Attention has quickly turned towards Brazil 2027, but how will Sarina Wiegman’s team evolve before then?
T
he shiny ticker-tape had not even been cleared from the pitch at St Jakob-Park when the gauntlet was thrown down. As England celebrated their Euro 2025 triumph, King Charles wrote on the royal family’s Instagram account: “Well done, Lionesses. The next task is to bring home the World Cup in 2027 if you possibly can!” No pressure, then.
The short-term future for England players will centre around two things; a holiday – unless you are a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) player like Jess Carter, who had to fly straight back to the US to play club football – and more accolades, the latest of which came on Friday as the National Football Museum announced every squad member and Sarina Wiegman will all be inducted into their Hall of Fame. More awards will surely follow but, eventually, everyone will catch up with the king’s mindset and focus attention on 2027.
Having become the first senior England football team to win a major trophy overseas, and the first to defend a title, the next obstacle to overcome is to win the nation’s first Women’s World Cup, with the next tournament to be staged in Brazil as it heads to South America for the first time. The Lionesses have come very close, reaching the semi-finals in 2015 and 2019 before losing 2023’s final, and their retained status as European champions will see many tipping them for glory in a couple of years. But how will this team evolve before then and what is there for all concerned to ponder?
