'We've almost killed her twice!' - Ella Toone toasts 'unbelievable' England manager Sarina Wiegman ahead of Euro 2025 final
Published 25/07/2025 at 19:14 GMT+1
England midfielder Ella Toone insists the Lionesses squad know they are in good hands with Sarina Wiegman after the Dutch manager reached her fifth consecutive major final. Toone, who scored in the 2022 UEFA European Championship final at Wembley, is preparing for Sunday's showdown with Spain and joked that the drama of this tournament has at times been too much for the manager.
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England midfielder Ella Toone insists the Lionesses squad know they are in good hands with Sarina Wiegman after she reached her fifth consecutive major tournament final.
The 25-year-old has played a major role as England dramatically reached Sunday’s UEFA European Championship final with Spain, scoring twice and providing two assists in five appearances thus far.
The Manchester United star has fond memories of Euro finals, having scored England’s opening goal three years ago against Germany at Wembley, as Wiegman’s side went on to win 2-1.
England then reached the FIFA World Cup final a year later, losing 1-0 to Spain, and the Euros showpiece marks a third consecutive final for the squad, as well as a chance to avenge that defeat in Australia two years ago.
Wiegman’s record goes beyond her four years with England, after winning the European Championship with Netherlands in 2017 and then reaching the 2019 World Cup final.
Wiegman has in fact reached the final in all five of her tournaments as manager, something Toone believes gives the team more confidence.
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Sarina Wiegman acknowledges Ella Toone.
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"I think we've almost killed her twice this tournament, she’s said we have aged her," Toone said.
"I think that is five consecutive finals for Sarina and that’s just unbelievable. We know we are in good hands, we know she is a manager who can take teams right to the final.
"She’s done a few good speeches this tournament, I’ll give her that. We’ve been talking about that. When we go out on the pitch we fight for each other but also her, the staff and the fans watching."
Wiegman’s outstanding record has also included England reaching three consecutive finals, something Toone believes the whole country can be proud of.
"It’s mad, I’ve not thought about that," Toone added. "It's amazing, to make three consecutive finals is something we can be so proud of, the whole country can be proud.
"I’m really excited, I want to go out on the pitch and give everything for England and the team, hopefully we can put on a good performance."
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England have been up against it several times so far this tournament, going to penalties against Sweden in the quarter-finals, before eventually overcoming Italy in the semi-finals, after Michelle Agyemang’s dramatic 96th-minute equaliser.
Toone played the full 120 minutes against Italy but was taken off after 70 minutes against Sweden and she admitted she would rather be on the pitch than watching, despite the dramatic finishes.
"Watching the quarter-final from the bench was the worst, I felt like I couldn't do anything to help," she said.
"Playing 120 minutes against Italy, I felt better being on the pitch. I spoke to Alessia [Russo] afterwards because she played 120 minutes against Sweden and sat on the bench for a lot of the Italy game, and she said it was horrible. I think we'd all prefer to be on the pitch but I would also prefer to win in 90 minutes.
"It’s mad, I’m not all for the drama, but we've definitely made it dramatic.
"Sometimes football doesn't happen how you want it to, it would be lovely to win in 90 minutes, but we’ve never given up, we’ve probably given the fans at home heart attacks, but we’ve never given up."
England have seen some supremely impressive performances from substitutes, including Agyemang and Chloe Kelly, who scored the two goals against Italy, and their squad depth may be tested as Lauren James faces a race against time to be fit.
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Lauren James faces a race against time to be fit for the final on Sunday.
Image credit: Getty Images
Wiegman admitted she did not yet know if James would recover from her ankle injury that she suffered in the first half against Italy, being replaced by Beth Mead.
"She's still recovering. She's doing things on the pitch and we have two more days so we're going to give her time," said Wiegman.
"I don't know yet [if she'll be ready], but that's what we're going to go for, 23 players available for the game on Sunday."
England will be well aware of the challenge that awaits them in Basel, as they face a Spain side that is packed with hugely experienced Barcelona players, including both of their double Ballon d’Or winners Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati.
As a result of the talents Spain have to offer, Toone insisted England will deliver an energetic performance, while the squad’s self-belief remains at an all-time high.
She said: "We’ve spoken about it a lot this camp - the ‘proper English' performance. We want to fight, we want to not stop running.
"You've seen that in games when you might feel like we’re down and out, then someone comes on and we have one moment and we take it. It’s about having players with the belief they can come on and change the game.
"It’s in us all individually that we are competitive and know what it takes to win."
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