Defeated Spain captain Irene Paredes said England benefited from ‘luck’ throughout their run to victory at Euro 2025. The Lionesses had fewer shots than Spain and saw much less of the ball in Sunday’s final, but still managed to secure back-to-back European titles, with Chloe Kelly converting the winning penalty in the shootout.
La Roja mowed down every opponent in their way en route to the final, putting five past Portugal, six past Belgium and three past Italy in the group stage. But England were resolute in Basel, where Alessia Russo headed in a second-half equaliser after Mariona Caldentey’s opener, and their shootout triumph left the favourites licking their wounds.
There was more than a hint of saltiness about Paredes’ post-match comments, with the skipper telling TV channel RTVE: “I don’t really know what to say. It’s a very hard moment.
“We tried everything, all the different ways, and then the penalties didn’t go our way. I thought we deserved it more but in the end it is not about who deserves it. It is about having that bit of luck and England had that throughout the whole tournament. We thought we could overcome that but we weren’t able to.
“I think we had more control of the game than they did, we created more clear chances, we had more possession… But yeah, nothing else.”
The Spanish players’ misery was compounded when they were forced to watch England players celebrate on the pitch in Switzerland. And those celebrations are still going on, with the Lionesses squad primed for a raucous open-top bus parade in central London on Tuesday, the day after attending a special reception at 10 Downing Street.
England’s stars will mark their European triumph in a parade which is expected to start just after midday before heading along The Mall and towards Buckingham Palace.
A staged ceremony, hosted by Lionesses icon Alex Scott, is scheduled to begin at 12.30pm (BST). Fans can watch the action on the BBC, ITV or Sky, or by tuning into Express Sport’s live coverage.
An FA statement on the event read: “It is free to attend, and those attending will be able to watch the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth and the Central Band of the Royal Air Force welcome home the victorious England team, enjoy live music from DJ CharStape and see tournament highlights shown on big screens, before Sarina Wiegman and the Lionesses take the stage for a special European Championship winners trophy lift presentation.”