London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, May 29, 2026

We've changed game in this country - Williamson

We've changed game in this country - Williamson

Captain Leah Williamson said her England side have "changed the game in this country" as she celebrated their historic Euro 2022 victory.

The Lionesses won their first major trophy as they beat Germany 2-1 in extra time at Wembley on Sunday.

They lifted the trophy and sang Sweet Caroline in front of thousands of fans at Trafalgar Square on Monday.

"We said we wanted to make our legacy about winning and that's what we did," Williamson said.

"The legacy of the tournament was already made before that final game - what we've done for women and young girls who can look up and aspire to be us.

"I think England have hosted an incredible tournament and we've changed the game in this country - and hopefully across Europe and across the world."

The Football Association is now set to hold talks with manager Sarina Wiegman about extending her contract with England after Sunday's success.

Dutchwoman Wiegman, whose deal with England currently runs until 2025, has now won back-to-back European Women's Championships, after guiding the Netherlands to the title in 2017.

"She will have a couple of weeks off. When she gets back, we'll have a conversation," said Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA's head of women's football.


'It will be like rocket fuel'


On the legacy of England's Euro 2022 triumph, FA chair Debbie Hewitt said: "We've got to get girls across the country playing football in schools.

"Once they have that opportunity, all of them, to play in schools and associate them with the clubs, then you will see this just take off. It will be like rocket fuel, the impact of the win."

Hewitt said the Premier League could play its part in supporting the legacy of Euro 2022 by continuing to invest in the women's game.

She said: "We had over 17 million viewers last night watching this game in this country. If you are the Premier League. Why wouldn't you want to capitalise on that?"

England midfielder Fran Kirby said she wanted the success of Euro 2022 to "become normal".

"We want it to be that people come in to watch, and with sellout crowds in this country and all over the world, so hopefully we've played a big part in that and hopefully we can continue to grow it," Kirby said.

Ella Toone, who scored England's first goal in the final, added: "That's what we set out to do in this tournament - make the nation proud, fight for women and get young girls involved as well and I think we've done that for every single woman in this world."


'There'll be expectation but we have an amazing squad'


With less than a year until the women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, expectations will be high for the new European champions.

"I think we should take time to reflect on this one first, enjoy this one before we start thinking about that [World Cup]," said Kirby.

"Of course there's going to be a lot of expectation going into that, but we have an amazing squad, we have an amazing manager, so yeah, we're really excited."

Defender Lucy Bronze said she was keen for the England team to get a star on their badge, which comes with a World Cup victory.

She said: "The Euros is fantastic, especially in our home country, but there's a little star missing from our crest at the minute on the England shirt. That's definitely a mission of ours to get that star there."


Germany receive warm welcome in Frankfurt


Thousands of fans welcomed beaten finalists Germany at Frankfurt's Romer Square on Monday.

Manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and her squad addressed supporters from Frankfurt's city hall.

Germany have an incredible record in the European Women's Championship, winning it eight times in total, most recently in 2013.

Striker Alexandra Popp (centre) and manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (right) took to the balcony of Frankfurt city hall along with the rest of the Germany squad



Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×