Marrying their traditional style with a modern focus gives hope Sarina Wiegman’s team can progress
There are few places better suited to litigate what it means to be English than at an international football tournament. These competitions become an opportunity to express not just a team’s sporting identity, but also their national identity.
Ahead of the 2016 Euros, Roy Hodgson refused calls for his England team to play in a more street-smart way, saying: “I think it has to be taught… at a very early age to be part of your culture and I’ve said many times that I don’t think it’s part of our culture.”
Under Gareth Southgate, English identity was reflected in the way both he and his team behaved off the pitch as much as on it, such as when he rejected the idea that his side should just “stick to football” ahead of the Euros in 2021.
Then there is of course the “England DNA”, a philosophy launched in 2014 that has clearly done more to promote international success in this country than anything else, leading as it has to two European Championship finals for the men’s side, one European Championship title and World Cup final for the women’s as well as the recent back-to-back European Championship titles for the men’s under-21 teams.
Being “proper England” has become the rallying cry within the women’s camp at Euro 2025, as they prepare to face Wales in their final group game today. A win will put them into the knockout stages, but any slip-up would mean relying on France for a favour in their match against the Netherlands.
Speaking to the media after the loss to France in their opening match, where the 2-1 scoreline actually flattered England, Georgia Stanway first brought up the term. “We’ve spoken about wanting to be proper England,” she said. “We want to go back to what we’re good at. We want to go back to a traditional style of football – tough tackles, getting back down to the roots and remembering why we are here, remembering playing for the little girl that wanted to be here.”
“The players use that phrase a lot now,” said manager Sarina Wiegman, after her team had bounced back with a 4-0 win over the Netherlands.
“We started using it when we played against Portugal and we tied. When we played against Spain in that moment it was really about togetherness and the fight.
“There are moments in the game where you have to do that but at the same time, when you’re in possession, for me it is important that we play passes with purpose and today you saw the purpose in almost every pass we played. For me that’s also ‘proper England’.”
There is something incongruous about the invocation of “proper England” by this team, given how strongly Englishness in a footballing sense can be associated with masculinity. So many values can be poured into it as a concept that it can begin to feel meaningless. For this England side, it appears to reflect an efficiency and determination on and off the ball.
‘We want to get back to the roots, remember playing for the girl that wanted to be here’
Georgia Stanway
And also perhaps an attempt to step away from the pressure that has come with being the European Championship holders, and to remember how they got that moniker in the first place.
At the secluded Dolder Grand hotel, where the Lionesses are staying, they have used their downtime to play games like Monopoly Deal. Expectation in the women’s game takes on a different form from the men’s. There is not the same frenzied desire for the team to prove themselves – but for many women’s football fans in the country, they have known nothing other than spectacular English success on the international stage, given how many people discovered the team at Euro 2022. It would be hard for the team to ignore how much their own tournament progression impacts the growth of the women’s game in the country.
Which takes us to today’s final match against Wales. While the win against the Netherlands put England in a very strong position – Opta Analyst gives them a 90.9% chance of making it out the group – there is no doubt Wales will be delighted to have the opportunity to ruin England’s chances.
They will pose a different challenge from England’s previous two opponents. England will probably have the vast majority of possession and the onus will be on them to break Wales down. England have refound their goalscoring form, but looked stilted in front of goal in the lead-up to the tournament. At the same time, the only teams to keep a clean sheet against them in the past year are the US and Sweden.
They also have not had back-to-back wins since they beat Spain in February followed by Belgium in April. That inability to continue playing at a consistent level could cause big problems if they are to progress deeper in the tournament.
“Proper England” appears to be a genuine motivational tool for this team, rather than the sense of superiority that can come in the men’s game. At the same time, would there be anything more “proper England” than surprisingly crashing out against a weaker yet motivated opponent?
Photograph by Harriet Lander/Getty Images
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