The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Euro 2025 final preview: England take on Spain – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: July 25, 2025

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack and Sophie Downey to break down Sunday’s Euro 2025 final in Basel

This is The Guardian. Hello, I'm Faker Rothers and welcome to The Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Three weeks, 30 matches, 104 goals, four periods of extra time, three penalty shootouts. What a ride Euro 2025 has been so far. And it all comes down to Sunday's final. 16 teams have been whittled down to two as England and Spain come face to face in Basel. We'll preview Sunday afternoon's showpiece, plus we'll take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

showpiece plus we'll take your questions and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Well what a panel we have today. Suzy Rack, the end is nigh. Well done for getting this far. I don't know how we've got here but it's now sun it felt very slow and now suddenly it feels like it was yesterday that we were flying out. Yes flying out. I have a friend with me today. Before we say I want to say hello to Sophie first because that's more important. Sophie how are you? I'm good thank you. I moved to Basel yesterday so getting ready for the big final and it's nice to have a change of scenery as well so yeah very very much looking forward to it. It's beautiful Basel isn't it that that is where I've been getting my FOMO the scenery and all of your photographs and and all of the coverage I've been watching is is just absolutely spectacular

and we have a new pod mascot ourselves today Ted is joining me in the pod so are you gonna say good morning to everybody? Good morning. Good morning. We've got all the listeners listening. Have you been watching the football with mummy? Yeah. And who's going to win? I don't know. Neither do we. Who do we say normally when we're there? Come on England. Come on England! Fingers crossed Ted is our lucky mascot. Susie had a question for you actually Ted. Oh yeah, oh so, Paw Patrol or the football Ted? Which one would you prefer to watch? Paw Patrol! Yeah I think me too, I think me too. I'm a big fan of Chase. I like all the parts. Right, say bye bye to Sophie and

Sophie. Bye bye. So actually if you've been with us since the beginning of the tournament you'll know that in the Guardians Guide to the Euro 2025 tournament various Swiss mascots had been assigned to each of the 16 teams. So I've got my own mascot in my sun coming and supporting me this morning. But we had an email from Raphael who lives in Switzerland. We've mentioned him before. He wanted a reminder of what the Swiss symbols for England and Spain were. He said he truly enjoyed the ones that we shared on the podcast early on. And actually the thing that started it all off I think was when we were talking about Norway and what kind of tournament they were gonna have. They had the large Hadron Collider as their mascot,

intelligence with a god particle up front who can turn lead into gold but not on a consistent basis and I think it pretty much panned out that way didn't it? So England had the Toblerone as their mascot, gold wrapped icon invented in 1908, imposing shape, a cut above its top tier confectionery rivals, travels well, happy in airports, notoriously hard to handle, but a crack's starting to show. Hmm, how do we, how do we feel about that? Now we're, we're into the final. Have you ever had a big toberon, you know, like the giant ones? Yeah. Ones that like, those last forever. I I mean they probably don't last forever if you try

and eat them but they literally will not fall apart. So I think that's a good sign right? That definitely sums up England. I say I have, I've not eaten it because it's literally my worst nightmare wrapped in a triangle. I look at the Toblerone and I think like it's lots of little ups and downs and I feel like that is the summary of this tournament. That's perfect, that's perfect. Okay so what about Spain? Their mascot was gold, lustrous bright yellow noble metal resistant to corrosion, close to indestructible, known for its sheen majesty and for being refined in Switzerland. Only really vulnerable to daylight robbery. Are we going to get a heist on Sunday Suzy? I hope so that'd be good wouldn't it I mean that said like I

think Kira Walsh in a little press conference the other day I say little press conference big press conference the other day was saying that she is really glad that the Spanish players as a human being get to enjoy a final without the like drama of the off-the-pitch stuff that clouded their 2023 final win so like I wouldn't be sad to see them win. They're like hugely talented They've got some of the most magical players in the world to watch You know like they are waiting for a revolution back home as well to actually happen. Obviously we had that in 2022 and I don't

think, I don't think it'd be a huge failure for England if they lost that game but it would be nice for them to win. Do you know what, we said it on the pod yesterday, actually, that, you know, rivalries aside, et cetera. And I think, you know, we almost established during this tournament that I was more of an underdog fan than an England fan, ultimately, which obviously isn't true, but it felt like that at times. And in this final, it doesn't feel like there are any losers.

You're an underdog fan and Ted's a dog fan. Yeah, exactly. It is, as we know, Soph, a re-enactment of the World Cup final from two years ago. Spain were 1-0 winners on that day. You wrote a Moving the Goalpost piece on this this week, Soph, which was fascinating. How have both teams evolved from that time? I think both have been through different kinds of transitions. I wrote about Spain obviously and kind of the reckoning that's been happening in Spanish women's football since, or in the

immediate aftermath, and how they obviously put a bit of a dampener maybe on the celebrations or everything that happened after the final. But I think they've added things to their game in the last two years that we haven't seen necessarily before. They start now with Esther Gonzalez upfront. She is a number, one of the, she's like a classic number nine. She can do all of the other stuff as well. She's brilliant but she has the ability to just really lead that line and you've been seeing them like play a lot of long balls now which they probably didn't always used to do. They either come from the centre backs or they come from Olga Komuner at left back,

and she is pretty on the money with them. So they've added that side to the game. I think they've added a lot of patience, which is what the guests were talking about yesterday in the pod, in terms of being able to not get frustrated when things aren't going well for them, and they know that their moment will come. So they've added different aspects to the game for England. I think there's been a transition, I think we're still in transition in terms of looking at the England squad at the moment. There has been a good number of young players come through and bed themselves in in the

last couple of years. That's probably happened both through like choice but also through injury and maybe in some ways some of the injuries have been a bit of a blessing in disguise at some points because you've allowed Grace Clinton to get regular time, Jess Park to get regular time, people like that who are now ready and they're not going to a tournament cold. So while they've not seen much time in this tournament, you know that if they're on the bench and they can come off, they've got that kind of competitiveness level to be able to deal with what's put in front of them. I think England have shown a bit of a versatility that we probably didn't know that they had

in recent years. Well, certainly this last year, I would just think back to that game against Spain in February at Wembley and the way that they just became this kind of defensive unit. And England do like to play possession football, that's what they want to do. But they have to be able to show that you can put in a 90 minutes like that where you can back to the wall, chase down everything. They call it the proper English performance, don't they? You know, where they're giving the Spanish no space. I think they've added that to their game that we probably didn't necessarily knew they had in their locker. So yeah, both have evolved, both going through a bit of transition, both bringing in young

players, but it's exciting to see what's going to happen on Sunday. Yeah, there's that England DNA strand that we've been hearing from the FA for such a long time. I tell you what, Susie, I was on a podcast earlier today in focus with The Guardian. Check it out if you'd like to. It's kind of an overview of the Lionesses route to the final and some other issues that they've faced on and off the pitch additionally. And it was really interesting kind of going back because when you were in the middle of it, which I'm sure you guys both feel even more than me a step removed at home at the moment, that you know it's been a roller coaster. You mentioned it in terms of the Toblerone, the ups and downs, you

know it's not been a smooth ride. That group of death we always knew was going to be really difficult. Then they go and see off Sweden and Italy both in 120 minutes, Sweden with penalties as well. What have you made of their tournament so far as an overview? I mean, I think it's like symbolic of the state of the game and how things are changing and how investment is going across Europe and across the world to a certain extent in that I was reflecting on this last night

and so full note because I sent her my preview in the early hours when I very, very tiredly finished it and could barely see words anymore. I was looking back at sort of the growth of the team and the development of the team. And when you think of sort of, you know, the semi-final success of the Lionesses in 2015 and the bronze medal match, I say semi-finals, obviously they lost that by me in reaching the semi-final and then, you know, kind of since then, 2017 semi-final, 2019 semi-final and then winning the Euros in 2022, final 23, top final 25. I think that matches pretty closely with sort of like the investment in the side and that kind of development and 2022 was a point

at which investment and support from the FA coincided with sort of the level of the players and the development of the players in a really, really perfect way. And since then that's been elevating and it's been about the small margins. But I would say prior to that, the team were overachieving relative

to investment in 2015 and then that investment ramped up in 2017 in 2019 but it was still sort of it was growing it was like playing catch-up to reaching the point that it reached in 2022 it needed that home euros to really accelerate that investment and growth and like ambition of the FA and also for the players and the sort of slightly newer generation to start coming through into that team. So I feel like we've seen England benefit from investment and support above and beyond any other team. And in this tournament, we're seeing a lot of those nations

catch up to a certain extent. I think investment-wise, none of them are still quite at the level of the FA, but England having to look at the small margins in terms of the quality of the manager that they've got at their disposal, who has proven herself along with Ayan to be very very tactically astute and intelligent and then it's it's the little things it's like the little things like the perfect environment around them when they're in camp on at a major tournament and and how they're looked after from a staffing point of view from a psychological point of view from a physical point of view from a recovery point of view and

it's a lot of those smaller details are now making the difference and keeping them slightly ahead. And then obviously the squad depth, which is a is a direct like result of the investment in women's football over the years. Right. Like we've only got this incredible squad depth because we've got within that time a fully professional league and almost fully professional second tier. And that's helping develop and produce top young professional players that are coming into that into that that pool of players that they can

then choose from. That's a very very long way of saying that this tournament is harder because everyone is getting good but at the same time England still have various advantages in all of these little fine margins that I think is what has got them past Not going out of the group then getting past Sweden then getting past Italy It's all these all these little things that are contributing to that. It's not luck like I think luck is a silly way of looking at it like you make your own luck to a certain extent and I Think we should use luck as a positive. Every winning team in history has had a bit of luck

along the way. So that is a given, but it's like constructed luck. They've made their luck here. When you look bigger picture of the development of women's football in England, the development of women's football in Europe, like it was never going to be an easy tournament and they're only gonna get harder.

And staying that like nose in front is a harder and harder and harder task. Yeah, consistency, really key. And actually how you define luck is always really interesting to me additionally. I still remember all of the question marks over the luck of being on a certain side of the draw. Well that's interesting because you've still got to beat those, you know, difficult teams and, you know, if you then steamroller through and it's easy

then you had luck and if you go out it's, you know, it's something different so yeah I agree with you on that. Let's focus on Spain's route, Soph. You know, they kind of cruised through the groups as we expected them to but they did come through a tough encounter with Switzerland before being taken all the way by Germany who perhaps, you know, didn't have luck on their side if you want to say that in terms of the amount of players that they had out. But what have we learned about Spain in this tournament? I think that they are, I mean, it's probably going to sound pretty obvious. They're very, very good offensively and they rely on their ability to out attack you and outscore you.

They do have weaknesses in the back line and I think you saw that against Switzerland and against Germany when you put a fast, direct attacker up against Pereira de Azer and Alexandre. They do struggle with that and they struggle with that at club as well when they have that kind of quick striker who will just run at them and go through them at pace. So I think that's something that you could look at with say this game coming up in terms of maybe putting Lauren Hempe on that side between Onnabagé and Oren Pereira. Clara Ball for Germany was having so much joy down in the spaces that they fought because Honour Bajer pushes up so high at times.

There is space to run into and Paredes kind of struggles there. But I think they will out possess, they will out create you. You have to keep them wide. They love to operate in central areas. They love to rotate in central areas. That's what that midfield three, the golden trio, provide Hannah, Alicia and Patrick, they really love to do. So force them out wide and kind of pack those central areas, stop the spaces.

It means it's not probably going to be pretty from England. It can't be, but you've got to be able to take your opportunities to kind of, when you hit them on the transition to break through over that midfield, use Hannah Hampton's distribution, you know, her ability to get the ball over the midfield and send Alessia Russo or someone like that away and not worry too much that you don't have the football. It's just not, I'd always like to, it always makes me laugh a little bit when it's talked about Spain's possession stats compared to the opposition. It's not a surprise that they are going to out possess a football. You just need to find ways to manage that and keep them limited to opportunities, limited to shots outside

the box as well, I think. Stop them getting into those areas in the penalty area where Ithana Bonmati can shift the ball into space and put it away. So it's just about being really, really disciplined and taking your chances when they come. Yeah, well, one of those key problems in 2023, Susie, was Spain dominating the midfield area, which is what Sophie just said. You know, we know their strength in that department. They've got the best midfield currently in Europe. So what do England need to do to try and disrupt their flow? Have they got to be this annoying team that almost they've come up against in Italy as an example that just constantly are battling and harassing them and not letting them get on the ball? I think it's very very difficult to not let them get on the ball and I don't necessarily think you should try. I think the

most effective teams against Spain have been the ones that have frustrated them and defensively been so solid that they start I think it's a mental game, I think it's a little bit of psychological warfare and it's about making them as frustrated as possible and not being able to make that final pass take that shot. It's about having a perfect defensive display and the midfield is critical to that. I think you've got to set up for them. I know it's a play to your own strengths and don't worry too much about the opposition and things like that. I think in Spain it's a different case because there is a way to play against them that can be super effective

if you're really smart with it and when you look at the game against Spain back in February at Wembley like that was a really really strong and solid defensive performance that we built on and then grabbed a goal Jess Park wonderful strike so it's that kind of performance that we've got to be looking at or even like you know obviously club football but Arsenal against Barcelona in the Champions League final massive underdogs no one thought they had a chance in that game tactically really really astute and I would say perfect defensive performance in the the entire back line didn't concede a single foul in that game which is just really unheard of and that is the sort of level

that you need to defensively be at to frustrate Spain to an extent where they start getting a little bit scrappy and desperate, which is really, really, really difficult to do. But I think you don't try and match them ball for ball in midfield. I think if you try, I think you do have to obviously have a fairly aggressive press, but you also can't get too tired in that because you're going to be chasing shadows for most of that game most likely. So you don't want to wear yourself out. You want to be effective on the break and you want to be on it physically and mentally defensively. So I think that's the key is to not, not try and physically disrupt that midfield flow, but mentally disrupt it through like being really as Soph said really disciplined and like yeah particularly really disciplined defensively and really mentally disrupting their flow. That's really fascinating I want to talk about the mental side of it in a second and

it's really interesting actually if that's the route we're either going to see like a crazy cagey affair or a really fun game because both... you mentioned Spain's defensive problems earlier on Soph, England have had you know lots of defensive frailties throughout this tournament so how do both sides then exploit that because I think we're in for a really fun game if you know the defensive showings that we've seen from both the teams are on display on Sunday. Yeah, I think you're right. I think it could go one of two ways. I personally delight in the kind of cageyness of games sometimes. I know people love like five, four fixtures

and that could happen I guess, but I love seeing teams come up against each other tactically and what they're doing. And if you look back to February and then the subsequent meeting between them and the Nations League in June, in February, England, as Susie said, kind of packed out that midfield, that trio just worked so hard and they kind of gave up on their, you know, in possession responsibilities a little bit. So I think someone like Grace Clinton, for me, she had a brilliant game because she was hassling and harrying and chasing down every single player in that midfield.

On the ball, she maybe wasn't quite as good as we've seen her or wasn't able to be quite as good or creative as we've seen her and what she's known for. But she had that tenacity and that bravery and the same with Keira Walsh in those areas to really, really break down those spaces and close down those spaces. And you saw that as well in the first half in June, you know, England were being out possessed once again, but they got ahead, they got that goal. And I think everything changed in the second half, partly from Spain substitutions, but

also by England's, you know, bringing on Missy Boca, who's a brilliant young talent, but it was her debut and she was coming on to face that midfield. You're like, there's a change in the level there, right? Because of the necessity of having George Stanway only doing 45 minutes, all of that stuff, the loading and things like that. So I think it's going to be a fascinating battle between the two of them. I don't think it will be high scoring personally. I think it will be, if you're looking at it, even the World Cup final, it was a, while everyone, while Spain were definitely the better team on that day, they only got, you know, one goal because of the nature of these two teams and the way they do have these mentalities. I think that is

what sets them apart from the rest is that edge mentally to be able to dig in, get, be patient and get something over the line. One goal but lots of drama and I'll take that because I want lots of drama. I like a spectacle, not a cagey tactical affair. I'm very route one and the mental resilience actually, Susie, is something that we've spoken about with both these teams. Obviously we've talked at length of Aitana Bonmati coming back from having viral meningitis and being in hospital just days before the start of the tournament to coming and scoring the winner in their semi-final to what they went through in 2023, which only concluded in February, the trial with Luis Rubiales being convicted of sexual

assault. They've had so much going on behind the scenes, battles with the Spanish Federation, et cetera. Then you fast forward to the Lionesses and their mental strength in this tournament, injuries, players dropping out, big game players as well, and players that were part of the 2022 European winning squad.

It's a different type of mental resilience, of course, but equally what's gone on with Jess Carter off the pitch and the players all coming together in support of her. And I'm sure that we'll hear more on that going forward. Both of these sides have an incredible mental resilience that sets them apart from everybody else, how do they then channel that in this moment on the pitch coming up against the same because it's not their USP in a game like this. Yeah it's interesting isn't it because like you know when you were putting it like that all I was thinking was is the reality now that both of those teams have that sort of never say die

mental attitude that we've always associated with the Americans. You know, that we are going to win this game regardless of what the score is, like attitude, this is ours. Like that sort of swagger that comes from believing that you deserve to be properly respected, looked after, like have the right systems around you, support staff, like equipment facilities, all of that. And I think that's possibly true. I think both of these sides are the first two really to feel that level of correct entitlement about what they deserve as elite athletes. And that is what we're seeing in that mental side of things when they go on the pitch as well. And I think that's like really thrilling. And I know it's a Spain-England final and everyone

kind of wants that because it's becoming quite a special rivalry. But I was half looking forward to a potential England-Germany final, two teams that have like completely, completely battled and got lucky in the good way, like right, like making your own luck to get there. Going up against each other, I thought it would be like the battle of the sort of underdogs throughout would be quite like thrilling in a way. But yeah, I mean, I think the mental battle is going to be really tough and the as I was saying earlier the way to beat Spain is to mentally frustrate them and get them like starting to get frustrated on the pitch and that's a difficult thing to do

But it is doable because we've seen teams do it England were the last team to beat them 11 games ago So I struggle with this tie and picking a winner, which is going to be great for our predictions, because whilst England have the better investment, the better support, the better league around it in terms of like the development of it and the investment in it and the commitment to it, not always the quality on the pitch. I think they're much more even than people would sometimes suggest in that respect. But there's this way of playing in Spain and this identity that they've all grown up with that is embedded into the very fibre of their being that makes them able

to compete with that. And so you've got this, you know, super funded, super tactically astute team against this team that lives and breathes a style of football clashing. And that excites me. And I don't know what's going to happen. And the mental aspect within that is a special thing. I'm even more psyched up for the final than I was. That was almost like I think you should be going in and doing the team talk, Suzie. That was almost like, I think you should be going in and doing the team talk, Susie. I want to know about the key battles, Soph. Which players are you most intrigued to see go up against each other? Yeah, I think as I mentioned before, that midfield area, you know, the likes of Kira

Walsh, the likes of Aytana Bonmati and how that goes. They know each other so well from playing at Barcelona together. They do know each other inside out and stuff like that. So that's going to be fascinating. I think Lessie Aruso starting against Paredes, that's going to be, yeah. I think Lessie Aruso gets a lot of stick, you know, because she hasn't been scoring that many goals this tournament, but I think she deserves as much credit as a lot of others for coming on. She sets it up for the finishes, right?

She tires, she runs and runs and runs. She's tires the defenders out. She stretches the play, they can't keep up with her, and then by the time you bring on a finisher, and it was the same in the Champions League final with Stian Black-Sanies when she came on, the legs are gone and the defenders, and that's partly down to Alessia Ruta's work, her off the ball work is really key, so I'm going to be fascinated by that. And I do think Lauren Hemp will come into it a lot. That pace that she has, the way that she can just turn on the burners and leave you in the mud behind her is going to be crucial. We saw that with Germany, with Clara Ball, as I mentioned before.

So they're going to be key. And then at the other end, I guess, Esther Gonzalez in the form of her career at the moment, the club and country. She's going to be quite a handful for the back line for England, for that Lea Williamson and Esme Morgan, I imagine, partnership that is pretty young. I mean, it's only a game old. So, well, they've had a couple of moments throughout the season, but it's generally a pretty young partnership. So how they handle her and deal with that kind of direct threat that she offers, where she won't just pass through you, is just going to be fascinating. Yeah I'm fascinated by so many battles across the pitch but I know

Matchday minus one we're recording this on Friday morning Matchday minus one is on Saturday and Serena Vigman notoriously keeps her cards very close to her chest but do we have any update on Lauren James? No, nothing yet, Suzie. No, nothing. And yeah, they do keep their cards very, very close to their chest. They were very, very cagey on Leo Williamson's availability, like right up until match day minus one training ahead of the semi-final. And I imagine they'll be similarly cagey here. I mean, my feeling with Lauren James is that, you know, absolutely phenomenal talent. And as I said, in the preview episodes, I would take a very, very broken Lauren James

to a major tournament because she's able to provide a moment of magic. You said with gangrene, actually, not just broken, with gangrene. Exactly, with gangrene in a leg that's about to fall out or off or whatever it was. But like you've seen that she's not completely fit in this tournament and can't really do 90 minutes

and that's no criticism of her. It's a fact of the fact that she hasn't played a lot of football and really, really potentially rushed back from that injury to be fit and ready, which is hugely admirable. She's clearly worked really, really hard to do it. And is like, you know know the talent in this England team Like the key like creative like superhuman

spark genius exactly So you you want her you want her really badly But also now I think they have to be really smart about the way they use her in this final And I don't think that isn't necessarily like starting as harsh as that sounds when you've got a generational talent like her. But I think you have to use her a moment in the game when you need sort of 15, 20 minutes of magic to potentially change things because she is struggling across the full length of a match at the moment and I saw then I

think you have to be really tactically smart about the way you use her and when you use her. Yeah you could tell that in the Italy game she was quite quiet during that game and then we found out why but I always it's so difficult I mean Serena Vigman will know the right thing to do but I always think that Lauren James is much better from the start of a game rather than as an impact sub because it takes her a little while to get into the game. But happy to be corrected on that. But in terms of the squad depth, the good thing is we're not sitting there saying, oh, God, if we lose Lauren James, we've got nothing because England have already proved how strong they are from the bench. But equally, so have Spain. So again,

we talked about the the resilience piece in terms of being a USP in this never say die attitude squad depth has been England's USP throughout this tournament but Spain have exactly the same so whose bench could make the difference and which coach if either are likely to make changes from the beginning? I still think that in terms of squad depth yes Spain have a lot of squad depth, there's no denying that. And you know, Athenea has not been playing from the start, she comes off the bench, she can unlock a defence. But I think in terms of when you look at England's

creative players and the variety that they have, in terms of who they can bring on, that does make a, that is a bit of a difference. You know, when you're thinking about Chloe Kelly who can send in those crosses like nobody's businesses, she can put it on the money pretty much every single time. You've got Michelle Ajumang who does what she does when you put her toe up front especially and she can cause havoc in a defence. She has such intelligence in terms of where she is in the box. I think that's's what was, uh, Kara Walsh was saying in her press conference yesterday is that, you know, that's, that's the thing about the

lucky thing is that it's not by luck that Michelle pops up in the box. She's there because they practice that and she knows where to be and how to be in those spaces. I think she's shown that maturity. Then you've got a different kind of player and Aggie Beaver-Jones who, you know, probably the most instinctive striker in the English squad, um, can get herself when she's within the box, you know, her goal to shot ratio is ridiculous in terms of what she can convert. So they have these options off the bench that

can suit different situations, which maybe Spain have in a smaller amount, but maybe not quite as much of a variety. So in terms of, yeah, the squad debt for England, I think it is key. Yeah, I think that the critical difference in this game is the fact that so many of those England players can play in so many different positions. It's that diversity of those players that I think is the potential difference maker is a big task against Spain. But the fact that, yeah, you have Beth Mead coming on and playing in a six, two games in a row, and have seen basically a complete change in the structure of the team and it seem chaotic,

but actually be fairly assured despite the sort of all-out attacks and things like that in extra time. So for me, there's still an edge for England in terms of the bench, but it's not necessarily in the quality that's on it, it's more in the flexibility of those players to be able to slot into every role. A couple more questions before we take all of your questions. It's perhaps no coincidence that the nations of the two Champions League finalists are battling it out for Europe's top prize. Sorry, who's that? Which team is that? Sorry, Faye? I don't know, some team that played in red and, you know, another one. Arsenal and Barcelona, Sophie.

Susie. I can't even remember. I had to say your team's name and then can't even remember yours. Is it a sign of the ever increasing influence of Barcelona, but not just of Arsenal, of the WSL? So Barcelona as an entity by themselves in Spain, but the WSL as a whole in England, because Arsenal don't fully have that domination that they used to. I'm winking at Sophie, hoping to get a rise from Susie and she's not having it. Yeah, it's, it's, um, I think you are getting that sign that, you know, the two, everyone always misinterprets, I think, when we say that the Barclays WSL is the most competitive league in the world. They take it to mean that like, you was sort of putting down the rest of the

world or other brilliant teams. Barcelona are the best team in Europe. I know that Arsenal won the trophy this season, but objectively, they are the best, best footballing team at the moment, the most experienced in terms of the players that they have and what they've managed to do over the last, you know, three, four, five, six years in terms of that. But in terms of the league in Spain, the league isn't there yet, but in England, there is a competitiveness to the league.

And I think the fact that Chelsea have dominated for the last few seasons kind of masks that on any given day, any team in the league can cause problems to the other person. The problem with those lower down teams is that that's consistency, right? So on their day, Alessi City can go and draw with Chelsea, but they might not be able to back that up the next week with a win against someone else. And that's the learning piece for those teams, but it doesn't mean that it's not competitive. It means that teams can find a way to break the better teams down. And I don't think you really see that most other places, maybe in the NWSL, where it's a bit more

varied, but there's other reasons for that completely in terms of the way that they structure the league and structure their salary caps and all of that kind of stuff. So I think you do have the two best, best team in the world, best league in the world, and you can merge that together and ultimately you're always going to get them come into the finals eventually. And I think you're starting to see that both in terms of international football and the effect that, you know, having a professional league in England has had on that.

We're going to have a professional, you know, second league in England. That's only going to develop the season even further. And then in Barcelona and seeing what they've done over the last few years as well and how much they've committed to like not just their first team, but their academy and producing young talent. And we've seen Vicky Lopez you know come in for

a Hannibal Matty and look like she belongs on the stage and that's purely because of the Barcelona Academy. I do equally think this tournament has been really competitive and I've been really pleased with that. It could have been other finalists, other teams deserve to be in the final as much as England and Spain did and that excites me going forward. But finally, Susie, we know that Spain are the favourites, everybody had them as tournament winners right at the beginning before anybody had even kicked a ball. So England haven't had to play this kind of underdog role very often. Are they going to embrace it? How are they going to embrace it?

I think they'll definitely embrace it. I think it's no accident that Spain early on in this tournament were saying England are the favourites, England are the favourites. Like everyone wants to pass on that pressure to someone else, right? And there's, you know, something quite freeing in being in a final and, you know, sort of having nothing to lose in a sense, because I don't think it'll be a failure if England lose this final right like you talk you you look at the start of the tournament about where you want a team to get and where you think they'll get and I think if we were at the start the tournament saying England would reach the final like there were a fair few question marks over that people were a worried they wouldn't get out of the

group then worried they wouldn't get past a Germany or a Spain during the knockouts depending on which side of the draw they were in which you know was always going to be tricky so I think you know we would have taken this we would have taken getting to a final for sure you know not everything can go always upwards in a straight line apparently it can to a certain extent. So I mean, I don't know, you know, how Spain would speak about this or how Spanish players speak about this, but I've heard England players speak about the harder game being the semi-final, pressure-wise and mental-wise, because you just want to get to that final so bad. Once you're in that final, all bets are off. Everything's on the table and I think you feel a lot more relaxed in the game than you do in the semi-final to a certain extent.

And I think that is a very freeing thing and being the underdogs added to that, you know, like even less to lose in that sense because it's not a failure if you lose. Then I think, yeah, they're definitely going to be embracing that and leaning into it heavily. Okay. So the time has come. Predictions. I want a winner and I want a score, please. Sophie? Score? I can't give you a score. I'm asking for it.

I just have this feeling and my feelings have been right I think this tournament but I just feel that England what they've gone through in terms of the games that they've played and how they've come back there's just something about that aura that they have I think that they're going to win it. I just have that feeling so it's going to be tight, it's not going to be easy, Spain are very, very good. That's not me saying that, but I think it might be like 2-1. Okay. 2-1 to England. Susie? Spain 1-0. Oh, okay. I'm... So do I vote tactically or not? I just don't know. This is my feeling.

Oh, so you force predictions out of us and then sit on the fence for you. Oh, I'm not sitting on the fence. This comes from the rerun that I constantly have in my brain when I was sat behind the goal pitch side in 2022, watching Chloe Kelly score that winner, take off her top and swirl it around her head. And I was euphorious in the moment whilst also saying Chloe don't get a yellow card and shouting at her. I can I've just got that ingrained in my brain but I feel I know that so I know well actually Suzie's gone for more of a cagey game I'm going for a 3-2 humdinger of a match with England getting the winner

late on in extra time which has become their MO. That's what I'm going for. Praise be to the early kickoff. Yeah well yes I know I know thank goodness for 5 p.m. British summertime. What do you all think? Let us know your predictions. That's it for part one. In part two we'll have a look at some of your emails and questions that you've been sending in. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So we've received so many

emails from you. Thank you so much. We love hearing from you and getting your takes on on what's been a really interesting tournament out in Switzerland. This one is from Kiara. Hello Guardian Women's Football Weekly show. First, really enjoy the show. Keep up the great work. Thank you, Kiara. Secondly, loved Carla Ward on as a guest panelist. I know, wasn't she brilliant? And as someone from Ireland, tell her we're really excited for her to bring us to the next Euros, fingers crossed. We will pass that message on, although I'm sure she's listening. Right, she says, why I'm emailing today is to pick up on something that has me a little surprised.

The media's criticism of Serena Vigman. Today on the show Suzy defended her along the lines of she's done so much and in her five consecutive finals so we've got to give her some grace but I don't understand this. Of course she's earned credit or passes but that credit should be used for when England don't qualify out of a group or get a hammering hopefully not but not for getting to the third major tournament final. I say this as someone who's very much rooting for England, but a step away from it. So therefore just a little more confused as to the tone in the English media or

of the public. I listened to numerous podcasts at the squad announcement questioning not bringing Frank Kirby and bringing Michelle Ajumang instead. Some saying it was the plan to bring her along for camp experience and not play her. But obviously Serena had a plan and a vision that no one is crediting her for. Also, Michelle seems to be a player who goes all in in a good way but in her short time on the field has sailed close to the wind with the referee. She's definitely already picked up cards and I would think her card per

minute ratio is pretty high. Maybe Serena is also protecting her from the previous hatred the likes of Lauren James received. And finally on this point and Kiara apologizes for the long email, don't apologize for that, some very good points in it, but do you not think Serena and the team have done remarkably well with a team of the walking wounded even pre-tournament? Stanway, Greenwood, Walsh and others not having a great season this year, playing themselves back into form. The amount of minutes the Arsenal players, especially Leo Williamson, have had this year with long tournament run-ins. Then the tournament knocks to date, James Williamson, Greenwood etc. So I hope this

email is received in the supportive and interested tone it's meant to be. Really enjoy the show but would like your opinion on this view of Serena since Suzy felt the need to defend her, rightly so, with others and the public appearing to wait for a slip up to pile on. Thoughts? Yeah Serena doesn't need to defend herself. Like for all our predictions, for all our attempts to analyse, like she's in the team's third major final, her fifth right, in a row, which is the team's third major final, her fifth, right, in a row, which is beyond impressive record breaking. She's just setting and breaking records all the time. And I think it needs to go on record as well. And Soph can attest to this, that I said that she will take Michelle Adjaman and I was right.

And I am so rarely right. And I'm so satisfied that I'm right about it and I thought she'd take her and she did take her and I'm really really happy because my one prediction in the entirety of history that has been correct was that. But yeah in terms of like the sort of criticism of Serena that has done the rounds. I think we're allowed to analyze, right? We're allowed to critique a team and a manager and a performance and do I think that they could have avoided 120 minutes if they made some substitutions earlier?

Yes, I do, but that's an abstract thought and it's my opinion and, you know, what do I know? Ultimately, Serena made the changes when she wanted to and it worked out. So like, ultimately, it's completely like up in the air as to whether any sort of the any of the general criticism like that that is made of, you know, the starting 11 or the substitutes, when they come on, who comes on, how much experience they've been given in the build-up to the tournament, is all kind of like irrelevant when they're winning because the plan is working, clearly. But I think it's fair to sort of compare it to other tournaments that they've played in, other finals that

they've reached and the journey to that and you know kind of analyse comparatively as to how like different or similar that's looked, how chaotic or not it's looked. But like in Serena we trust ultimately because how can I argue with five major tournament finals in a row? Like no one can, no one can argue with that and like if she didn't reach the final it would not be a failure because you know even a quarterfinal right like for a team that has been so consistently successful would have been not like completely awful result like it's a difficult thing to do and I think that can be played down a little bit sometimes. I think people really underestimate what tournament football is about as well. Rarely do you have

a team coming through a tournament who plays brilliant football from the start game to the end game, even the best teams in the world, you know, of which England are one. And even Spain this tournament, they haven't played brilliantly throughout. They struggled a bit against Switzerland, they struggled a bit, like a lot against Germany. You just have to ride those ups and downs. And I do find, I would love to, you know, wonder what the Spanish press say, or, you know, when things like that happen, whether they are quite as, you know, critical, even when, even a victory.

And that's not to say we can't have discussions and as Susie said, analysis and say things should have gone better, what we thought should have gone differently. That's a different point. But to have the questions about Serena Beegman and whether she should go if she should be sacked if she loses this final, for me that's utterly crazy. She's in the final of a major championship. We are so lucky in this country that England have been in three back to back major finals. A lot of people from a lot of countries don't get that experience very, very often.

It shouldn't happen very often in football. And I think having the conversations like that at this moment in time is just really a bit. I don't quite know what the word is, but disrespectful to Serena in a way because, and Serena, what her achievements because five back to major finals for a manager is almost unheard of, right? You know, in the modern game, it's almost unheard of and you can criticise her decision making at times, but ultimately she's got them to where they are and they're going to be the second best team in Europe or the first best team in Europe or the first best team in Europe, depending on the result.

Yeah, agreed. I also think a lot of it is just clickbait and people loving the sound of their own voices and therefore wanting to say something controversial. Shock horror. Right. Thank you very much, Kiara. That was a brilliant email. This one is from James. Dear Faye, Susie and guests, I just wanted to get in touch before the final with a quick question for you all. I'm originally from England but have lived in Switzerland for 17 years, my wife is half Spanish and my daughters essentially will be happy whoever wins the final, but I'm still way too much of an England supporter to be neutral about what will happen on Sunday. Any advice on trying to tame the inevitable outbursts if and when things go awry. He carries on as well. I'd like to say a big thank you for the podcast throughout the tournament and through the season as a whole. As I mentioned, I live in Switzerland and have managed to see three games at the Lexigrand in Zurich. Watching with my daughters and seeing them

go through the same emotions as me is something I'll never forget. And I'm hopeful that the women's game is able to grow over here and build on what this tournament has shown is possible. Finally the cheese. I genuinely thought we were going to get through an entire Guardian Women's Football Weekly episode without mentioning cheese in this tournament. Not possible. Thank you James. As others have said vegan fondue and raclette is available. Yay, but not in the summertime boo there are plenty of vegan cheeses available in the supermarkets though noted Susie Rax Sophie Danny if you want me to send you a vegan fondue over come wintertime I'm happy to do so James that's very very kind of you thank you very much in terms of howing how to

try and tame the inevitable outbursts, I failed miserably whilst everybody was asleep in my household, including my three-year-old Ted who you heard earlier at both of the last two knockout games. Utterly impossible. I say unleash the inner beast and support the Lionesses with a roar. Right, this one is from Julie Wone. Julie says hi Women's Football Weekly I'm lucky to have lived in Basel now for quite some time and a lifelong fan of the men's game and a long-term listener of Max and Barry's show. I decided it was time I learned more about the women's games when the Euros came to town and what a journey it has been. I was lucky enough to attend

many games including the two quarterfinals, England, Sweden and France, Germany, with the drama of extra time and penalties. I was also in Zurich last night for the semi-final of Spain-Germany, which was end-to-end football. So happy to see the final of England against Spain and to see it in my hometown of 20-plus years is going to be super special. My sister joined me for a few games last night and asked seeing my enthusiasm, so how long have you been following the women's game? To which I replied since the 2nd of July. But I hope this is just the start and I can continue to follow and support these amazing female football players in the years to come. Thank you for all you do to promote the women's game and for your fab podcast and we'll conclude with come on England! PS I've loved to hear your experiences

of eating all the fondue and raclette in the middle of the heatwave the locals tend to eat these dishes in October November as the winter approaches. Sophie's pulling her hat down as I say this because literally this has ended up being the theme of this tournament is people sending us in emails not always about the football but mainly about the fact that all you guys are eating fondue and raclette in the summer which is crazy but that was a lovely message from Julie Susie. Cheese tastes good all year round like since when can you not have cheese in the summer, hot cheese in the summer like it's delicious, it's colder in the evenings, it's cooler

like people need to, the Swiss need to wake up to the fact that cheese is beautiful all year round. I feel very very wrong giving the Swiss cheese advice and I also don't think that a vegan fondue will travel particularly well I have to say. But yeah that's about it. By the way, Suzy has been multitasking because she has lots of important appointments to get to with two days ahead of the final and she's been straightening her hair live on the pod and it looks wonderful by the way. This is a football question and it was the rest of the email that Raphael sent earlier

on asking about the mascots. It's the mother of all self-answering questions, he says. Should Serena start Kelly and Ajumang in the final? I kind of have a feeling Ella Toon's been really unlucky up to this point and she's due to score. I don't think she changes anything. I don't think she should change anything. There is a reason why it is working and why they are in pacts and they know what they're doing and they know their roles on how to come onto a pitch and what they have to do in those moments. The

only thing I might change is how long I give them on the pitch and not give Michelle the 86th minute to come on or something like that. But I think it's very easy when a player does well to call for them to go into the starting lineup, but you don't like there's a reason why it's working, you know, why Serena has the systems that she has to do that so I definitely wouldn't change anything. Me either I completely agree I think there's a reason why they are impact players and are so effective when they come off the bench and it's because of the hard work that has been done before to tire out teams to stretch play as you say and you start different players and they just have to do that job and then whoever is coming off the

bench will likely have the same impact given the quality of the squad and the availability of players for England coming off the bench so basically keep people in the roles that they have learned throughout this tournament are being super effective in. Absolutely brilliant I hope that's answered all of your questions thank you so much for sending them all in we love reading them as I said the email address is women's football weekly at theguardian.com just a bit of any other business to wrap up because it was announced on Thursday that seven sides from both the Barclays, WSL and WSL2

so Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, London City, Lionesses, Manchester City, Manchester United, Birmingham City, Bristol City, Crystal Palace, oh my goodness me I'm listing every team, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Sunderland and Southampton have joined a trial to make alcohol available to fans in the stands next season. This follows an initial trial which four WSL2 clubs took part in last season you'll remember, where no safety incidents were reported. WSL football said 66% of the 51,000 spectators who took part had supported the idea. What do we think? I think it's great. I think it's great to be experimental and to test these things out

like it's different environment which is a very natural occurrence. I've spoken about that before because it's more affordable. There are more kids and families and stuff going because people can afford to take them and therefore like people just behave a sort of different way automatically as a result of that. I think there's no harm in trialling alcohol in grounds. I think it's a USP that the game can offer. People are drinking before matches at half time and after matches anyway. I think it allows for moderation rather than excessive drinking in between and before and after like so

I actually you know I think it's a good thing to test out whether it works or not we'll see but that's that's the point of a trial right. Yeah really good point um also just to wrap up we won't spend too much time on this obviously uh we will do this post tournament I'm sure there's a reason uh that WSL football have announced the fixtures today, two days before a major tournament final. I'm sure it's got to be something to do with letting the fans have enough advance warning of when they need to travel. However, we'll talk about it a little bit more when the tournament ends. The Barclays WSL fixtures have been announced the opening day ones and we've got a barnstormer for the first game. Chelsea

against Manchester City. It's a 7.30 kickoff at Stamford Bridge on the 5th of September. Arsenal will kick off their campaign against newly promoted London City Lionesses the following day. That's at Emirates Stadium, both televised by the way. Chelsea Man City on Sky and Arsenal London City Lionesses on the BBC. The other games, we've got a Merseyside Derby, Liverpool Everton. That's at Anfield also on Sky on the 7th. Brighton and Hovalbian also on the 7th. These are the Sunday games by the way. Manchester United Leicester and Tottenham West Ham. We'll talk about that another day but it has been an absolute pleasure as always I

cannot believe we're finally at the final and we get to talk about the winner on Monday because that's when we're going to be back. Suzy enjoy the next two days see you soon. There is no enjoyment in the build-up to a final. It's very, very stressful and lots of writing and bring on match day when it's like the eye of the storm and there's nothing more you can write until the game happens. You wouldn't have it any other way. Soph, lovely to see you as always. Ready to be on. Thanks for having me. Take care. Right, we're going to be back on Monday as I say to review the final between England and Spain.

So join us then. Keep having your say, send in your questions via social media or emailing us at women'sfootballweeklyattheguardian.com. And as ever, a reminder to sign up for our bi-weekly women's football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Gold Post. Sign up. This week, as I mentioned earlier on, is already dropped into your inboxes if you've signed up and producer Soph is looking at how Spain and England differ from the teams that faced each other at the World Cup final in 2023. It's well worth a read.

The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Sophie Downey and Silas Gray. Music composition was by Laura Iredell. Our executive producer is Salamad. Come on in, Glenn. This is The Guardian.