World No. 5 England stuns No. 2 Spain, clinches back-to-back UEFA Women’s Euro titles

The GIST: Twenty-five days, 106 goals, and many missed penalty kicks later, world No. 5 England is the UEFA Women’s Euro champion once again, defeating No. 2 Spain 3–1 in yesterday’s penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw.

• Here’s how the Lionesses outgritted, outplayed, and outlasted La Roja — and what the tourney’s success means for the growing women’s game.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England’s rollercoaster run ends with back-to-back titles: The red and white’s title defense seemed shaky — they lost their opener and were slow to find the back of the net all tourney — but time after time, the Lionesses roared back, launching three knockout stage comebacks on their path to the trophy.

• Yesterday was no different: England needed a second-half equalizer after Spanish midfielder Mariona Caldentey opened scoring early.

• Both teams failed to score in extra time, pushing the game to penalty kicks, where Lioness miracle goalkeeper Hannah Hampton made two crucial saves and supersub Chloe Kelly sealed the deal. It’s giving déjà vu.

👀 Zooming out: This was both the most-watched and the best-attended Women’s Euro ever, with a record-setting 657,291 fans trekking to Switzerland to cheer on their squads. And here in North America, the viewership numbers have been equally impressive, with U.S. viewership of the group stage alone doubling from 2022.

• TL;DR? You don’t need the No. 1 USWNT or No. 8 CanWNT in competition to draw an audience on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. The appetite for international women’s footy is only getting bigger.