England Women: How are the Lionesses evolving towards Euro 2025?

At the King Power Stadium, after the 7-0 victory over Jamaica, the English women’s national team was preparing for their official farewell on their way to the 2025 European Championship. The atmosphere was celebratory, with a remix of “Sweet Caroline” echoing in the stadium. The echoes of the glorious summer of 2022, marked by the 2-1 victory in the final against Germany, were inevitable. However, as the “Lionesses” head to Switzerland to defend their European champion title, the team seeks to distance itself from that past success. As the players state, this is a “new England.” Since reaching the World Cup final in 2023, the team has had mixed results, with brilliant victories over France and Spain, but also unexpected defeats against Belgium and Germany. The key question is: What will England achieve at the 2025 European Championship as the title defender? How has the team evolved? Iconic players have retired, the staff has changed slightly, but the goal remains clear: England is going to Switzerland to win and, as announced by the King Power Stadium announcer, “make history again”.

The Power of Youth

In the coming weeks, there will be much talk of the “new England.” This is a phrase that coach Sarina Wiegman has frequently used to draw a line between the team that won the 2022 European Championship and reached the 2023 World Cup final, and the one heading to Switzerland this summer. At the media day in mid-June, the phrase was repeated frequently.

We have even more debutants who haven’t played in a European Championship [than in 2022] and that’s exciting.

Lucy Bronze

This is the most experienced team Wiegman has named, with an average of 41.3 matches per player (40.1 in the 2022 Euros; 31.8 in the 2023 World Cup), but it is also the youngest, with an average age of 25 years and four months (26 years and four months in the 2022 Euros; 25 years and seven months in the 2023 World Cup). Of the 23 players who won the 2022 European Championship, 16 were on the 2023 World Cup team (Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby, Beth Mead, all injured) and 13 will travel to Switzerland. Notable absences this year are Rachel Daly (retired from England in April 2024), Fran Kirby and Mary Earps (both retired before the team was announced), and Millie Bright, who stepped aside to prioritize her physical and mental well-being. Each case is different, but the absence of goalkeeper Earps is partly due to the good performance of Hannah Hampton, while Wiegman has used Grace Clinton, Jess Park and Ella Toone in Kirby’s number 8 position in recent years.

It always happens; people come and go. It’s always nice to have new faces; especially with the young ones, you have the energy, maybe the calm, they are a little apprehensive about what’s to come. I think it’s our duty to make sure everyone is comfortable here; that everyone is ready. Sometimes it’s nice to go out and play without fear.

Georgia Stanway

Hampton, 24, was called up for the 2022 European Championship and the 2023 World Cup, but arrives at the 2025 European Championship as England’s number 1 without having played many minutes in important tournaments. Park debuted in November 2022, but was not selected a year later, while Clinton debuted for England in February 2024. Other players who have broken through, but have not yet played in a major tournament, are goalkeepers Khiara Keating and Anna Moorhouse, defenders Maya Le Tissier and Lotte Wubben-Moy (part of the Euro 2022 and World Cup squads, but did not play), and forwards Aggie Beever-Jones and Michelle Agyemang, 19, who has only played 15 minutes of international football.

We have so many players going to their first tournament this time, which in itself is exciting. You’ve seen the impact they’ve had immediately in big games. But we understand that this is like a new England. We have many different players with different strengths and it’s about bringing all that together.

Alessia Russo

We are a fairly young team, but sometimes the first tournaments are a good thing. People don’t know what to expect from some of the younger players who are emerging. Only we know what to expect, what their capabilities are.

Hannah Hampton

Those who were at the 2022 European Championship remember the impact that midfielder Ella Toone and Russo had from the bench in that tournament. Back then, Toone had 15 matches and Russo only seven. But their ability to change the game in the second half of the matches helped England balance their quarter-final match against Spain and strengthen their dominance in the semi-final against Sweden.

[Young players have] creativity and audacity and they want to go and create opportunities for England, they want to go and create things, and I think they can all have a massive impact on this team.

Keira Walsh

England will need the same from the young players this time.

A team of leaders

Bright, Chelsea star, now 31 years old, captained England at the 2023 World Cup in Williamson’s absence. Since the 1-0 defeat to Spain in the final, England has played 25 matches, with Williamson captaining 15 times, Bright five times, Earps twice, Walsh twice, and Greenwood once. However, with the absence of Bright, Earps and Kirby this summer, there was a perception that England would face a leadership void. Although a well-informed source described that as “nonsense”.

Leah, who leads with the armband on, you have Keira, who leads in performance, wanting to make sure her game is on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. She can demand more from other people and also from herself. I think the same with Lucy [Bronze], she will lead on that right side, making sure she has given absolutely everything for the team.

Georgia Stanway

In the 2025 European Championship, the main leadership group will be formed by Bronze, Walsh, Greenwood and Williamson, who replaced Steph Houghton as captain when Wiegman took over in September 2021.

Leah is a bit more reserved, but when she speaks, you’re really listening. She knows what she’s talking about and has already won a lot. I feel like she leads in a quieter way and by the example of what she does.

Maya le TissierHowever, it never relies on a single player; the more experienced players regularly intervene in training, offering small pointers to others. “Grace [Clinton] didn’t shoot on goal, and Alex [Greenwood] and I told her: ‘You have a good shot, just shoot the next one'”, says forward Beth Mead. “It’s really in her head and we tell her not to overthink it. But just little things like that where you try to give players little snippets and give them a bit of confidence. So if Grace scores a great goal from the edge of the area now, you know why”. Goalkeeper Hampton has also welcomed that guidance. “I think on the field, I know that if I have a problem, everyone will be there to gather around me and help me in situations where I need help,” she says. “Even off the field you have leaders, who bring people together and make us sociable with each other and get to know each other on a deeper level.”

Wiegman’s Evolution

This is Wiegman’s fifth major tournament as a coach, and her record is astounding. After winning the 2017 European Championship with the Netherlands, and reaching the World Cup final in 2019, she took over England in 2021 and won the 2022 European Championship, before reaching the World Cup final again in 2023.

I have a little more experience in football, but also in life. And you recognize things much faster. The players develop, but I also develop, as a human being and as a coach.

Sarina Wiegman

However, in all that time, her methods have remained the same. Her messages are direct, there is no ambiguity, and the players know what to expect. “Sarina has always been direct,” says Stanway. “She always says things as they are, whether you like it or not, it’s something you have to accept.” But she has also evolved.

The Sarina who first arrived in England is different from the one now. She arrived with a few more rules in place, she was the coach and the boss and we all respected Sarina for that reason. Over the years, getting to know the team and the dynamics of each player, gaining the trust of the players, you can see how she has changed a bit.

Lucy Bronze

It’s a good thing that she has adapted to the way the team has adapted. England teams in the Euros, the World Cup and now, were tactically different. There are different personalities with different strengths and weaknesses. But Sarina has also had to evolve because the other teams are evolving.

Ready for anything

England’s tactics haven’t changed much since the 2023 World Cup, during which they made the most drastic tactical change under Wiegman by switching to a three-at-the-back defense for the match against China, as they tried to mitigate the absence of Walsh in midfield. But since then, apart from an experimental alignment against Switzerland in December 2024, they have predominantly played variations of the 4-2-3-1. Wiegman alternates between a number 10 and a pair of box-to-box number 8 midfielders, but the approach remains the same. The team moves the ball to the wing when given space, with Bronze overlapping on the right and the left-back fitting perfectly with the left winger, with forwards and midfielders creating havoc in the area. During that time there were matches in which they had to work hard, such as their 1-0 victory over Spain in February, and alternatives to their usual formation are always possible, as Wiegman looks for the best way to face an opponent. But the players are prepared for anything.

When you have different players coming into the team and players evolving, you’re constantly changing. Whether it’s different formations, different styles, or the use of more things like a strength. You have different game plans.

Alessia Russo

You’re always trying to learn and improve, and fit the players. Other teams are also improving, so you want to make sure you have a Plan A and a Plan B. You’re always evolving and that’s where tactical things come in. We’re trying to prepare ourselves for when we get to those matches.

Ella Toone

But fundamentally, the look and feel of the England team will be familiar when they take to the field against France for their first match of the Euro 2025 group stage on July 5. The team Wiegman chose for the friendly against Jamaica looked very familiar: Toone preferred to Clinton and Park; Greenwood instead of Esme Morgan; Carter for Niamh Charles. So perhaps the best way to analyze the “new England” is the mentality, more than the personnel or the approach.

Many people say we are the title defenders, but we don’t see ourselves that way. A lot of time has passed and the team has changed a lot, and other teams have changed a lot, so I feel like we’re chasing it again.

Keira Walsh

We are not too focused on previous tournaments and what we have achieved there. It’s what this team can do here and now.

Lucy BronzeThe match against Jamaica was exactly what England needed. They dominated every aspect of the game and, crucially, avoided injuries as they won 7-0. The fans cheered every name of the 23 players when they were read out for the final presentation. And after Williamson and Wiegman gave their farewell messages, the St George’s flag was raised behind the players and fireworks splashed across the sky. England hopes that these are not the limits of its celebrations in the next four weeks.