Leah Williamson sends four-word Lionesses message before England vs Spain Euros final

Leah Williamson has insisted the current Lionesses squad are determined not to be a ‘flash in the pan’ as they aim to defend their European Championship crown against Spain on Sunday.

England will head to Basel for their third consecutive major tournament final to face the world champions, who are chasing their first Euros success.

While the Lionesses were on the losing side in the World Cup final against Spain in 2023, Williamson hopes their legacy can be the consistency with which they compete at the top level.

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“The landscape keeps changing and we’re trying to change with it,” said the England captain.

“That’s a really hard thing to do and the investment and the quality of the game in England is continuing to rise.

“You don’t want to just be a flash in the pan and a memory. When we spoke prior to 2022, we said it was the start of something and we’re still trying to play our role in that.

“So being here and being on this stage, we know how powerful that is. I hope it just continues and continues to grow and the respect for the women’s game and women in general, we can try our best to continue to elevate that.”

History follows the Lionesses everywhere they go with new records seemingly achievable at every turn.

Having overcome Sweden and Italy in nail-biting encounters during the knockout stages, they have now earned the write to compete for England’s first major tournament trophy on foreign soil.

And while the memories of 2022 cannot be replicated, the prospect of such an achievement at St. Jakob Park presents its own special meaning for Williamson.

“Being away from home is special in a different way. You represent your country somewhere else and the weight of that is important to consider because it adds a little extra,” she said.

“But I think the history on the line, it seems every time this team enters a new year there is so much to be done and could be done. It’s a real privileged time to be a part of this team and be involved.

“The opportunity that’s there to be the first this and the first that all the time for us is a huge motivator but more just because of what it would do for women’s football and continue the legacy that we’ve already started.”

The task in front of them to achieve such a milestone remains seismic, however.

Spain have performed impressively throughout the tournament, and remain undefeated having won all their group stage matches.

They saw off hosts Switzerland 2-0 in the quarter-finals before dispatching Germany 1-0 after extra time in the semi-finals and boast a host of stars in their ranks.

While Williamson is well aware of their quality, playing alongside Mariona Caldentey at Arsenal, she does not feel that England would constitute underdogs.

“On Sunday, we play a game against the world champions who continue to prove themselves over and over. They’re a fantastic footballing team and the best at what they do,” she said.

“We’re very much aware of that but we think that we’re pretty good in some areas too.

“We need to be at our best to beat Spain and I think they need to be at their best to beat us but there is a lot of respect between the two teams and I’d be hesitant to rule a clear underdog in this scenario.”

References to that title of underdog have risen as a result of the Lionesses’ own sub-par performances at the competition to-date.

Their path has not been as smooth sailing as Spain’s, having to claw their way back from behind in both knockout matches to-date.

They left it late too, scoring equalisers to take both games to extra time with less than 10 minutes to go.

But Williamson is not scared of losing despite the challenge ahead and will relish the opportunity that captaining England in another European Championship final presents.

“If you’re fearful of losing, even if you win, do you enjoy that experience? Do you fully take it in? Do you give everything that you have or are you expending energy in the wrong way?” she asked.

“This team is so task focused and whatever is in our way we will try and overcome together. We’re not a team fearful of losing, anything can happen and there’s so much out of your control.

“Hopefully the best is yet to come but it definitely wasn’t the plan. We’d have liked to have wrapped games up a little earlier.

“We’re definitely not fearful of losing because you expend energy in ways that you don’t want to.”