The Lionesses wrapped up another monumental year for women’s football with a deserved 2-0 victory over Ghana at St Mary’s Stadium.
Youngster Lucia Kendall struck in the sixth minute on just her second senior appearance.
It was an especially meaningful return for the 21-year-old, who spent five years here at Southampton before earning her first England call-up in October following an impressive start to the season with new club Aston Villa.
Euros hero Chloe Kelly limped off with a knee injury after 20 minutes – a potential blow for Arsenal ahead of a crunch run of fixtures.
Alessia Russo doubled England’s lead in stoppage time from the spot, after VAR had indicated that there was a handball in the penalty area.
All in all, it capped off a wonderful, topsy-turvy year for the side, which ended cloaked in glory after retaining their European trophy.
Daily Mail Sport’s women’s football reporter Tara Anson-Walsh was in Southampton to bring you the five things we learned about the Lionesses in 2025…
1. It hasn’t always been pretty, but England know how to get it done
This has been an odd year covering England, because it has left one perennially wondering what was next to come.
At no point have England ever blown our socks off – except for maybe these past couple of games against 16th-ranked China and 67th-ranked Ghana – but then again, what else would you expect? The European champions are still fourth in the world and facing sides that remain a long way off the same levels of development of the women’s game in their own countries. England’s predominantly second string against Ghana could still be considered one of the best starting XI’s around.
The year kicked off with a lacklustre 1-1 draw against Portugal and ended with a combined victory of 10-0 over China and Ghana respectively. In between came the most important passage – the campaign in which England retained their European title.
Did anyone actually think they would go all the way? That’s certainly not what many of us were saying when Wiegman was hit by a raft of withdrawals on the eve of the tournament.
As for the performances on the pitch, Spain were by far the most dominant team at Euro 2025, while the Lionesses often found themselves pinging the ball around, unable to break down a low block. It wasn’t the prettiest football – the kind they dubbed ‘proper English’ – but when it mattered the most, they got the job done.
And maybe that’s just quite simply the point. While Sarina Wiegman is desperate for more games against non-European countries to expose her side to different playing styles – and perhaps even improve their own – she has built a winning mentality that can’t be knocked down. And with another trophy glistening in the cabinet, what does it really matter anyway?
2. The present may be gold, but what’s the future without Bronze?
What words better sum up Lucy Bronze than those of Wiegman following the Euros quarter-final after a game in which the 34-year-old had scored, taped up her own leg, then thrown off the strapping to smash in a decisive penalty at 64 mph.
‘Lucy Bronze is just one of a kind – I have never, ever seen this before in my life,’ Wiegman said after that game. ‘I’m a very lucky person that I’ve worked with so many incredible people and incredible football players, and there are so, so many, but what she does and her mentality, and how she did that penalty and the goal, at the far post, she gets it in the net.
‘But that’s not what defines her. What defines her is that resilience, that fight. I think the only way to get her off the pitch is in a wheelchair.’
This reporter was ready to write Bronze off after a sluggish showing in the opening-group game defeat against France, but thankfully opted not to rush such a damning judgement. And what a relief. Even when the right back appears down and out, she inevitably finds a way back – much like the Lionesses themselves.
The two have become synonymously entwined over the last 12 years, and her influence stretches far beyond those unrivalled never-say-die moments on the pitch.
It comes from her wise words in front of the cameras, speaking with poise on sensitive subjects including the racial abuse aimed at Jess Carter during the tournament. It comes from her support of team-mates far and wide – from youth players to senior stars. Every single young player that steps in front of the media praises Bronze for her ability to connect and support them. It comes from pure passion and grit – and playing a tournament with a fractured leg with little fuss.
She will be 36 at the next World Cup and Wiegman might as well start placing the order for that wheelchair now, because that is the only way Bronze will be removed from the Brazilian pitches.
3. Chloe Kelly knows how to take an exceptional penalty
Yes, many of us always knew that Chloe Kelly could blast a penalty into the back of the net – recalling her 69 mph strike at the 2023 World Cup, faster than any in the Premier League that season – but oh, how that reputation was reinforced this year.
Daily Mail Sport even ran a long-winded article on the science behind her incredible conversion rate as all three of her spot-kicks proved decisive in the quarter-final, semi-final and final.
In essence it’s down to the length of time she takes where she psyches out the goalkeeper – and the cold-blooded ruthlessness that means she waits until the very last moment before choosing a side. To say wrapping all that up in one speedy shot is impressive would be a monumental understatement.
The 27-year-old was forced off the pitch here against Ghana – but fortunately there was no shootout required. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for the Arsenal winger.
4. Wiegman has a Maya Le Tissier-sized conundrum
The England head coach has constantly reiterated that she sees Maya Le Tissier as a right back even though the Manchester United captain has started every game bar one for her club in the centre of defence. It’s clear Wiegman is trying to solve her Bronze-succession dilemma – and sees Le Tissier as a potential answer.
That problem has reared its ugly head in the last couple of games though, as Wiegman has given Le Tissier consistent playing time in centre back after she remained an unused substitute in the summer. And Le Tissier has repaid that faith by being one of the best on the pitch.
Her reading of the game has made previously shaky defensive moments look effortless, and England look instantly shored up at the back. Wiegman said that she didn’t want to spend her Christmas thinking too much about football, but it feels inevitable that the United defender will be popping into her head on more than one occasion these next few weeks.
5. Michelle Agyeymang the hero… but the ACL crisis isn’t going away
Another year passes, and the women’s game continues to be blighted by season-ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.
This campaign has been particularly testing for two young Lioness and Arsenal talents, Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid. Agyemang burst onto the scene this summer after scoring twice to drag England back from the brink of elimination. And yet the 19-year-old has had her season cut cruelly short when she went down off the ball against Australia, with scans confirming the dreaded injury.
Likewise Reid, just 19 and having shown impressive quality for her club in the absence of Leah Williamson, earned a maiden senior call-up only to withdraw on the eve of her first cap.
The typical length of recovery is betwen six and nine months, although recovery can sometimes take even longer. While there are also fears that once you have done an ACL injury once, you are more at risk of doing it again.
And the statistics show this isn’t going away. According to the latest research funded by the German Football Association (DFB), players who compete in the top two levels of German women’s football are four times more likely to rupture their ACL than their male counterparts.
FIFA is also currently funding research into how hormonal changes likely impact the chances of the injury occurring in women.
The answers to how this can be tackled can’t come quickly enough.
