‘None of us wanted to go home’ - Leah Williamson reacts to Lionesses passing Euro 2025 ‘test’ as England come roaring back in defence of continental title

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Lionesses headed into a crunch clash with Dutch opposition knowing that another defeat would deliver shock early elimination from a European Championship on Swiss soil - having come unstuck against France in their opening fixture.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Sarina Wiegman’s side came roaring back in style as Lauren James (who bagged a brace), Ella Toone and Georgia Stanway found the target in a convincing 4-0 win. The reigning champions are now very much up and running.

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WHAT WILLIAMSON SAID

Lionesses captain Williamson told Sky Sports: “The result you just saw is what we are capable of. I don’t think it was about proving anybody wrong. I think we lost to a top team [France], which is not what we wanted. We wanted to win. We knew we were capable of more. We came out today and we were so together, so supportive of each other.

“We’ve had one bad day at the office, one good day at the office, but none of us wanted to go home. I don’t think it’s a test as a captain, it’s just more a test of us as humans. I’d say today that was probably one of the highest pressure games we’ve played and our place in the tournament was on the line and we played like that. Which makes me really proud and think that’s what you get when you come together.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Stanway told BBC Sport of the Lionesses proving a point to any doubters: “This is about showing who we are. We want to go back to proper England. LJ [Lauren James] set the tone with that goal and we all just followed. We fought from the first minute to the very last. I think it [Stanway's goal] took a little deflection. I'll have to watch it back but I'm just happy to have made it 2-0. Once we got to 3-0, we could settle a little bit because once we opened the doors and they get one back, you never know what can happen.”

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TELL ME MORE

Chelsea star James added: “I enjoyed it a lot. The goals say it all. We bounced back from our previous game and today we showed we're more than capable of showing what we can do. As long as I'm helping the team in any way I can, whether that's providing or scoring, I try to do my best in each game. Hopefully as the games keep going on, hopefully I can be more involved.”

WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

England will be back in action on Sunday when facing Wales in St Gallen. A positive result in that contest, against geographical neighbours that have suffered two defeats so far, will see the Lionesses through to the quarter-finals.

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