Switzerland pulls off dazzling high-wire act as Euro 2025 delivers to the last | Nick Ames
Host country provided a record attendance and a summer spectacle despite a relatively modest football infrastructure
Twelve hours before Euro 2025 reached its crescendo the Uefa executive director of football, Giorgio Marchetti, addressed a hall of delegates in Basel. The morning coffees were still taking hold as officials from clubs, federations and other stakeholders settled down for a forum designed partly to debrief the previous month. There was no mistaking the congratulatory mood and Marchetti was determined to see it last. The tournament would not be “like a butterfly, over in 24 hours”, he said; instead its reverberations would be felt far into a burgeoning sport’s future.
There was certainly little sign of any effects dulling as afterparties swung long into the night following England’s heist against Spain. The overwhelming sense was of euphoria, sprinkled with relief, that host and governing body had pulled off what some viewed as a high‑wire act. Switzerland’s relatively modest football infrastructure, not to mention its muted appreciation of the women’s game, had raised eyebrows but it staged an event that delivered to the last.
Marriage of team spirit and attention to detail led to England’s golden confetti moment | Suzanne Wrack
The bonding of players through highly personal stories, and access to home comforts, helped power them to Euro 2025 glory
The gold confetti may have been swept away but it will take some time for the dust to settle on the most remarkable of tournaments. England are European champions. Again. Writing a new chapter in the history book of English football. Leah Williamson, the first England captain to lift two major trophies. Michelle Agyemang, the 19-year-old wonderkid. Jess Carter and her remarkable performance amid the most difficult of times. Hannah Hampton, defying the odds to become England’s saviour on penalties, twice. Chloe Kelly almost quitting football in January and becoming a European champion for club and country by the end of July. Lucy Bronze playing with a leg fracture.
Each one of the 23 has a tale to tell. The people are remarkable and their stories are remarkable.