Football General Manager
- Toone jokingly claimed they almost killed Wiegman
- Beat Italy in semi-final with late goals
- Will face Spain in Euro final on Sunday
England qualified for the knockout stage despite a nightmare start to their campaign as they went down 2-1 against France in their tournament opener. In the quarter-final, the Lionesses were down by two goals until the 79th minute, but staged a late comeback and eventually clinched game in penalty shootout.
The Lionesses then secured a nerve-wracking win over Italy in the last-four stage as Michelle Agyemang scored a 96th-minute equaliser and then Chloe Kelly netted the winner one minute before the conclusion of extra time. Ahead of the all-important final against world champions Spain, Toone jokingly claimed that this habit of scoring late goals has ‘nearly killed’ their head coach, Wiegman.
Speaking to reporters, the 25-year-old said: “I think we’ve nearly killed her twice this tournament. She said we’ve definitely aged her. But, I think that’s five consecutive tournaments for Sarina being in a final and that’s just unbelievable. We know we’re in good hands. We know she’s a manager who can take teams right to the final. She’s done a few good speeches, to be fair, in this camp. I’ll give it to her. We’ve been talking about it. She’s a great manager.
“She’s someone who we all have a lot of belief in. We know we’re in good hands. When we go out onto the pitch, we fight for each other, but we fight for her and the staff too and all the fans watching as well.”
Toone also reflected on the Euro final against a very strong Spanish side, as she added: “It’s mad. I’ve not actually thought about that. It’s amazing. To make three consecutive finals for England is something that we can all be so proud of, the country can be proud of. It feels amazing. We’re all really looking forward to it already. As soon as one game finishes, we’re already looking to the next. For me, I’m really excited. I want to go out onto the pitch and give everything for England and for the team and for the fans watching. Hopefully, we can put on a good performance.
“Every time I get to pull the shirt on, it’s just pride. It’s something that I dreamed of when I was a little girl, to play for England and to go to major tournaments representing a new country. I still pinch myself now. I think I’m 50-odd caps in, and it’s still an amazing feeling just like the first one was. When you pull the shirt on, you want to go out there and make everyone proud. You want to fight for each other, for the fans. I think as well when you pull that shirt on, you have that sense of freedom and belief. That’s definitely the feeling that I get when I pull it on. It never changes.”
The Lionesses will aim to defend their Euro title and avenge their World Cup final loss from two years ago as they take on Spain in the final on Sunday in Basel.
