Quotes from the final episode of That Lionesses Podcast connected by EE, that features captain Leah Williamson and former Lioness Jill Scott.
They discuss Sarina Wiegman’s impact, reflect on the first game against France and what they learned from it, and they look ahead to the final and what it would mean to defend their championship.
The episode is now out on all listening platforms and set to go live on YouTube at 4pm today.
Jill and Leah talking about reaching the third consecutive final
Harriet: This is England’s third consecutive major tournament final, an incredible feat, talk to me about how you’re feeling as both player and captain?
Leah: Just very proud. There’s loads of things that happen when you get to a tournament like you’ll know what I mean where if you didn’t make it to a final you wouldn’t think about them, you’d just let them go but when you then get to it, you think I’m so happy we’re here because you do plan in your head like you know what I mean commit to it, you commit to the dream and you’re like right I want to be here till the end and then all of a sudden you actually are and you think it is an achievement in itself to reach a final 100% but we know what it feels like to win so naturally we want more.
Harriet: and that’s great
Jill: You know what it is such an achievement though when today I was walking through Zurich, obviously I’ve got a little bit more free time than Leah and you see the 16 teams, like you know the groups and I’m like there’s literally only 2 left which I know is stating the obvious but I was like had a little walk today and I was like that’s so special when you look at the teams that have gone out France, Germany
Leah: and what it takes to actually get to the final as well. It’s the same with the wall chart like you walk in and it’s completely empty, nobody’s kicked a ball yet and then all of a sudden our name is in the final and I think it’s just great
Jill: it is, it is, well done
Leah: thanks Jill
Leah and Jill reflecting on the game against France and what they learned from it
Harriet: It began with the game against France, a defeat which obviously left some people writing England off
Leah: Yeah
Harriet: It did it yeah
Jill: That annoyed us so much
Harriet: Same
Jill: so annoyed us
Harriet: Same but as you’ve said many times you can’t write off the Lionesses. How do you reflect on that game now and what the squad learned from it and how they’ve implemented it?
Leah: The thing is we didn’t play our football, it’s always a lot easier to lose a game, it’s not easier but what I mean is it didn’t knock our confidence because that wasn’t our best if that was our absolute best and we lost that’s worrying and you’re thinking oh god you know what happens now but I think the biggest thing is then after that every single game has been a final because every time we had to get a result, we had to win which I think was obviously you’d love to win your first game and we won in 2022 when we won our first game. I’m not saying that it’s not important but if you’re gonna lose then use it and I think we did and the way we came together, the language I think it changed the language that we started using together cos we had to learn a lot about ourselves in a really quick like it was a you know straight away
Jill: Yeah and yous are so honest though aren’t ya. I think you knew that wasn’t your best performance but I think the thing that annoyed me was 2017 I think we beat France for the first time in 44 years so it’s not like France are an easy team to play first game of the tournament but I think it was almost good to have that game because it was like this is the level we need every single game but to right them off I was getting so annoyed I had to stay off social media.
Harriet: Yeah I think it’s best because that’s the thing you’ve got to stay honed in on the goal and one thing that you guys all did was not panic and stay absolutely goal driven game by game and treating every game like a final and finally we’re here at the actual final so it worked.
Jill talking about the resilience of the team and Leah talking about every player playing their part
Harriet: Jill, the players obviously have to dig deep every game, pushing into extra time, sometimes penalties. From your perspective, what’s impressed you most about their resilience?
Jill: Yeah I think definitely that when I see them still running, tracking back, fighting for each other like you know it feels when it goes into extra time especially in a tournament when you might have already played five games and I’ve just been so impressed with the work rate. When they spoke about the Netherlands game, I know everybody was talking about the in-possesion and the goals
Leah: the outputs were so high
Jill: were they yeah like you could just tell like everybody was somebody would give the ball away and you could see their mate was like I’m going to go and get it back for you and I think because I would like to think like when I played I loved that side of the game I was just so impressed by it so yeah you can speak about resilience, determination, but I think it’s just been a combination of everything really.
Harriet: absolutely. I mean actually saying that Leah something that I’ve picked up on is something you mentioned earlier how close the players are and the incredible environment you and them have built, would you say that’s the heart of the spirit of the team is that connection that you guys all have, that mutual respect and like I guess like enmeshing that you guys have experienced?
Leah: Yeah it’s we had a conversation like a real honest conversation after the first game obviously and one of the comments that came out of it was like it was a really lonely game of football to play in terms of like we all just felt really far away from each other and like Jill says if I make a mistake, she tidies up for me it’s like an unwritten rule and I know what she’s done for me and I’ll do it back and it’s like we’re really good at that and we just it just wasn’t our day and I think ever since that has become the heart of it like I take care of myself first but then anything I have to give I give extra and I think that’s what you’re seeing with the players are running themselves literally into the ground and then the next girl comes on to back up her mate like you know before anything else before her football does the talking, before the skill, before any of the stuff that wins you the game you know ultimately it comes down to a base level line of I’ve got your back do what you can do, I’ll do what I can do. I think I said after the semi like every cog in the wheel has played their role down to a tee and you don’t win a tournament without that.
Jill and Leah talking about Sarina and her impact
Harriet: Let’s talk about, Sarina for a moment. She’s taken this team to their third consecutive final. What do you think it is about Sarina that makes players want to give absolutely everything?
Jill: Well, I was chatting before and I said that I think what she’s done so great with this team is she’s worked out what you guys need. And I think she’s just so calm in them moments and I think you guys really respond to just being calm. Yeah. You don’t want loads of noise. You don’t want these rallying team talks. Like you just wanna know your job if there’s a problem and how to solve it.
Leah: She exactly what Jill says. And when you get to a tournament, she’s, she just like turns on this she just knows. She just reads a room well, and I think tournament football is just where she just comes alive. And her record speaks for itself as you know?
Jill: Yeah and works so hard behind the scenes as well, obviously with all the coaching staff as well but people don’t see the three, four o’clock in the morning staying up, analyzing teams and then back up at eight o’clock doing the same again. And I’ve been picking up my flat white on the morning. You can just see them like the work they put in is absolutely incredible. And I know you speak about the three finals for England. But the last five in terms of being a manager for the Netherlands. Like I can’t even find the word to say what that achievement means.
Leah: And no one’s ever done it.
Jill: No, never. I’m obviously the biggest Sarina fan.
Jill and Leah looking ahead to the final
Harriet: Now let’s look ahead at the final. Leah, England are playing Spain. Don’t know if you know, um, are you aware?
Leah: No idea
Harriet: Is there a score to settle here?
Leah: I don’t think that’s how I would describe it personally. I also wasn’t in Australia. So, you know, I’m not gonna speak for other people, but I think it’s more what I like about playing against Spain. We’re, like everybody respects them, but we respect their style of football so much. And that’s goes without saying but it requires, the game that it requires from us is what I think brings out the best in us. You know, at the end of the day, somebody has to win a football game, but I don’t know if you agree with me. Like if I go back to previous games against Spain, I’m proud of us and what it requires of us is, what I think when you walk off a pitch, you can be really proud of as an English footballer. Yeah like talking about
Jill: and you’re used to playing against them, aren’t you? Like you know, obviously we know Spanish teams in the past are gonna possess the ball, but I think what England always do well is you can still be in control even though they’ve got the ball. And when you’ve got that togetherness and everything else, and it’s just them days where you’re like, come on, then have a go at breaking us down. But when I look at this team as well going forward, I feel like they’re solid defensively, but then also going forward, like Spain must be thinking, wow, they can come at us from every single angle, so yeah, it’s gonna be a good game, but I suppose it’s probably one of them, regardless of who the opposition is, the girls know what the job is and what they’ve gotta do, and it’s not a thing about England v Spain, it’s about,
Leah: it’s a final
Jill: it’s about England winning that game.
Jill talking about how the Lionesses squad have evolved since the World Cup in 2023
Harriet: Jill, that World Cup final was obviously two years ago with Spain, and these are two very different teams now, how have you seen the Lioness Squad evolve since the World Cup?
Jill: Yeah. I think obviously it was a really difficult game. I think one thing in sport which people don’t see is when you go from tournament to tournament and you go from club season to club season and the Lionesses making that final in the World Cup. Yeah I think since then you’ve seen the girls progress. I think I’ve seen them taking a step back and watching them in the league games, I was at the Champions League final and was just such a kind of proud fan of you, Alessia, Beth, like Chloe, Lotte and just seeing them get them achievements, but they’ve come on individually like so much in that time and there might be experiences with England, but then also club football as well, so yeah, it’s a completely different time, but again, an incredible achievement. I think we speak about finals now, like we expect the Lionesses to be there. But when I think back to the past, to make a final would’ve just been absolutely everything. And it still is, but it’s like there’s this expectation that they carry now, and you know what? The win in 2022 took a lot, but this tournament has took everything. And I think that’s what me as their biggest fan, I’m most proud of.
Leah talking about what it would mean to defend their championship, and sends a message to the fans
Harriet: Leah, the Lionesses are defending their championship. What would it mean to you to win?
Leah: I think, like Jill says, you know, we had a fairy tale in 2022, and it was the first time, and it was at Wembley and it was in England and everything was magical. I’m never ever gonna take anything away from that. But to win this now, what it would take to win, from a teammate’s perspective, like looking around my team, I think 2022 felt like it was for everybody everywhere. Whereas this would be really, really special for us as players to know that we were capable of doing that. Knowing how hard that task is, let alone, what effect it will have. So yeah, I think we said it before, back in 2022, but it is, it’s an opportunity, it’s a day of opportunity, if we’re good enough to win, then, you know, I can imagine it’s gonna be 10 times as magical as it was before.
Harriet: And do you guys have a little message for the fans because as we mentioned earlier, they are behind you. They are ready to scream at the telly or in the stadium. So have you got a message for the fans?
Jill: Well, I am a fan, so you say a message to me. Come on.
Harriet: and me to be fair
Leah: Firstly, you’ve had your money’s worth with your ticket because the games have been going to 120 and they’ve given you a good show of drama, so you’re welcome.
Harriet: Yeah, you definitely given us our moneys worth.
Jill: You’ve also given us heart attacks, but we won’t go into that.
Leah: Yeah blood pressure’s through the roof. No, I just think thank you. I think after that first game, like we said, a lot of people wrote us off. I think real fans stay with you and I hope that, I just really, really hope that when people look at us, they see people that are so proud to be doing what they’re doing and like would give anything and everything to achieve, like the goal and the dream of winning it. But mostly we want you to have a good time and we’re aware of our success being directly correlated to that. So I just think thanks for sticking by us and we’re glad to have got to a final. We will do everything in, in our power to go one more.
