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Sarina Wiegman issued an update on the fitness of Lauren James as preparations continue for England’s Euro 2025 final encounter with Spain on Sunday.
The news was customarily vague but gave hope that the Lionesses could still see James back in time for the trip to Basel after she departed at half-time due to an ankle injury against Italy.
Here is everything you need to know from day 24 at Euro 2025…
Today in camp
England were back out on the grass at Sportanlage Au for their penultimate training session before the culmination of the tournament at St. Jakob Park.
The Lionesses shared training photos with players hitting the gym and competing against each other in preparation for their test against Spain.
Ella Toone also revealed that while the squad are preparing their football skills, their families have organised a pub crawl tonight to warm-up for the big occasion at the weekend.
They will certainly hope that it is their form of training for the celebrations to come after a win on Sunday, but there remains plenty of work to do on the pitch before the Lionesses can get carried away with the thought of upcoming trophy lifts.
Team news
Asked about Lauren James’ fitness, Sarina Wiegman could not be drawn to give a definitive answer on whether she would be available for the Euro 2025 final.
The England manager seemed unsure herself with James still a doubt after her early exit against Italy due to an ankle injury.
“She’s still recovering. She’s doing things on the pitch and we have two more days so we’re going to give her time,” said Wiegman.
“We don’t know yet [if she’ll be ready], but that’s what we’re going to go for – 23 players available for the game on Sunday.”
She will certainly be praying for a clean bill of health with James starting every game so far for the Lionesses at the tournament.
Despite not having played a full 90 minutes before journeying to Switzerland, James has shaken off any rust to emerge as England's joint top scorer after bagging a brace against the Netherlands.
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The Lionesses have been benefitting from the presence of Reggie the dog in camp, owned by their barista at St. George’s Park.
Reggie has travelled with the squad to Switzerland and has offered a calming influence in what has been a nerve-shredding tournament for the Lionesses.
“Performance staff are always on hand to help us and help us feel fresh and decompressing away from the pitch is important as well,” said Keira Walsh.
“We have a coffee dog that helps, I think most of the girls spend time with him and I don't think he realises how much he's helped us.
“When we won the game, he came into the meal room afterwards and we were all so happy to see him.”
Hopefully Reggie can deliver the necessary luck to continue the Lionesses’ streak and take a win from the final against Spain.
Quote of the day
“I think we’ve nearly killed [Sarina Wiegman] twice this tournament, she said we’ve definitely aged her.
“That’s five consecutive tournaments for her being in a final and that’s just unbelievable. We know we’re in good hands, we know she’s a manager who can take teams right to the final.
“She’s done a few good speeches this camp, I’ll give it to her. She’s a great manager and she’s someone we all have a lot of belief in.” - Ella Toone
What are the pundits saying?
Anita Asante admitted she was shocked to see England make the Euro 2025 final after putting in some performances that would fall below expectations.
Slow starts against Italy and Sweden proved costly and both games saw England deserve very little from their displays in the opening 70 minutes.
“It surprised me that they've gotten themselves into a third final, in terms of the performances that they've displayed throughout the tournament,” Asante told The Sports Agents podcast.
“But not in terms of the characters that we have in the team, and the leaders, and the belief that they've shown, and of course the resilience.”
One such character that Asante was particularly keen to highlight was starlet Michelle Agyemang who came on in both times to deliver crucial equalisers.
Both the 19-year-old’s interventions took the games to extra time and gave England a necessary lifeline.
“She's really relishing the moment, and we're going on this journey with her. We're literally watching, in real time, a star being born, in my opinion,” Asante added.
“I think it's fantastic to see, because tournament football is all about these incredible stories.”
Best of the rest
Spain’s women’s national team posted on X that they were completing their final training session in Lausanne before the final on Sunday.
They received a visit from the CEO of Spanish energy company Iberdrola Mario Ruiz-Tagle who showed his support for the world champions at the training session.
The Spanish squad’s impact was overshadowed after their World Cup victory by the actions of Luis Rubiales who kissed striker Jenni Hermoso without consent as the medals were collected, leading to a charge of sexual assault.
It gives added reason, if they needed any, to beat England once more in their first-ever European Championship final as they hope the momentum from this tournament can finally have the desired impact of boosting women’s football in Spain.
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