England 1-1 Spain: the English keep the Euro in penalties

Spain could not break the curse in the Women's Euro Cup. La Roja fell in the penalty shootout (3-1) in Basel against an England that revalidated the title obtained in 2022, making the double in the highest continental competition.

The final, as it could not be otherwise, had to be defined in extra time after 90 minutes tied at one goal per side. However, the physical wear and tear weighed heavily on the British, who opted to hold back in their field until the penalties. There, the glory went to the 'lionesses', thanks to the saves of Hannah Hampton.

Spain struck first in the final, thanks to Mariona Caldentey

La Roja was slightly superior in a first half full of inaccuracies in both teams. Cata Coll was very close to messing it up in the 18th minute, with a short pass intercepted by Hemp. When the English forward wanted to define, the Barça goalkeeper quickly closed down to block the shot on goal.

Spain had warned with a couple of chances from Esther in the first quarter of an hour and, finally, in the 24th minute they managed to take the lead thanks to a goal from Mariona Caldentey. The former culé forward, now a figure of Arsenal, headed in a perfect cross from Ona Battle reaching the end line to put the partial 0-1 in St. Jakob Park.

English reaction after the break

England seemed to be getting nothing right in Basel when, in the 40th minute, Lauren James was forced to leave due to injury. Chloe Kelly entered in her place and the British number 18 soon generated danger on the left. However, the Selection maintained the advantage until the break.

In the 56th minute, Kelly found freedom on her wing to serve a perfect cross, headed at will by Alessia Russo entering free of marking to the heart of the area.

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Montse Tomé moved the bench with the entry of Claudia Pina for Alexia Putellas, a change that gave La Roja greater depth on the right. Pina tested the reflexes of goalkeeper Hampton in the 73rd minute, with a distant shot that the '1' had to clear to the corner.

The final quarter of an hour, however, was very even, with few arrivals in the areas and enormous tension. Again, as in the 'semis', both teams had to go to extra time to define the winner.

Extra time was not enough to define the champion

Spain regained control of the center of the field in the first half of extra time. Claudia Pina warned in the 100th minute with a shot from the left that went wide, while England made efforts to maintain the pace of the match, clearly diminished physically.

Those of Sarina Wiegman were playing their third consecutive extra time, while La Roja also had to eliminate Germany in extra time (0-1).

Just before the break, Salma Paralluelo wasted an unbeatable opportunity, throwing a backheel to define a cross from Battle from the right, prior filtered pass from Aitana Bonmatí, in an action that asked to put the foot to define first, with the goal in front.

In the second half, Spain accentuated its dominance, but did not have the aim to translate its superiority in the result. Salma, like Vicky López, did not enter fine in the definition, while the English bet on resisting until the penalties, without even showing up to the rival area in the entire extension.

The penalties gave England their second Euro Cup

Beyond the superiority, Spain failed to break the tie in regulation time. For the second time in history, the Women's Euro Cup had to be resolved with shots from the penalty spot, something that only happened in 1984 (first edition), with Sweden defeating England.

This 2025, the 'lionesses' had revenge, taking advantage of the failures of the Spanish players. La Roja started with an advantage thanks to the stop of Cata Coll to Mead and the goal of Patri Guijarro.

However, that would be the only effective charge of the Selection, because then Mariona, Aitana and Salma failed consecutively, the latter with a deflected shot. Coll stopped two in the round, but Kelly scored the fifth and definitive to seal the 3-1. Spain will have to keep waiting for the only title that resists the current world champions.