Luton North MP Sarah Owen has thrown her support behind the England Lionesses as they prepare to defend their European crown by kicking off their UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 campaign this weekend.
In a post shared on social media, Ms Owen marked the start of the tournament by joining the Football Association in sending off the defending champions ahead of their trip to the tournament in Switzerland.
Pictured wearing an England football shirt, Ms Owen, who is also the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, praised the team’s impact both on and off the pitch.
“This England team have brought so much pride to our country, from being World Cup finalists to fighting for more access to sport for girls in school,” she wrote.
She also encouraged local fans to cheer the Lionesses on in their opening game this Saturday.
“Come on England!” she added.
The Women’s Euros will see the Lionesses aim to retain the title they won in 2022, with hopes running high across the country, starting with their Group D opener against France on Saturday 5 July (8pm).
“I’ve been involved in many tournaments now,” Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman told the England Football website, adding: “Things develop in the tournament. You have to be prepared. You have to adapt to what you have in front of you and see what happens and make big decisions. I think there is huge potential in this squad and we have many options.”
“The team is really strong. I think the players are in good form. They’re ready to play, they’re ready to start, ready to come on, and that was really good to see.
“We have many players that can play in the ten position. Jess Park has played there, Grace Clinton can play there, Ella Toone plays there, and now LJ [Lauren James] is coming back, she could play up front, but you can also play in the ten role.
“Right and left-back, we can figure out. Lucy [Bronze] plays on the right side the most and on the left side, we’ve changed it a couple of times. It all depends on what we need. You try to find balance in your team, and at the same time, you have your gameplan which you want to get right, and we have options there.”
The Lionesses preparations ended with a 7-0 rout of Jamaica last week and afterwards Wiegman said: “I am most of all excited – I’m excited about the team.
“We’ve had two weeks of training now and it was really good. We really got together, you can feel the fight in the team, that we want to go to the Euros now and go out there and play. And I’m not really busy with the third win, let’s first get through it game by game.
“We all know what we want, and we also know what our opponents want. So, we’ll bring it back and get ready for France.”
