ZURICH :Sarina Wiegman sang a celebratory song in her native Dutch when England clinched a spot in the Euro 2025 final. She attempted to high-five assistant Darren Ward, but missed. She admitted she planned to treat herself with a "glass of something nice."
If England's women's coach was reserved when hired in 2021, she said she has grown into the role, and her passion has been on full display at the Euros, particularly through two nail-biting knockout victories in which the Lionesses were on the brink of elimination.
"First of all, my English has improved, so I understand a lot more, but also you learn more about people you work with," she said on Friday. "You learn more again about yourself and while I'm always working on developing the team, I always try to keep developing myself.
"What I really wanted to do over all these years is try to enjoy it a little bit more, you have to be focused in this job, but you need to celebrate the moments that are good, it's really nice."
As England get ready to contest their third successive major final on Sunday, when they face world champions Spain in the Euro 2025 showpiece, Wiegman's players have described her as a second mum - direct and demanding but caring and supportive.
Ella Toone said the coach has been kind-hearted in the midfielder's first major tournament after the death of her father. Aggie Beever-Jones said after England's loss to France in their Euro opener, Wiegman put a consolatory arm around her and explained her reasons for not playing her in the game.
Midfielder Keira Walsh called her "one of the best managers I've played for in terms of trying to make everyone feel loved".
"It's a really difficult job when you're in a tournament, and obviously people want to play,
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