After traumatic fallout from their 2023 triumph, Montse Tomé’s team are fighting for more than just a trophy
F
or England, the last World Cup final remains a kind of open wound. The mistake by Lucy Bronze that allowed Olga Carmona to score the only goal of the game; Lauren Hemp hitting the crossbar; the opportunities not taken; the surges of momentum not rewarded; the sense of a golden inheritance slipping inexorably through their fingers. For the players who remain, and for coach Sarina Wiegman, Sunday’s European Championship final offers a chance for redemption.
If all this is normal and regular enough, then what is perhaps more unusual is that much of the above is also true for their victorious opponents.
Restitution, revenge, a chance to erase painful memories, a collective resolve that this moment will not be taken from them, the chance to secure a meaningful legacy: these will be the stakes for Spain in Basel. Winning the World Cup in 2023 was a monumental achievement immediately tarnished by the actions of their federation. This final, by contrast, feels like more of a clean slate.
