‘Lionesses? More like Goddesses’ – England stars and Sarina Wiegman are heroes for life – they’re the pinnacle of champions

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England have defended their European crown in the most dramatic of circumstances – ousting Spain via a nail-biting penalty shootout.Chloe Kelly, the hero for the Lionesses in 2022, reprised her role as she buried the decisive penalty to seal a 3-1 result in the shootout after the contest had ended 1-1 following regular and extra time.Kelly reiterated she is made for the big momentsAFPShe made no mistake from the spot as she rifled her effort into the roof of the netGettyHer penalty inspired jubilant scenes among the LionessesGettyGiven the extraordinary nature of their achievement, talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham said: “Truly unbelievable. Lionesses? More like goddesses.“Has there ever been a journey like it at a major tournament? Any wonder the fans are going crazy.”Here’s how the Euro 2025 final unfoldedMariona Caldentey, who had her penalty saved by Hannah Hampton in the shootout, opened the scoring for the world champions in the 25th minute.Ona Batlle floated in a cross from the right and was powered home by Caldentey past Hampton, who was simply rooted to the spot.Caldentey’s goal came after a dominant start to the contest from the Lionesses, with Alessia Russo having the best of the early chances.England’s hopes took a blow shortly after Caldentey’s opener when Lauren James was forced off with injury in the 38th minute.The decision by Sarina Wiegman to start an evidently undercooked James was heavily criticised, although it heralded the earlier-than-anticipated arrival of Kelly.Kelly would prove to have a telling impact when she provided the assist for England’s equaliser, as her cross was nodded across by Russo in the 57th minute.From that moment onwards, it was an onslaught of red shirts as Spain peppered Hampton’s goal with shot after shot.Despite having the Lionesses on the ropes, the world champions failed to land the telling blow as the contest dragged into extra time.Hampton was a pillar of strength between the sticks for EnglandGettySpain took a total of 22 shots but only found a way past Hampton just onceUEFA via GettyHampton heroically made two saves in the shootoutGettyOnce more Spain would dominate the possession count and continually exposed their rivals.But, much like the end of regular time, the Lionesses somehow held firm and repelled constant waves of attack.And they kept cool heads when it mattered most, with Alex Greenwood, Niamh Charles and Kelly netting from the spot.“They showed resilience, they refused to be beaten, they were proper England,” Durham said.“They are proper champions not once, but twice. They won it in 2022, they’ve only gone and won it again in 2025.“You beauties. Everything’s stacked against them. You have got to have nothing but admiration for every single one of those players and the staff. So much thrown at them, they’ve dealt with it all, they’ve won it all.”Wiegman has now won two of her three finals as Lionesses boss…GettyAnd is now a three-time winner at the Euros having won it once with the NetherlandsGettyEngland have once again confirmed they are one of the world’s top nationsGettyAmid the remarkable nature of their triumph, Durham analysed how every one of England’s heroes performed in the final edition of Player Ratings!How did Durham rate the Lionesses?Despite the rollercoaster of emotions that was the final, Durham had no trouble when it came to breaking down how the Lionesses performed.That’s because he awarded every single player a 10/10 – and that includes boss Wiegman.From Hampton all the way through to unused substitute Lotte Wubben-Moy, Leah Williamson to Wiegman, Durham only had the highest of praise to share especially given the ‘chaos’ that transpired before and during the tournament.Speaking on talkSPORT, Durham said: “They had a list of injuries before and during the tournament, they also had players who gave up on England weeks before the tournament and it was chaos.“They’ve had to deal with racial abuse mid-tournament and the players who did come here, the ones who wanted it more, never gave up. They never cried about it, they got on with it.”Adrian Durham's England player ratingsHannah Hampton – 10Alex Greenwood – 10Jess Carter – 10Leah Williamson – 10Lucy Bronze – 10Georgia Stanway – 10Kiera Walsh – 10Lauren James – 10Ella Toone – 10Lauren Hemp – 10Alessia Russo – 10Rest of squadChloe Kelly – 10Michelle Agyemang – 10Beth Mead – 10Niamh Charles – 10Grace Clinton – 10Aggie Beever-Jones – 10Khiara Keating – 10Maya Le Tissier – 10Esme Morgan – 10Jess Park – 10Lotte Wubben-Moy – 10Sarina Wiegman – 10Durham summarised his justification for every player receiving a 10 out of 10 in just three words: “Won the Euros.”