Leah Williamson does not want Lionesses to be 'a flash in the pan’ ahead of England's Euro 2025 final showdown against Spain
Published 26/07/2025 at 18:57 GMT+1
Leah Williamson will be hoping to complete a rare club and country European double header when England play Spain in the Euro 2025 final in Basel on Sunday. Williamson was part of Arsenal's UEFA Women's Champions League winning squad in May, and will now be hoping to retain England's Women's Euros crown on Sunday. The Lionesses skipper highlighted the importance of continuing that success.
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Leah Williamson has urged her England team-mates to prove they are not "a flash in the pan" heading into the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 final against Spain.
The Lionesses are aiming to retain the trophy won on home soil three years ago, and become only the second nation to do so after eight-time winners, Germany.
Williamson recognises how significant a victory would be on Sunday, and how it could continue to help the women’s game grow in England.
She said in her pre-match press conference: "The landscape keeps changing, and we're trying to change with it.
"That's a hard thing to do and proves the investment and quality of the game in England is continuing to rise.
"You don't want to be a flash in the pan, a memory, and before 2022 we said it was the start of something.
"We know how powerful that is. I hope the respect for women's football and women's sport in general, continues to grow."
The Arsenal defender spoke of how much potential there is within the squad, and stated the importance of building on the success of three years ago.
She continued: "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.
"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."
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Sarina Wiegman’s side are about to embark on their third consecutive appearance in a major final after losing the 2023 World Cup final to Spain.
Williamson was absent from that tournament in Australia due to an ACL injury, and recounted the turmoil of having to watch on from afar.
"It was awful," she said. "Being on the outside, I know how tired you are when you get to that stage [final] and how much a tournament takes out of you.
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"So to be completely useless, that probably bothered me the most. But to sit with the families knowing what they go through, that makes me reflect on this tournament a lot, because we haven't been kind to them [due to dramatic matches].
"That feels like a really long time ago [World Cup 2023] but anybody would give anything to be part of the team and help in that moment. I suppose the only plus side was sitting next to Jill [Scott] and sitting with someone who knew what it felt like."
England have been given an injury boost ahead of the final, with Lauren James declared fit to play after injuring her ankle in the semi-final victory over Italy.
"We have a team of talented players; Lauren [James] brings something different, having that available is best-case scenario for us," Williamson added.
Wiegman revealed to the media that all 23 players trained ahead of Sunday's match.
"We had 23 players on the pitch today and everyone came through," Wiegman said. "If everyone recovers well then we have everyone fit for tomorrow."
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