England vs Spain: Women’s Euro 2025 final – teams, start, lineups

Who: England vs Spain
What: UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 final
Where: St Jakob-Park successful Basel, Switzerland
When: Sunday, July 27, astatine 6pm (16:00 GMT)

How to follow: We’ll person each the build-up connected Al Jazeera Sport from 3pm (15:00 GMT) successful beforehand of our unrecorded substance commentary stream.

If the women’s shot players of Spain person gone from nobodies to rubric contenders successful little than a decade, it hasn’t travel easy.

The nationalist squad has had to combat for amended coaching, decent question conditions, and modern grooming facilities.

It paid disconnected with a World Cup rubric successful 2023, the Nations League crown past year, and they look England connected Sunday successful the European Championship final.

“It has been a changeless with the nationalist squad that we person had to combat for acceptable enactment conditions that would let america to play astatine our best,” erstwhile Spain defender Marta Torrejon said connected Friday.

Where did the emergence of Spain’s women begin?

Torrejon lived done the thin years, the clip erstwhile playing for her state felt like, successful her words, a “waste of time”.

And she knows from talking with Barcelona teammates who inactive play for their state how overmuch things person improved.

Torrejon retired from planetary shot aft the 2019 World Cup arsenic Spain’s past most-capped subordinate with 90 appearances. The 35-year-old has since helped Barcelona triumph 3 Champions League titles and a slew of different trophies.

She besides played a portion successful 1 of the revolts Spain’s women person staged to request much from the men who tally the game.

After the 2015 World Cup, Torrejon and different players successfully pushed for the removal of manager Ignacio Quereda, who had tally the squad for astir 3 decades, for his mediocre mentation earlier the team’s archetypal quality successful the competition.

Quereda was aboriginal accused by erstwhile players of verbal abuse, an allegation helium denied.

“I enjoyed playing for the nationalist team, but the mentation and attraction to the subordinate was minimum. It felt, to enactment it bluntly, similar a discarded of time,” Torrejon said. “The level of signifier and the level of carnal grooming some plummeted compared to what we had [at Barcelona]. It was similar taking a measurement back.

“I americium told that isn’t the lawsuit now, and I americium precise gladsome to perceive that.”

Torrejon said she saw steps successful the close absorption nether erstwhile Spain manager Jorge Vilda, who replaced Quereda, but felt determination was inactive much untapped imaginable successful the squad erstwhile she retired.

President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales, right, kisses Jennifer Hermoso of Spain, left, during the medal ceremonial of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 last against England [Noemi Llamas/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images]

What was the Rubiales contention for Spain?

After Torrejon discontinue the team, immoderate players announced successful 2022 that they would nary longer play for Vilda unless helium ran a much nonrecreational operation. He was backed by the federation. Some players returned to play for him, and the squad made past by winning the 2023 World Cup.

The celebrations were overshadowed by the behaviour of then-federation President Luis Rubiales, who, without her consent, kissed a subordinate connected the lips during the awards ceremonial successful Sydney.

Vilda supported Rubiales initially, and helium was swept distant with his brag erstwhile the players stood up to unit change, from the removal of Rubiales to improving the question conditions and handling of the team. Vilda is present coaching Morocco, which is playing Nigeria successful the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final connected Saturday.

Torrejon said she had heard from Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes, stalwarts of Spain and Barcelona, that things are amended since Rubiales and Vilda left.

England wary Rubiales incidental whitethorn occurrence Spain

England’s Ella Toone admits Spain whitethorn person other information going into the last aft their World Cup triumph 2 years agone was overshadowed by the events astatine the extremity of the crippled successful Sydney.

Spain bushed England 1-0 successful 2023 to triumph the Women’s World Cup for the archetypal time, with Olga Carmona scoring the lone extremity of the game.

However, the headlines aboriginal were dominated by the forced buss by Rubiales connected subordinate Jenni Hermoso.

Rubiales was yet fined 10,800 euros ($11,670) for intersexual assault successful February this year.

“It was a hard play for the Spanish players and for what they did successful the World Cup, for that to past beryllium the main talking point, was truly pugnacious and thing they shouldn’t person had to spell through,” Toone told reporters successful Zurich connected Friday.

“They should person celebrated what was an astonishing tourney for them.”

England’s Chloe Kelly celebrates scoring their 2nd extremity with teammates [Denis Balibouse/Reuters]

How did England scope the Euro 2025 final?

England’s spot arsenic a powerhouse of women’s planetary shot has agelong been established, but the last-four clash with Italy astir provided an upset.

Barbara Bonansea gave the Italians the lead, and lone a 96th-minute equaliser by Michelle Agyemang forced the crippled to other time.

Chloe Kelly past near it precocious to settee the lucifer with penalties looming.

The English besides had to travel from down to bushed Sweden successful their last-eight clash.

How did Spain scope the Euro 2025 final?

New manager Montse Tome has enhanced the grooming methods. Spain leads the mode astatine the Euros for goals scored, shot possession, passing accuracy and cleanable sheets.

In Spain’s 1-0 semifinal triumph implicit Germany, Aitana Bonmati leaned connected the team’s analysts, who informed her that the opposing goalkeeper tended to permission her adjacent station unprotected. The effect was an exquisite victor from a choky angle.

Torrejon said that benignant of tactical penetration from the unit was unthinkable a decennary ago.

Spain’s Irene Paredes, Spain’s Jana Fernandez, Spain’s Maria Mendez and Spain’s Leila Ouahabi observe aft the lucifer [Matthew Childs/Reuters]

How Barcelona played their portion successful Spain’s rise

Spain midfielder Patri Guijarro agrees with Torrejon that the sustained concern Barcelona has provided for the past decennary successful the women’s crippled has boosted the nationalist team.

“Each and each day, we enactment good successful our clubs and I deliberation that is reflected successful the achievements of the clubs, but besides successful the nationalist team,” Guijarro said astatine Spain’s campy successful Lausanne, Switzerland, connected Friday.

Guijarro besides credits the professionalisation of Spain’s women’s league successful 2021, which allowed players “to dedicate ourselves afloat to football”.

Guijarro is 1 of 11 Barcelona players connected Spain’s 23-member squad. The Barcelona contingent includes Bonmati and Putellas, who person divided the past 4 Ballon d’Or awards betwixt them.

Former Barcelona authoritative Xavier Vilajoana oversaw the women’s squad and the club’s grooming academy from 2015-2020. During that time, the nine dramatically accrued its backing for women’s shot and built a grooming programme for girls.

Vilajoana said 1 captious determination was having the aforesaid coaches bid the boys’ and girls’ teams. That way, the Barcelona benignant was instilled successful each the kids, and that ball-possession, short-passing and unit became fundamentals of the women’s teams arsenic well.

“Let’s not fool ourselves, we spent galore years successful a precise sexist society, and that was reflected successful women’s football. So intelligibly the alteration successful the mentality of nine has helped,” Vilajoana said. “But I besides judge that Barca’s benignant of play has helped america spot women players successful the aforesaid mode [as men].”

In the background, Spain’s beardown feminist question helped get the nationalist down the players arsenic they made strides for equality and success.

“There were galore of america players who gave it our each for the nationalist squad but weren’t capable to get this far,” Torrejon said. “The 1 happening we knew is that we had talent. We conscionable needed much support.”

England squad news

Lauren James faces a contention to beryllium acceptable aft picking up a sound successful the semifinal against Italy.

Beth Mead could instrumentality the attacker’s spot connected the helping should James neglect to recover.

Esme Morgan was fixed her archetypal commencement successful tourney shot alongside skipper Leah Williamson successful defence and is acceptable to clasp her place.

Spain squad news

Laia Aleixandri returns from a one-match prohibition for yellowish paper accumulation successful the tournament. The defender is acceptable to instantly instrumentality to the backline.

Athenea del Castillo is pushing Mariona Caldentey and Claudia Pina for a spot connected the flanks aft a extremity and an assistance past up.

Predicted England and Spain starting lineups

England: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Morgan, Greenwood; Stanway, Walsh, Toone; Kelly, Hemp, Russo

Spain: Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Aleixandri, Carmona; Bonmati, Guijarro, Putellas; Caldentey, Pina, Gonzalez