Euro 2025 destiny awaits Lionesses ahead of Spain final rematch

As 87,182 fans flocked to Wembley in the summer of 2022, it was as though they were witnessing destiny fall into place.

At Euro 2022, the Lionesses rode a wave of momentum that carried them through a dreamlike summer almost without hitch. From a group stage that saw England score 14 goals and concede none to a 4-0 semi-final win over Sweden, complete with improvised back heels and unending chants of ‘it’s coming home’, they simply seemed unstoppable.

It felt like fate when Keira Walsh lofted the ball over the German defence and into the path of Ella Toone, who chipped Merle Frohms and wheeled away to the roar of Wembley. Even when Lina Magull equalised to take it to extra time, the Lionesses had a meeting with history as Chloe Kelly etched her name indelibly into English football’s annals and transformed women’s football in the country forever.

At Euro 2025, the path has not always seemed so fateful. Twice England have looked all but out of their title defence while a defeat in the first match has left them playing must-win football almost from the outset.

Performances, too, have hardly been the stuff of dreams. An error-strewn display at the Stadion Letzigrund set the tone for the Lionesses’ tournament and the Netherlands and Wales proved kind opponents to allow England to progress with relative ease, neither providing a real test.

Against Sweden in Zurich, for 70 minutes it looked like it was back to the England that had first arrived at the tournament in the 2-1 defeat against France. The backline looked fragile, conceding two early goals, and the Lionesses looked out of ideas upfront.

But then destiny’s child herself Kelly entered the pitch and had everyone saying her name as she delivered two crosses that led to a