so much to be done and could be done and I think it’s a real privileged time to be part of this team.
“The opportunity to be the first this and first that is a big motivator but more because we know what it does for women’s football and continues the legacy that we’ve already started.”
Spain defeated England 1-0 in the World Cup final two years ago but Williamson disagreed with the idea that the Lionesses were underdogs against the world champions, who are aiming to win the Euros for the first time.
“I think tomorrow we play a game against the world champions who continue to prove themselves over and over in the way they play football,” Williamson said. “They are fantastic footballing team and they are the best at what they do and we’re very much aware of that.
“We think we’re pretty good in areas as well. We need to be at our best to beat Spain. I think they need to be at their best to beat us too. There is a lot of respect between the two teams. I would be hesitant to say there’s an underdog in this scenario.
“Ultimately we’re going against the world champions tomorrow and that’s not an easy job. We will prepare ourselves as best we can for that challenge.”
England reached the Euro 2025 final after requiring miraculous escapes against Sweden in the quarter-finals and Italy in the semi-finals and Williamson said England could not afford to go into the final afraid of defeat.
“We focus on being the best people we can to each other, performing the best that we can and hopefully that gives you the result you want,” Williamson said. “But definitely not fearful of losing because you do expend energy in ways you don’t want to.”
Wiegman confirmed England have all 23 players available for the final, including Lauren James – who has recovered from an ankle injury to be in contention. “We had 23 players on the pitch today and everyone came through so if everyone recovers well then we have 23 players available for tomorrow,” Wiegman said.
“We have many players that can impact and we know [James] can have an impact so that will be nice.”
“I would just echo what Sarina says, we have a team of talented players,” Williamson added. “We all bring something slightly different just like the others – obviously having [James] available is best case scenario for us.”
