Euro 2025 destiny awaits Lionesses ahead of Spain final rematch

As 87,182 fans flocked to Wembley in the summer of 2022, it was as though they were witnessing destiny fall into place.

At Euro 2022, the Lionesses rode a wave of momentum that carried them through a dreamlike summer almost without hitch. From a group stage that saw England score 14 goals and concede none to a 4-0 semi-final win over Sweden, complete with improvised back heels and unending chants of ‘it’s coming home’, they simply seemed unstoppable.

It felt like fate when Keira Walsh lofted the ball over the German defence and into the path of Ella Toone, who chipped Merle Frohms and wheeled away to the roar of Wembley. Even when Lina Magull equalised to take it to extra time, the Lionesses had a meeting with history as Chloe Kelly etched her name indelibly into English football’s annals and transformed women’s football in the country forever.

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At Euro 2025, the path has not always seemed so fateful. Twice England have looked all but out of their title defence while a defeat in the first match has left them playing must-win football almost from the outset.

Performances, too, have hardly been the stuff of dreams. An error-strewn display at the Stadion Letzigrund set the tone for the Lionesses’ tournament and the Netherlands and Wales proved kind opponents to allow England to progress with relative ease, neither providing a real test.

Against Sweden in Zurich, for 70 minutes it looked like it was back to the England that had first arrived at the tournament in the 2-1 defeat against France. The backline looked fragile, conceding two early goals, and the Lionesses looked out of ideas upfront.

But then destiny’s child herself Kelly entered the pitch and had everyone saying her name as she delivered two crosses that led to a spell that felt just short of divine intervention. Lucy Bronze nodded home to put England within reach before 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang took the game to extra time and then penalties.

Somehow the Lionesses had made it through and the story was much the same in Geneva against Italy. Just like that fateful day in Wembley in 2022, it was the substitutes who made the difference. Agyemang equalised before who else but Kelly poked home the rebound from her saved penalty to fire England into a third consecutive major tournament final.

The Lionesses may not have played well but they have played with a belief and inevitability that brings echoes of 2022. Three years ago, it was Spain who arguably came closest to stopping England meeting their destiny at Wembley, and on Sunday it is only Spain who can stop them doing it again.

But the world champions enter the match as favourites. They beat England 1-0 in the World Cup final in 2023 and have since proved dominant, certainly within Europe. They boast a starting XI from which no one would look amiss on the Ballon D’Or shortlist while their midfield trio of Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmati and Patri Guijarro boast four of the accolades between them, with Patri the shout for Player of the Tournament.

On almost every tangible metric this tournament, Spain have outperformed their opponents in Basel, with more goals, less conceded, more shots on target, more passes completed and more corners won. It is in the intangibles that the Lionesses can set their store. A sense of belief and their enduring mantra of ‘proper English football’, referring to their resilience, has so far been all that has set them apart from their opponents.

Hair-raising encounters might have ensued but somehow they have always found a way. And if fate can be found through stats then perhaps it is on England’s side in Switzerland. The past three Women’s World Cups, past three men’s World Cups and past four men’s European Championships have all been won by the team with the earlier semi-final.

Of course, science also plays a role in terms of recovery but for those of a more superstitious disposition, Spain and England’s tendency to alternate results also falls in England’s favour. Since 2019, neither side have won consecutive games against the other and it was La Roja who last had the advantage as they triumphed 2-1 over England in the Nations League in June.

In elite international football there appears little room for fate as every detail is planned down to the finest margin. But at St. Jakob Park on Sunday, in the year of the underdog, it may very well be England’s belief in their destiny that could get them over the line.