Amid the chaos, there was another moment of calm. Leah Williamson had just made history as England captain but first she paused. While her teammates chased after Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton and as Michelle Agyemang and Jess Carter dropped to their knees on the pitch, Williamson turned to her beaten Spanish opponents and began to shake each of them by the hand.
No England captain had been here before, with Williamson becoming the first player in the country’s history to skipper a team to two tournament victories, as well as the first to lead a side to a title on foreign soil. And while there were many heroes on yet another improbable night, to complete a “chaotic and ridiculous” tournament in the words of Sarina Wiegman, it was the clear-mindedness of Williamson that repeatedly shone through.
To face this Spain team as a center-back across 120 minutes is to essentially be required to perform two jobs at once: first, to constantly evaluate the danger and protect the box by any means possible, and second, to show the bravery and sense to choose the moments where you play, to try and stop Spain from suffocating you by embracing the risks head on. Alongside the equally courageous Jess Carter, England’s centre backs were largely faultless.
In some ways it was the perfect game for Williamson to have in front of her, an opportunity to display the two defining aspects of her leadership. It helped that she faced a remarkably similar situation in Arsenal’s Champions League final win over Barcelona two months ago, a game where they lived on the edge throughout but grew confidence from their defiance. “I did get a feeling from the Champions League final,” Williamson said “I thought this is our day today.”
Against Spain there were the blocks and the clearances, reading the game superbly to always be in the right place. There can be an accumulation of hundreds of split-second decisions involved when an opponent like Spain moves at pace, and Aitana Bonmati, Alexia Putellas and Mariona Caldentey rotate to pull a system out of shape. It can be easy to fall into a rudimentary sense of what defending is when required to repeatedly put your body on the line.
Williamson did that, but she also played with a clarity to know to jump forward and press, or when to drop in and delay. Each gamble was an intelligent one. There was a moment midway through the second half and after Alessia Russo had equalised in the final where Williamson forcefully stepped up to intercept a pass into midfield, and then kept on going. She continued the run and slid as she squared the ball across the box, a delivery begging for a touch that didn’t arrive.
But it summed up how England found themselves and finally arrived at something resembling their potential after clawing a path through the tournament. Before the final, Williamson had spoken of how England could not afford to be “fearful of losing” and that is basically what the Lionesses did after going 1-0 down, led by their captain every time she stepped out of the backline. It was embodied by the brilliance of Carter, back in the team after revealing the racist abuse she had received throughout the Euros but playing the final with a grin on her face after reaching extra time.
“She’s a no-nonsense defender,” Williamson said. “I’ve called her that before and she just gets sh– done.” Carter was safe on the ball but secure. Williamson had to play, but only at the right times. She repeatedly found the moments to slow it down and trust Keira Walsh would be in position. Hannah Hampton produced the heroics in the shootout – and perhaps let’s not talk about Williamson’s own miss – but England’s captain had a claim to be the player of the match before the penalties.
Afterwards, standing on the pitch at St Jakob Park, Williamson said she felt a pressure to say “something monumental”, in part because of how effortlessly she stepped up to deliver the message and articulate the legacy of what England wanted Euro 2022 to be. It was a role Williamson performed so well that the image of her as a spokesperson for the Lionesses lasted much longer than her impact on the tournament as a player. Missing the 2023 World Cup through injury only prolonged that.
But Williamson has left something monumental. In a tournament that has been won by England’s grit, the captain of the European champions at both club and country also showed another way. All that remains now is a defining performance to stand alongside her place in history.
