Top 10 moments from the Women's EURO2025

Greetings, reader!

Well, the European Championship tournament in women's football (soccer, for my American readers) just ended last Sunday. It was a great tournament, with many dramatic moments ranging from ones that hit hard on a subjective level to ones that will definitely go down in soccer (football, for my European readers) history. Here are my top 10 favorite moments from the tournament!

10. The best player in the world scores the goal of the tournament

You know it has been a good tournament when something with this title is only at 10th. But yeah, this one rocks. In the dying minutes of extra time in the semi-final between Spain and Germany, things seemed destined to go to a penalty shootout - until Aitana Bonmati delivered her own version of Thanos' "Fine, I'll do it myself" moment from Avengers: Age of Ultron.

With world-class pass reception, a genius turn, a rapid-pace run and and an ice-cold finish, the two-time Ballon D'Or winner sent La Roja Femini into the final. It cannot be overstated how difficult to score that goal was - the angle was so tight that Bonmati's shot being just an inch to the right would've made it hit the post, whereas an inch to the left would've had the ball land in Ann-Katrin Berger's hands. Only the truest of ballers can score that shot, and Bonmati showed just how worthy she is in a moment when her team needed her the most.

9. Ann-Katrin Berger's performance against France

Germany may have missed out on the final due to the moment described above, but they sure left their mark on the tournament. Their main character was, without a shred of doubt, goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Mind you, her backstory alone is the stuff of legends - she beat cancer, not once but twice, and is back playing top level football. Berger was one of the most skillful players in the Euros (she barely beat out Cata Coll and Hannah Hampton to become the goalkeeper in my Team of the Tournament), as well as one of the most entertaining to watch with all her antics.

This was especially evident in the quarter final between Germany and France, in which Berger delivered one of the best goalkeeping performances I've ever seen. Mind you, France 100% would've made it to the semis if it wasn't for this one woman being in the right place at the right time over and over and over again. That one save (you know the one), where her brilliant reaction speed and acrobatic leap had the ball changing course mere millimeters before it would've crossed the goal line, was some grade-A heroics.

8. The world (including me) shows growth and gives a f**k about women's football

Women's football has come a long way in the past decade - and I don't mean that in a "haha, they used to be bad" way, but in a "no wonder if there were some gaps in quality because this fucked-up society didn't give women's football a fragment of resources to work with" way. I mean, the Finnish women's team had to use the old kits from the men's team until as recently as 2009, when they were graciously granted their own f**king gamewear.

The media has also started to show increased interest in the women's game, as well as taking it more seriously (although there's still a lot to improve - I don't know how Lucy Bronze kept herself composed and didn't straight-up murder the reporter who chose to ask her "Who from the team would do well on Love Island" in the press conference before the quarter final. Can't really imagine Harry Kane getting asked that). That has been lovely to see - the downplaying has gone on too long, whether it's the direct sexism you see from voices like disgraced former player Joey Barton disparaging women's football, or the more indirect echoes of an overall sexist society helping oblivious football fans overlook the women's game. And I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that I was always in the right - for a long time, I was very much a product of the latter.

While I never had anything against women's football, I'm ashamed of how miniscule my following was for years and years, all the while claiming to be a big fan of the sport. Sure, I could go with any amount of excuses and cop-outs ("it's not promoted in the media the same way", "I started to follow the men's sport first and keeping up with that already takes up so much time and focus" et cetera), but I'll rather just own up and say I wasn't being a very good feminist (or football fan). Thankfully, key events like the Lionesses winning the 2022 EUROs (and making me feel a strong sense of "man, the one time England wins is in the version I haven't been invested in, I wish I would've followed this tournament from the start") and falling in love with a person who challenged my claim to be a football fan while not knowing shit about the women's game from day one, helped me on my way. Here's hoping more people continue to see the light!

7. Spain's midfield being just a joy to witness

First of all, one intriguing observation I've made is how delightfully similar the tactics and gameplay of any given country's men's team and women's team are to each other - it's a beautiful statement to the very football culture of the country in question. The Germans will defend rigidly while building aggressive counter-attacks, the French will slow-play across the midfield and rely on magic from individual star players, and the English will give their fans heart attacks by only starting to play once they've gone 1-0 down. This phenomenon was most visible this summer with Spain, whose midfield was so f**king good that it didn't even remind me of the Rodri-Ruiz-Olmo midfield from the 2024 men's EURO winners - it took me back to the days of the Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta midfield, who won three consecutive major tournaments between 2008 and 2012.

With Montse Tomé, the current Spain team proved to have a manager worthy of keeping the tradition of beautiful, intricate and artistic tiki-taka passing alive. And she sure had the squad to back it up - between Patri Guijarro keeping the tempo as defensive midfielder, 19-year-old Vicky López bringing pace and energy to the midfield while also working as an unselfish system player, Alexia Putellas bringing the creativity with playmaking key passes, and the world's best player Aitana Bonmati making sure that every pass goes in the most genius direction possible with just the right precision, pace and power, it was heaven.

Bonmati was chosen as the official Player of the Tournament, and I've seen a lot of people online complaining that she didn't deserve it, citing stats ("player X had more goals/assists") - and it's a real shame to see the art of football being lost on so many people. Yes, Bonmati didn't have many goals and assists because that isn't her f**king role in the team - but just look at the minutes leading up to any given goal. Pay attention to the passing play, and you'll notice how everything runs through her, she's the key piece of the puzzle in the formation, and she doesn't take flashy credit for her role because she's there to play the game and be f**king great at it. That has always been my favorite type of player - like the rhythm guitarist of a rock band, she rarely steals the show but real appreciators will notice how everything would fall apart without her.

6. Lucy Bronze is The Terminator

Lucy Bronze was already one of my favorite players in women's football when going into the tournament - I mean, she plays for England, plays the ever-underrated position of fullback, and has been open about her autism and ADHD diagnoses (something that is still very stigmatized in the football community), so what's not to love?

Well, this tournament increased my respect tenfold. Just think about the moment in the game against Sweden, when she went down after a bad-looking clash, and moment later she was strapping up her own leg so she could get back to playing ASAP, instead of waiting around for the medical team. She played the rest of the game despite her leg appearing to be a bit injured, and she even stepped up to take a penalty in the ensuing shootout and scored it.

Only after the final against Spain was won, did she reveal the whole truth: she had been playing the entire tournament with a fractured tibia. The absolute badass addressed it lightly in an interview, claiming it was "painful but worth it". I better not hear another soul say any bullshit about women's soccer being inferior because "the players are weaker", not to mention the ridiculous claims you often hear about women being more emotional than men - in the men's game, a small tap on the shoulder will have most of the over-dramatic players rolling around and crying like they've just been shot, and when it comes to strength and sportsmanship, none of those whiny divas hold a candle to Lucy f**king Bronze.

5. After witnessing football culture at its worst, the real fans showcase it at its best

There's no getting around the fact that women's football culture is a lot less toxic than the men's game - you got myriads of openly lesbian and bi players counteracting the rampant homophobia in men's football, you got less of the unsportsmanlike whining mentioned in the previous entry, and the fans who travel to see the games appear to be there in order to actually enjoy watching football, as opposed to getting smashed, breaking windows and throwing punches. In fact, following the first weeks of this week's EUROs was such a breath of fresh air that I came to expect a bit too much from this side of football - and was thus extremely disheartened to learn that some of the ugliness you see in men's football culture is present there as well.

Yes, I'm talking about the grand English tradition of fans online turning into the goddamn KKK whenever their team isn't playing as well as they'd like. After the team struggled against Sweden (mind you, they still won the game), many 'fans' online threw out the big picture of the entire defense line needing improvement, and pinned it on one player - and as the starting backline featured three white women and one woman of color, you'll never guess who was thrown under the bus.

Jess Carter received so much racial abuse online after that game that she had to delete her social media accounts. She didn't start the next game, and whether it was the coach's decision of her own, it's no wonder - I can't imagine how hard it would be to put yourself out there and give your everything for your country when your country has just vocally proclaimed that they hate you because of your skin color.

Thankfully, after the very worst of the English fan base had made their voices heard, the very best chimed in even louder. Messages of solidarity flowed through the media, from English celebrities, former women's team legends, and the stars in the men's team. When Carter was substituted onto the field towards the end of the semifinal, her appearance was met with an applause so roaring that it hopefully made the vile racist ghouls retreat back into their caves for a while. Carter, who has now joined the likes of Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford in the category of English stars who truly don't owe jack shit to their country after how they've been treated but still decide to give their everything for a team that doesn't deserve them, was back in the starting line-up for the final.

And man, that performance - she completed so many key tackles from tough angles against some of the world's best attackers, that she was one of the best players on the pitch and England very possibly wouldn't have won without her. Her performance in the final really proves one important point: the fans who racially abuse players aren't just evil bullies, they're also really f**king stupid.

4. Finland makes us proud

Oh, this is a bittersweet one. Making it into the competition alone is something to be proud of (the men's team have only done it once), but after three well-fought games, Finland came painfully close to making into the knockout stage. If it wasn't for Switzerland equalizing in the dying minutes of stoppage time, we would've had it in the bag. Hence the mixed feelings - on one hand, it hurt to see the Helmarit get eliminated after coming just inches away from further glory, but on the other, one must still be proud with how well they played and how close they came.

The Finnish players gave their everything to the three matches they played, resulting in a tight loss against Norway, that damned tie against Switzerland, and a hard-earned victory against Iceland. Finnish sports fans won't soon forget the dashing attack runs and beautiful goal by Katariina Kosola, the surefire defending and cold penalty goal by Natalia Kuikka, or national treasure Emma Koivisto giving her everything into both the defending and attacking ends throughout all three matches.

3. England's nerve-wracking comeback against Sweden

It is so fitting for the legacy of English football that in the rare occurrence where a major trophy is won, it happens not via domination and easy victories, but rather via a gritty and movie-worthy underdog tale of constantly pulling oneself out of the mud, coming back from the dead over and over again, and putting every fan on the verge of a heart attack for the majority of all three knockout games. I don't know what's more incredible - the fact that England beat Sweden in the quarter final despite being 2-0 down with 11 minutes of regular time to go, or the fact that this was arguably the least dramatic out of their three matches in the knockout stage.

But, yeah. Who else was it ever going to be than Lucy f**king Bronze to score that first goal to give England a lifeline? And only two minutes later, the 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang scores the equalizer. This once again underlines how f**king deranged the racist 'fans' are - the quarter-final was the same game that they abused Carter for because they felt a need to berate a Black player due to England almost losing the game, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A BLACK PLAYER WHO SAVED ENGLAND FROM DEFEAT. Can't make this stuff up. Fucking jackasses.

Anyhow, this nerve-wracking comeback lead to an equally nerve-wracking extra time, after which things were decided in an even more nerve-wracking penalty shootout. Things looked bad for a while, but you know it's over when Chloe Kelly deadass smiles confidently right before taking her signature leap and firing her penalty into the net. All in all, the grit showcased by the Lionesses here is the stuff of legends.

2. Michelle Agyemang at 90+6 minutes

This one had me screaming and jumping up and down when watching the game with my fiancée and in-laws. Not only was England 1-0 down for a vast majority of the semi-final versus Italy, but the world seemed to believe it would stay that way. The commentators, the people sitting next to me, social media - it all had a distinct "yeah, this is the end of the road for England" feel. I'm a Liverpool fan, so you know I'll hold on to an absolute fool's hope till the very end in case a miracle happens. So, I kept saying "Nah, they'll come back", which started to look more preposterous by the minute.

Then something happened that usually only happens in the goofy, purposefully over-dramatic scoreline predictions I make before matches. In a script written by the football Gods themselves, it's Michelle Agyemang again, this time equalizing and single-handedly keeping the Lionesses from getting eliminated at 90+6 minutes. Cue extra time, a clutch goal by Chloe Kelly, and into the final we go. Tears, man.

It sickens me to think that the same racist fans who abused Jess Carter online were probably happy to see England going through to the final, and celebrated as if it hadn't been a Black player who got them there. I can't begin to understand how that level of cognitive dissonance works, where Black players are 'dirty immigrants' when they fail but 'proper Englishwomen like the rest of them' when they succeed. If the world was fair, those 'fans' would not be celebrating England's victory as they don't deserve a shred of happiness in their country's success. I'm taking some solace in the thought that anyone so small-minded and hateful will likely have a very miserable rest of their life, whereas Jess Carter and Michelle Agyemang are European champions with the world at their feet.

1. Football comes home again

You know it was going to be this one. For the second EUROs in a row, England's women have accomplished what the men have not for over 50 years, and secured a major trophy. And this time, they did with some real f**king heroics.

In a match that looked almost like a parody of England's entire tournament, Spain dominated the first half so thoroughly that the underdog status was clearer than ever. Every pundit seemed to have already proclaimed the Spaniards as champions at half-time. And no wonder, honestly - they had the winners of the four last Ballon D'Ors on the pitch, they are the current World Cup champions, and they did appear to be playing better. But, having seen the antics Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses had pulled so far in the tournament, I actually felt bizarrely confident. An against-the-odds underdog comeback seemed almost inevitable at this point, if one just found the strength to believe. "Yeah, Chloe Kelly is gonna come on and score another clutch goal", I kept saying.

Well, I was wrong. This time Chloe Kelly only came on and made the world-class cross, assisting Alessia Russo's goal. These goal contributions in every single knockout match after coming off the bench, man - how can you be the arguably best player of the tournament when you don't start a single game?

But, yeah. England fought like crazy throughout extra-time, and because they love to cause maximum stress in their fans, it obviously went to penalties again. What ensued was drama, heroic Hannah Hampton saves and re-done shots (when I close my eyes I can still hear my mother SCREAMING "WHAT DO YOU MEAN DOUBLE TOUCH, HOW CAN YOU TOUCH THE BALL TWICE") - until the decisive fifth penalty is given to, you guessed it, Chloe Kelly. Man, I wasn't even nervous - there was no way in hell the absolute queen was ever going to miss.

Congratulations, Lionesses, on a hard-fought, well-earned win.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for another sports post, this time focusing on men's football (I know, *groan* - but hear me out, they may be whiny and emotional but their games are still entertaining and it's cute to see them giving it a go! Maybe the Male Lionesses will win something someday as well!), as I share my annual Premier League predictions.