Key events
Sammy Gecsoyler
“Four years ago, Michelle Agyemang was a ballgirl at Wembley stadium, witnessing the Lionesses’ rule the pitch in a 4-0 victory against Northern Ireland. Now, at just 19 years old, she no longer finds herself retrieving balls that have veered out of play, but is an integral part of the team she once admired from the sidelines…”
Tom Garry
England have a full squad of 23 players training here in Zurich, including a relaxed-looking Lauren James, the day before the Euro 2025 final. Encouraging news for Sarina Wiegman’s side.
Record-breaking tournament
Euro 2025 games in Switzerland have shattered Women’s European Championship attendance records, including the highest overall attendance ever, with the final still to be played.
A record 623,088 fans attended games through the end of the semi-finals, obliterating the previous total of 574,875 fans who watched the entire England 2022 tournament.
England’s dramatic semi-final win over Italy in extra time gave British broadcaster ITV its biggest audience of the year with 10.2 million linear viewers, and another 17.2 million following the game on streaming platform ITV X.
Fox Sports in the United States also reported a 176% increase in the number watching the semi-finals compared to 2022 as the tournament caught the imagination on the other side of the Atlantic. Reuters.
England and Spain will both wear their home kits tomorrow in the final. Spain are set to wear red shorts.
We recently asked fans to get in touch and send us their experiences from Euro 2025 and their views of the tournament. We received some brilliant responses, so I’ll be sharing them throughout the day, starting with this one:
‘The buzz has been incredible’
I’ve had the pleasure of attending three knockout matches as well as watching England games in fan zones in Berne and Zurich. The buzz has been incredible: non-stop noise and energy from huge crowds. Even though most games have ended close to midnight here, no one seems to mind.
One standout moment was when I accidentally got caught up in the mix of the Swiss fan march in Berne before their quarter-final against Spain. It was very emotional – there were so many people there to express their love and passion for both the team and women’s football at large. It felt like an inflection point.
I imagine this tournament will set a new bar for women’s football thanks to the ubiquitous marketing, the ease of public transport and the clear investment from the Swiss FA. They dared to dream and are making it a reality.”
Jenna, Washington DC
In some transfer news, Eddie Howe has revealed no contract talks have been held with Alexander Isak but hopes to keep the striker at Newcastle. Isak has been at the centre of transfer speculation over the summer window and it was reported earlier in the week that he has asked to explore a move away.
Meanwhile, in the men’s game, Liverpool players will wear a “Forever 20” emblem on their shirts and stadium jackets this Premier League season in memory of their former forward Diogo Jota who died in a car crash in Spain three weeks ago. The club also announced on Saturday a special commemoration including a fan mosaic and a minute’s silence ahead of Liverpool’s opening game of the season against Bournemouth on 15 August. Liverpool had already announced after consultation with Jota’s family that his number 20 shirt will be retired across all levels of the club, including the women’s and academy teams. Reuters.
Some early team news is that England are sweating on the fitness of Lauren James ahead of tomorrow’s final. The forward appeared to suffer an injury to her ankle during Tuesday’s semi-final against Italy.
Yesterday, Sarina Wiegman said: “She’s still recovering. She’s doing things on the [training] pitch and we have two more days so we’re going to give her time. We don’t know yet [if she’ll be ready], but that’s what we’re going to go for – [aiming for] 23 players available for the game on Sunday.”
Preamble
Hello and good morning! It is the penultimate day of Euro 2025 and we are well and truly on the countdown to the final tomorrow. England and Spain will both have their final training sessions of the tournament today, so we might get a rough idea of some team news. We will also hear from both Sarina Wiegman and Montse Tomé this afternoon ahead of the blockbuster clash.
I’ll be with you all day, bringing you all the latest news from Switzerland. Join me!
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