Football · International
England retain Women's EURO title after penalty win over Spain
Hannah Hampton saved twice and Chloe Kelly converted the deciding penalty as England won the Basel final 3–1 in the shoot-out after a 1–1 draw.
Event date:
A second European title
England retained the UEFA Women's EURO trophy on 27 July, defeating Spain 3–1 on penalties at St. Jakob-Park in Basel after the final finished 1–1 following extra time. Hannah Hampton's two saves in the shoot-out helped put the holders in position to win, and Chloe Kelly supplied the decisive kick. The result gave England a second European championship, three years after their first triumph at Wembley.
The final brought together the winners of EURO 2022 and the 2023 Women's World Cup. Spain had beaten England 1–0 in that World Cup final in Sydney, but the European rematch produced a different outcome. England became only the second national team to retain the women's European trophy, according to UEFA's champions profile.
Russo cancels out Spain's lead
Mariona Caldentey headed Spain ahead in the 25th minute. England drew level through Alessia Russo in the 57th, leaving the teams unable to settle the match in regulation time or the additional 30 minutes. England therefore had to complete a third successive knockout match lasting 120 minutes before the championship could be decided.
England's personnel changed during the match: Kelly came on after Lauren James was injured, while Jess Carter had returned to the starting defence. Spain had Laia Aleixandri available again after her suspension in the semi-final. The shoot-out ultimately gave Hampton and Kelly the central roles in the closing moments of a final in which neither side had established a winning margin on the field.
The route through Switzerland
England's tournament began with a 2–1 defeat by France in Zurich on 5 July. They responded with a 4–0 win against the Netherlands at the same venue on 9 July, followed by a 6–1 victory over Wales in St. Gallen on 13 July. Those results secured second place in Group D and a meeting with Sweden in the quarter-finals.
That tie ended 2–2 after extra time in Zurich on 17 July, with England progressing 3–2 in the shoot-out. The semi-final against Italy in Geneva on 22 July also required extra time: England won 2–1. The sequence matters to the final result because England had already negotiated two elimination matches in which a straightforward 90-minute win was unavailable. Basel completed a knockout run settled through equalising goals, extra time and two penalty competitions.
Wiegman's championship sequence
Sarina Wiegman extended her run of European titles as a coach to three consecutive tournaments. She led the Netherlands to victory in 2017 and England in 2022 before this success in Switzerland. UEFA also recorded that her teams had reached the final in each of her five EURO and World Cup campaigns with those two nations.
England's scoring was spread across the squad rather than concentrated in one player. UEFA listed Michelle Agyemang, James, Russo, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone as joint team leaders with two goals each in the tournament. The retained trophy added a second winning EURO final to England's record, alongside their 2022 extra-time victory over Germany.
Original sources
Read the underlying records.
Explore the official results, organiser reports or original research behind this story.
People in this report