The 2025 UEFA Euros concluded dramatically. On Sunday, the England women’s national team successfully defended its title to secure its second consecutive European championship by defeating the Spain women’s national team in a high-stakes penalty shootout. As the entire English nation remains busy celebrating this emphatic win, Megan Rapinoe and Emma Hayes joined in to not just hail the Lionesses but also celebrate a remarkable milestone for the women’s game as a whole.

While the retired forward Pinoe turned out to be a surprising visit, watching both of her former foes she used to face on the pitch from the stands, Hayes’ presence was obvious as she proudly supported her beloved nation, led by Sarina Weigman. Both the iconic player and coach shared some visuals to showcase the stunning atmosphere of the St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland.

The former Chelsea boss, who had championed England’s resilience ahead of the game, shared a picture from the corner seat of the stands on her Instagram account, which read a caption saying, “Women’s football always wins,” with another caption on the post that read, “Congrats to both teams for an exceptional final. Football is the winner once again. The @lionesses show once again what quality they have and our game is here to stay x”

Meanwhile, Megan Rapinoe also took to her Instagram stories, sharing a short clip of the packed stadium after full-time. In the video, the Lionesses could be seen jumping and celebrating with their fans as the speakers inside the stadium played Sweet Caroline.

Spain believed their fairytale run from the start of the tournament was about to continue when Arsenal forward Mariona Caldentey opened the scoring through a beautiful header within the first 25 minutes. Yet somehow, the second half saw another Gunners star, Alessia Russo, net the equalizer around the hour mark.

Even after extra time, the teams remained deadlocked, pushing the game into a tense penalty shootout. Lionesses’ Beth Mead took the first kick, which ended in an unfortunate miss as Spain’s Patricia Guijarro didn’t miss to give her side a lead. However, after that, things only went downhill for Montse Tomé’s side as they ended up missing not one but three consecutive penalties due to Mariona Caldentey, Aitana Bonmati, and Salma Parallue.

Meanwhile, Alex Greenwood’s second strike leveled the score, followed by a goal from Niamh Charles. Although Leah Williamson missed her attempt, Chloe Kelly sealed the victory with a composed finish, bringing the trophy back home. Regardless, one will surely remember this emphatic game, not only because of this scoring battle but also because of its enthralling atmosphere that etched a remarkable record!

Emma Hayes is right to say “Women’s football always wins”

The Sunday’s Euro final created some emphatic attendance records while etching historic numbers in terms of viewership. Thanks to a sold-out affair at this 38,512 seater St. Jakob-Park, the overall attendance since the start of this tournament turned out to be a whopping 657,291, which successfully surpassed the previous edition’s record of 574,875 that was held in England.

Ahead of the final, the total turnout had been 623,088. In fact, 29 out of 31 matches were sold out, a feat which also helped in breaking several attendance records along the way. Notably, it wasn’t just finals as the Women’s EURO quarter-finals also saw record-breaking attendance figures during the Spain vs Switzerland match in Bern, which drew a crowd of 29,734.

This was surpassed the very next day in Basel, where 34,128 fans attended the France vs Germany clash—marking the highest attendance ever for a Women’s EURO quarter-final that did not feature the host nation. Meanwhile, around 35% of tickets were bought by international fans, with supporters from over 160 countries represented among attendees.

Likewise, fan engagement beyond the pitch was over the charts, with over 95,000 people taking part in pre-match fan walks—including 20,000 in Bern alone ahead of Switzerland vs Spain. Additional numbers from UEFA also stated that more than 1 million visitors flocked to the Host City Fan Zones. No wonder the 2025 UEFA Women’s Euro turns out to be the most successful and highest-attended edition in history.