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Brendan Large emailed:
Hey Sarah. I’ll be watching here in Norway and the neighbours will probably think I’m mad if this is as tense as I am expecting. In terms of the result…well if they are ‘proper England’ then surely the only way to settle this will be penalties.
If that happens I will turn the game off and come back to your blog about half an hour later.
Ah you’re the type of football fan who can’t watch penalties. I’m the type who can’t keep their eyes off but full of nerves the whole time, no matter who was playing.
No matter your opinion on England’s performances this tournament, you have to respect Sarina Wiegman. In her time as an international manager she has reached every major tournament final available to her. With the Netherlands from 2017-2021 she won the Euros and reached the 2019 World Cup final. After she took over the Lionesses in 2021 she won the Euros, reached the 2023 World Cup final and has now reached another Euros final.
Rob Brown has emailed:
I was interested to see Opta make Spain 51.5% favourites. I’d love to know how it’s such a low figure!
Apart from the eye test, which I think we can all agree has shown Spain as far superior, England have been behind for (roughly) 204 minutes out of 510 in this tournament, while Spain have been behind for 4 (!!!) minutes out of 480 played.
If they pull this off, it will have to count as one of the all-time great heists.
It does seem England have had a bit of luck on their sides but they do say winning teams know how to win, even when it’s ugly. The other side of the coin is yes, Spain are favourites and no wonder why with two back-to-back Ballon d’Or winners in their ranks in Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas.
Nick Ames
“It really makes me emotional, it’s just something we didn’t have in my time,” says Nadine Kessler as she surveys the popularity and sheer scale of a sport whose future she now helps shape. Uefa’s director of women’s football was a brilliant player before retiring nine years ago after 11 surgeries on a knee; she was world footballer of the year in 2014 and, having won the European Championship with Germany a year previously, knows what it takes to dominate a continent.
Joe Pearson has emailed:
As an aficionado of snack chat, you’ll be happy to learn that I am having an early lunch of leftover cottage pie, which I made for Friday’s dinner. And yes, it is delicious.
You know me well Joe, I do love snack chat. That’s quite a meal before a major tournament final. I feel too jittery to eat right now but popcorn feels appropriate for this match.
Tom Garry
Spain came out to warm up on the pitch around 10 minutes after England began their warm-up. The Lionesses seem composed. Rain is falling on both teams now as the pitch gets another soaking, on what has already been a wet day here in Basel, but the conditions look good.
Spain’s Esther Gonzalez is on her way to win the Golden Boot with four goals so far this tournament. Can anyone overtake her today? Have a read:
England manager Sarina Wiegman has told the BBC on the decision to start Jess Carter:
The thinking was for Italy we needed Esme [Morgan] for what we were expecting. Spain will show different things to Italy so we need Jess tonight.
With the news that Lucy Bronze starts tonight, she will break the appearance record for the Lionesses at a major tournament. Today will be her 36th appearance, all of them as a started. Absolute icon.
Peter has got back in touch to finish off his prediction:
James comes off. She’s tired.
Toone comes off. She tired.
Beever-Jones and Park come on.
Beever-Jones scores in the second half of extra time.
We win, 3-2.
We can revisit this in three to four hours time. If anyone else has some predictions you can get in touch via email.
The BBC using the ABBA song ‘the winner takes it all’ over the highlights of England’s sensational comeback against Sweden seems a bit cruel but also a bit funny.
It’s interesting that Sarina Wiegman has changed the defensive option after dropping Jess Carter for the semi-final. Esme Morgan had a good game against Italy but she is a good option from the bench. Spain’s Laia Aleixandri coming back in is no surprise but Barcelona star Claudia Pina dropping to the bench for Athenea del Castillo is. Pina has has an incredible season but Del Castillo injected pace into Spain’s attack when she came on against Germany.
The teams
The team news is in. England have made one change with Jess Carter back in with Esme Morgan named on the bench.
England: Hampton, Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood, Toone, Walsh, Stanway, James, Russo, Hemp.
Subs: Moorhouse, Charles, Mead, Le Tissier, Clinton, Morgan, Agyemang, Kelly, Beever-Jones, Park, Wubben-Moy, Keating.
Spain, meanwhile, make two changes with Athenea Del Castillo and Laia Aleixandri starting ahead of Claudia Pina and Maria Mendez.
Spain: Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Aleixandri, Carmona; Bonmati, Patri, Putellas; Caldentey, Gonzalez, Del Castillo
Subs: Sullastres, Nanclares, Fernàndez, Pina, Ouahabi, Martin-Prieto, L. García, Paralluelo, Vicky, Redondo M. Zubieta, Mendez
Peter Gartner has emailed:
How we will score.
In the first half and up to 70 mins, Hampton kicks a long one over the
top of the Spanish mid-field, to Russo, who passes to James, scores.From 70 mins, Kelly to Agyemang, scores.
Of course, Pina and Bonmati might have scored for Spain by then, once or twice.
Sounds like you’re going for a 2-2 draw there Peter. Any more predictions on how it would play out in extra time or penalties?
England’s Chloe Kelly is expected to be named on the bench once again but what a tournament it has been for the Arsenal player. To think she had struggled for minutes at the start of this season, forced a loan move to the Gunners and firmly put herself in the Lionesses Euros squad with superb form which helped Arsenal win the Champions League. In this tournament she has been one of the super subs to change games, along with her club teammate Michelle Agyemang. Big names. Big players.
A bit of team news from both sides before their starting XIs drop at around 3.45pm BST. Spain’s Laia Aleixandri is expected to return to the side after her suspension for the semi-final because of too many yellow cards in the earlier games. For England, Lauren James is a doubt after picking up her ankle injury against Italy.
An update from Basel, the rain has stopped but it is supposed to remain showery throughout the day. In case you wondered how the weather may shake out during this final.
Spain’s head coach, Montse Tomé, said:
We are a team, they are players that have been fighting, working, with energy and now they are able to focus energy on football.
I can sit here and answer questions about football – this has changed. This means a lot to me. It shows the change we are getting. Right now, for all the effort I think the squad deserves [to be] winning. In the elite football world it’s not always the case [that you win] but we’ll do everything to try, tomorrow.
Here are some pictures of what that fan walk looks like:
One of my best friends Hannah has travelled to Switzerland for the final and she has joined the fan walk to the stadium. She says Basel residents are watching them from their windows and Lionesses supporters are singing “heads, shoulders, Beever-Jones, Beever-Jones”. The only thing that isn’t gelling with the upbeat vibe is the rain, hopefully that stops before kick-off.
Suzanne Wrack
Leah Williamson says England do not want their legacy to be a “flash in the pan” as they prepare to defend their European title against Spain.
The Lionesses could make history on Sunday by becoming the first senior England side to lift two major trophies, while the captain could join an elite group of players who have tasted European success for club and country in the same year.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Euro 2025 final where defending champions England take on world champions Spain. The game is a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final where Spain beat England 1-0.
In this tournament Spain have been dominant. So far they have scored 17 goals and conceded just three, winning all of their five matches. Last time out against Germany in the semi-final they faced their toughest opposition yet and it showed with the game sent to extra time and it took a special Aitana Bonmati goal to seal their spot in the final.
For England, meanwhile, it has been a more tumultuous competition. They opened their campaign with a 2-1 defeat to France but then blew away the Netherlands and Wales to progress to the knockout stage. It then took two sensational comebacks against Sweden and Italy in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively to give them a chance to defend their title.
So it’s a team who have had a relatively smooth ride against one who has had to fight tooth and nail to get to the final. Spain will be favourites, as they have been all tournament, but as Lionesses captain Leah Williamson says “the English are never done”. Team news will be dropping around 3.45pm BST so stay tuned.
