England hero Hannah Hampton revealed the inspirational message manager Sarina Wiegman sent to the players ahead of the penalty shootout which brought Euro 2025 to a dramatic climax.
The Lionesses edged out Spain 3-1 in the shootout after the game finished 1-1, with Hampton making vital saves from 12 yards.
In tense circumstances it was a measure of revenge for England after losing to Spain in the last World Cup final, while they defended their own European title in the process.
It was yet more resilience from England in this tournament, with Spain taking a first half lead and Wiegman’s team having to come from behind just as they did in the quarter and semi-finals.
It was 1-1 after 90 minutes and remained so after extra-time, with the manager speaking to her exhausted players ahead of the penalties.
Hampton revealed what the now legendary manager said at that crunch moment, which ultimately proved successful.
‘This is England!’ Hampton revealed Wiegman said. ‘I think this is our moment.
‘We’ve dug in for the 120 minutes, done what we’ve needed to do to keep Spain out. It was just one kick and that was it, we did that this time.
‘Better pens than the last time, let’s be honest!’
Hampton referenced the narrow penalty shootout win over Sweden in the quarter-finals, which came before an extra time win over Italy in the semis.
She said of the most dramatic tournament win: ‘This team’s just unbelievable, incredible.
‘We’ve shown throughout this tournament we can come back when we go a goal down.
‘We’ve got that grit, we’ve got English blood in us, we never say die and we just keep going and we did that again today.’
Chloe Kelly scored the winning penalty, producing yet another iconic moment in an England shirt, and the goalkeeper admitted that she wasn’t even sure that it could have been the final spot-kick.
‘I’d completely lost track of what’s going on,’ she said. ‘As soon as I saw her run off I thought that’s it we’ve won.
‘I can’t believe it, I don’t think it’s going to sink in for a while.’
It has been an incredible tournament for England after losing their opener to France, with Wiegman admitting she is struggling to get her head round it.
‘I just can’t believe it. I have a medal around my neck and we have a trophy,’ she told the BBC.
‘It has been the most chaotic tournament on the pitch – all the challenges we had on the pitch against our opponent.
‘From the first game it was chaos. Losing your first game and becoming European Champions is incredible. Football is chaos.’
