(Reuters) -Reaction to England winning the Women’s European Championship final on Sunday.
ENGLAND COACH SARINA WIEGMAN
We said we can win by any means and that’s what we have shown again today. I am so proud of the team and the staff. It is incredible.
SPANISH COACH MONTSE TOME
This is a sport, you must know how to lose, and today we missed the penalties.
I think we were better, but football is a sport where the best team doesn’t always win. England are an excellent national team, they showed their level during the tournament.
BRITAIN’S KING CHARLES
For more years than I care to remember, England fans have sung that famous chant “football’s coming home”. As you return home with the trophy you won at Wembley three years ago, it is a source of great pride that, through sporting skill and awesome teamwork, the Lionesses have made those words ring true.
Well done, Lionesses. The next task is to bring home the World Cup in 2027 if you possibly can!
ENGLAND CAPTAIN LEAH WILLIAMSON
Total disbelief but at the same time I knew it was going to happen. Playing for this England team is unbelievable. You cannot put us down.
SPANISH MIDFIELDER AITANA BONMATI
I don’t have much emotion left to be honest. I have emptied myself of emotion. We are all exhausted. We have spent many days here.
I have to say sorry because it was my fault in the end. But I was not able to score it (her penalty). Congratulations to our rivals. In my opinion, we were superior in the match. On some occasions, it is not enough in football.
ENGLAND DEFENDER LUCY BRONZE
We never lost belief in ourselves, there was a lot of noise on the outside. To go through 120 minutes back-to-back and to win on penalties in two of those games is unbelievable.
ENGLAND STRIKER CHLOE KELLY
I am so proud of this team. So grateful to wear this badge. So proud to be English.
ENGLAND GOALKEEPER HANNAH HAMPTON
This team is unbelievable. Incredible. We can show we can come back from 1-0. I lost track of what was going on in that shootout, as soon as I saw her run off I knew we had won.
UK PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER:
Champions! Congratulations Lionesses — what a team. What a game. What drama. You dug deep when it mattered most and you’ve made the nation proud. History makers.
SPANISH PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ
Champions, always. Our Women’s Spanish Football team, an example and pride of Spain.
THE SPANISH ROYAL HOUSEHOLD
The Princess Leonor and the Princess Sofia have greeted the players of the Spanish Women’s Football Team. After the final, we are proud of you! Surely, with your quality and effort, many more successes will come.
LONDON MAYOR SADIQ KHAN
You’ve made London, and the entire nation, incredibly proud. It’s coming home. An amazing team, an amazing tournament! So proud of the Lionesses for another history-making performance on the world stage. Their heart, grit and determination has inspired a new generation.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, Graham Keeley and Catarina Demony; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
