Wiegman magic!
In the direct aftermath of England’s Lionesses’ victory over Spain in the final of the 2025 European Championships, their head coach, Sarina Wiegman, celebrated as if it were her first-ever tournament win.
But it wasn’t. Far from it. For Siegman, it was her third consecutive Euros victory as a head coach.
The first came in 2017, when she led her native Netherlands to the trophy on home soil, literally against the odds, with her team starting the tournament as +800 outsiders.
Five years later, in 2022, as head coach of England, she led the Lionesses to victory in the delayed 2021 Euros. Again, it was technically against the odds, with England starting the tournament as joint-second favorites at +600.
England the pre-tournament second-favorites at +500
This weekend’s win, when England beat world champions Spain on penalties in the final, was again achieved in unlikely circumstances. The Spanish started the tournament as hot favorites, with England the pre-tournament second-favorites at +500.
Lump on Wiegman
Anyone astute enough to foresee the Wiegman Euro-treble would have picked up a cool $239 for just a $1 stake, and we’ll look later at the odds if England are victorious in the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
But what has made Wiegman so successful? Where did her recipe for success come from?
Well, it was as a semi-pro player that Wiegman made her name in women’s soccer, balancing her time between playing for several Dutch top-tier clubs and her full-time role as a PE teacher.
coaching was her true calling
She also played 99 times for the Dutch national team, including a spell as captain, but retired from playing in 2003 after having her second child. Coaching was her true calling, however, and in 2006, she took her first steps in management when she was appointed head coach of Ter Leede, with whom she won the Dutch Championship title and the KNVB Cup.
From assistant to head coach
This success earned her a move to the top tier of Dutch football with ADO Den Haag, with whom she also won the title and the KNVB Cup. The next natural step was as an assistant coach for the Dutch national team, but just over two years after being appointed, in December 2016, she was handed the role of head coach.
The rest, as they say, is history.
2017 Women’s UEFA European Championships – Netherlands (+800)
The Dutch, while not favorites, were fancied to perform well on home soil. But, equally, like all home teams at major tournaments, they were potentially undercooked given their lack of competitive games leading up to the competition.
The Dutch were also in a difficult group, with games against Norway, Denmark, and Belgium making for an uncomfortable route through to the last eight.
But, under Wiegman’s astute leadership, they navigated their way through the group courtesy of three narrow one-goal victories.
Their reward for winning Group A was a quarterfinal matchup against highly rated Sweden, but a composed and relatively trouble-free performance saw them run out 2-0 winners to set up a semi-final against England.
Another masterclass
Again, a Wiegman masterclass proved decisive, and despite England being among the favourites to win the tournament, the Dutch put them to the sword and ran out comfortable 3-0 victors, setting up a final against Denmark.
the game was won by a 51st-minute goal by Sherida Spitse
A hallmark of Wiegman teams is their ability to stay calm when under pressure – a trait of the coach herself – and this stood them in good stead against the Danes, who took a sixth-minute lead. A two-goal salvo took the Dutch ahead, but they held their nerve, despite Denmark pulling level, and the game was won by a 51st-minute goal by Sherida Spitse.
It was Wiegman’s first trophy at international level, but she was only just getting started.
2022 Women’s UEFA European Championships – England (+600)
The organization, calmness, and efficiency of the Netherlands winning the Euros on home soil were not lost on the English FA, and in August 2020, they appointed her as their national coach.
The plan was to give her a year to prepare the team for the Euros on home soil, but the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic meant the tournament was delayed until 2022. It gave her more time to assess her new group of players and get them tournament-ready.
And it worked.
Wiegman’s magic continued, but this time her team’s journey through the group stages was emphatic. While their opener was a nervy single-goal victory over Austria in front of 68,000 at Old Trafford, games against Norway and Northern Ireland yielded 13 goals for and none conceded.
Lionesses made light work of it
Despite winning Group A, England were handed a very tough draw in their quarterfinal, and it took an extra-time winner from Georgia Stanway to see them edge 2-1 past a talented Spanish team. This set up a tricky-looking semi-final against Sweden, but the Lionesses made light work of it, scoring four times without reply to cruise to their first-ever UEFA European final.
It set up a classic England vs Germany final, a repeat of the 1966 FIFA Men’s World Cup Final, which was won by the English in extra-time.
History was to repeat itself
After a goalless first half, England took the lead when Ella Toone smashed home a wonderful through ball from Keira Walsh, but their lead lasted just 17 minutes.
German pressure eventually paid dividends when Lina Magull’s close-range effort pulled her side level, and it was they who looked most likely to win the game in regulation time. But the English defense held firm under intense pressure and took the game to extra time.
England had to withstand more pressure from the Germans, but again, they held firm and in the second half of extra time started to make headway at the other end of the pitch.
And it was from a corner that Germany failed to deal with that Chloe Kelly toe-poked the ball home from close range for the eventual winner. Wiegman had done it again: managing to conjure up a win from the jaws of victory and, in doing so, giving English soccer its first major trophy since 1966.
2025 Women’s UEFA European Championships – England (+500)
The Lionesses’ tournament got off to the most inauspicious of starts with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to a talented French team.
The pre-tournament chaos that saw the international retirements of Mary Earps and Fran Kirby, and the withdrawal from the squad of Millie Bright, appeared to have impacted Wiegman’s plans badly. Few could foresee what was to come, with England looking lost and uninspired.
a formidable opponent
Game two, though, was where the belief returned and where the Lionesses regained their mojo. The Netherlands were supposed to be a formidable opponent – and on another day, they might have been – but were blown away by England’s intensity and work rate in a 4-0 win.
It was a make-or-break evening for the Lionesses, and their response suggested that the Wiegman magic had been woven again.
Wales hit for six
But still there was work to be done. Only a win in their final group game against Wales would guarantee them a spot in the quarter-finals. Luckily, Wiegman’s plan was now in full swing and was a relaxed pride of Lionesses who swotted aside the Welsh in an emphatic 6-1 victory.
It set up a quarterfinal against Sweden, who had impressed and who had a 100% record in their group. As ever, Wiegman’s ladies did it the hard way. As the clock ticked onto 78 minutes, they were 2-0 down and seemingly on their way home, but substitute Chloe Kelly had other ideas. Out of nothing, she conjured up a wonderful cross that veteran defender Lucy Bronze headed in at the far post.
It was a lifeline, and one they grasped with both hands. Within two minutes, they were level, Kelly again the provider with another substitute, Michelle Agyemang, scoring from close range. Extra-time did nothing to separate the teams, and it took a bizarre penalty shootout – one in which nine penalties were missed in total – for England to see the job through and set up a semi-final against Italy.
use of the dark arts
And, of course, it wasn’t straightforward. A first-half goal for the Italians looked to have earned them a place in the final, but their use of the dark arts to waste time came back to bite them. It was in the 96th minute that Agyemang was again the hero, scoring from close range to take the game into extra-time again.
As if that wasn’t drama enough, England left it until the 119th minute to secure their route to the final, when Kelly saw her penalty saved before hammering home the rebound.
The final was typically tense, and against the current world champions, Spain, the Lionesses suffered for long periods, and it was no surprise when they went 1-0 down.
But this England team, inspired by Wiegman, never knows when it’s beaten, and Alessia Russo – again via a Kelly assist – pulled them level with a great header.
Kelly to the rescue
Extra time was again needed, but was unable to separate the teams, and so to penalties they went again. Spain missed three, England missed two, and it was, of course, left to Kelly to score the winning penalty.
As her penalty hit the net, it signaled a quite extraordinary hat-trick for Wiegman. And who’s to say she won’t make it a quadruple in four years at the 2029 Euros.
As things stand, England will start as favorites, with +400 being quoted by some bookies. But, before then, there is the small matter of the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and with the Lionesses being quoted at +700.
If the Wiegman magic can continue, England can yet do the impossible and win on another continent.
Watch this space.
