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And so it all comes down to Sunday. In a rematch of the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, England and Spain will meet at St. Jakob Park this weekend with the Lionesses looking for revenge and to defend their European Championship title. La Roja, meanwhile, will be out to add the status as European champions to the title of world champions they have already held for the past two years – and will hold for at least two more.
It will be the third meeting of these two juggernauts in 2025 alone, after they landed in the same Nations League group at the start of the year. Despite the recency of those encounters, though, it’s hard to know how much to read into either. In February, England were 1-0 winners at Wembley, albeit while Spain were without both Patri Guijarro and Alexia Putellas. The Lionesses’ best player that day, too, was Millie Bright, who hasn’t travelled to Euro 2025. When the rematch played out in early June, Spain had their turn in a 2-1 win, but Sarina Wiegman did make changes to rest players while England were still ahead, with one eye on this summer.
It’s hard to predict how things might pan out on Sunday, then, but if one thing is for certain, it is that this final will be close, it will be tight and it will be decided by the finest of margins. So, in such a high-pressure moment, who will Wiegman trust to deliver for England? بالجم takes a look at how the Lionesses should line up in Basel…
Women’s Euro 2025 tickets were made available through official UEFA channels atu0026nbsp;womenseuro.com and ticketcorner.ch and demand has been high with over 500,000 sold. Close collaboration with each national association following the final tournament draw, helped process the sale of tickets to fans of the participating teams.
Hampton had some big boots to fill in this tournament, given how well Mary Earps performed at Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup. She’s lived up to expectations in her first summer as England No.1, though, with her double-save against Italy the latest example of her brilliance. Now comes her biggest challenge yet, in her first major tournament final.
Though she would surely like to have the moment back where Italy broke the deadlock in the semi-finals, Bronze has been one of England’s best players at this tournament, with her big moment coming in the quarter-finals when she started the Lionesses’ comeback and swung the momentum in their favour in the penalty shootout. It’s vital for England that she has another big game in this final.
Switching to a 3-5-2 set-up has made more sense for England through this tournament, given the frailties that have stood out in defence, in particular. However, Wiegman has thus far resisted the urge to deploy her team in that system from the first whistle and it could create confusion and risk to suddenly start in that shape now, in a final.
As such, it makes more sense to stick with the 4-3-3 set-up for now, with Williamson key at the heart of a defence that has looked fragile. Her individual performance against Italy, at least, was improved.
It was always going to be tough for Morgan to come into the heart of this defence for a major tournament semi-final, especially given she had never started at an event of this magnitude before. She was selected by Wiegman over Jess Carter, who struggled in the quarter-finals against Sweden, and though she was exposed down the team’s weaker left side early on, she grew into the game.
It’s going to be a new challenge altogether on Sunday, but she feels like the better option at this point.
It’s the glaring weakness in England’s left-back position that a switch to 3-5-2 would help the most, but Wiegman has stuck with Greenwood since swapping her and Carter around for the Lionesses’ second game of the tournament, and she isn’t going to find anyone in the squad who will do a better job here than the Manchester City star.
It isn’t easy for Greenwood and she will be exposed at times, but there are not many other options at this point.
Walsh so often goes under the radar, and that has been the case on a few occasions at this tournament, with her performance against Italy in the last round consistently good even when England weren’t. She looks to be coping well with the workload
Wiegman should be contemplating a change in midfield for this final. All of Walsh, Stanway and Toone have racked up a lot of minutes over the last 10 days, across England’s two 120-minute epics, and fresh legs would be ideal for what is going to be a demanding final. Yet, it’s tricky to see who she would throw into these positions on Sunday, because she hasn’t given many opportunities to the likes of Grace Clinton and Jess Park, and to suddenly start them in a game of such magnitude could be more of a risk.
If there was to be a change, though, it would likely be less damaging in the No.10 role, rather than breaking up the understanding Walsh and Stanway have at the base of midfield.
England do need a change in midfield, and it is probably Park who is best-placed to make an impact. The Manchester City star started both games against Spain this year, in the Nations League, so she is well-versed in the challenge they present, and her energetic, tenacious presence in midfield will suit the task at hand. With the majority of England’s chances likely to come on the counter, Park also possesses the speed and quick feet that will be a real asset in that area.
Wiegman has a lot of options in this position, with Toone, Clinton and Lauren James – if fit – among them. As such, she can easily, and without much disruption, switch things up if her starter doesn’t deliver as desired. She can also use that depth to ensure the midfield energy doesn’t drop too low at any point, which is going to be vital given how much defensive work will be done in there. So why not freshen things up from the start with Park?
There would be reason to call for Kelly to start here on Sunday even if James hadn’t limped off in the semi-final win over Italy, as the Chelsea star has had a lot of minutes in her legs in this tournament quite suddenly, having had almost three months on the sidelines prior to it. Plus, James is an excellent option to have from the bench in a game like this. However, Wiegman’s hand may well be forced anyway, with it unclear if James will be fit for Sunday, whether that is to start or to be involved at all.
Beth Mead has started a lot in this position for England this year, including in the opening game of the Euros against France, but it’s hard to ignore Kelly’s recent displays from the bench. She provided game-changing moments in the wins over Sweden and Italy, and thus deserves her chance to start this final.
Russo hasn’t quite taken this tournament by storm like some thought she might, especially with England reaching the final. Had you told someone that before the Euros kicked off, they might predict that the striker would be in Golden Boot contention having come into the summer off the back of an impressive club season. However, the Arsenal star has just one goal to her name, plus the three assists from the Netherlands win. She’s not been involved in a goal in the knockout stage as yet.
With Michelle Agyemang having such a remarkable impact off the bench, scoring in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, some will call for the teenager to get the nod on Sunday in the No.9 role. But Russo should keep her place, for her experience, her importance in the press and her all-round play, with Agyemang continuing in the super-sub role she has seemingly mastered.
One thing that has to change with the latter, though, is when Wiegman introduces her. The 19-year-old has provided dramatic equalisers to this point but, given more time to have an influence, could be netting winners instead.
Hemp’s display against Italy was extremely up and down. She started fast, albeit lacking end product, soon became ineffective and very wasteful, then emerged as a threat again in extra-time despite being forced to fill in at left-back. It was indicative of the lack of consistency she has shown throughout the Euros, perhaps owing to the fact she only recently came back from a serious knee injury.
Still, her pace will terrify a Spain defence that lacks it. If Hemp can fine tune her end product a little more, something she is certainly capable of, she could be the decisive figure on Sunday.
