Sarina Wiegman gives Lauren James injury update before Euro 2025 final

Sarina Wiegman confirmed that Lauren James was available for selection for the Euro 2025 final against Spain as she completed the final training session before travelling to Basel.

James had picked up a knock to her ankle that saw her substituted at half time against Italy in the semi-final which left her a doubt for the showdown at St. Jakob Park on Sunday.

But having completed the whole of training today, Wiegman confirmed that she had 23 players at her disposal to face the world champions as England bid to defend their European Championship crown.

“We had 23 players on the pitch today and everyone came through. Everyone recovered well and we have 23 players available for Sunday,” she said.

“We have many players that can impact and we know that [Lauren James] can impact too.”

At the time of James’ substitution against Italy, England found themselves a goal down owing to Barbara Bonansea’s 33rd-minute strike.

It was the second time in the knockout stages the Lionesses had to fight back from a deficit as they conceded twice in the first half of the quarter-final against Sweden, too.

But an equaliser from Michelle Agyemang deep into stoppage time took them to extra time against Italy in Geneva before Chloe Kelly was first to react to her saved spot-kick and put England into a third consecutive major final.

Such nail-biting performances has led to criticism of the levels the Lionesses are performing at as they showed a tendency to start games slowly, but Wiegman feels it is a reflection of the ever-improving standards in women’s football.

“It shows what the competition is and has been in this tournament. It’s improving so much and it’s so competitive, every game is a hard game,” she said.

“I’m just really glad that we made