Sarina Wiegman’s dancing with Burna Boy taught us something new about the Lionesses | OneFootball

It was towards the end of an otherwise mundane pre-match press conference before England played the Netherlands in December 2023 when Sarina Wiegman was asked for the song that had topped her “Spotify Wrapped” for that year. “The one with Burna Boy and Ed Sheeran,” she replied, rather unexpectedly and to a few laughs. At which point, someone, somewhere, has an idea.

England’s legacy for winning Euro 2025 will be wide-ranging, but it’s hard to think of a better image to encapsulate the sheer chaos and ridiculousness of what the Lionesses achieved this summer than Wiegman’s reaction to Burna Boy emerging onto the stage during their homecoming celebrations.

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Sarina Wiegman dances with Burna Boy during England’s celebrations (Action images via Reuters)

The shock on her face as her favourite artist began to sing “For My Hand” would have matched the sheer disbelief had you told an England fan that the trophy would be coming home again after the France defeat or as they trailed Sweden in the quarter-finals.

Captain Leah Williamson said England’s victory at Euro 2022 was a fairytale, a golden month where it felt as if their name was always on the trophy, but even then, the celebrations in Trafalgar Square the following day were hastily arranged and limited to a crowd of 7,000 people.

England did it the hard way to win Euro 2025, but in going back-to-back, the Lionesses have ensured their legacy is not just defined by one event but by doing it again and making everything ten times bigger. “We are making history with every single step,” Williamson said.

And so three years on from Wembley, 65,000 people are lining The Mall and there are tears in Williamson’s eyes as England’s open-top bus crawls towards Buckingham Palace. There is not just Burna Boy and the sight of Wiegman dancing and rapping on stage, but Heather Small, booming out “Proud” – the pre-match anthem before all six of their games in Switzerland. There are new stars in Hannah Hampton and Michelle Agyemang, who struggled to believe it was all real. “It’s crazy what we’ve done,” the 19-year-old said.

“We do this for us and our team but we do it for the country and we do it for young girls,” Williamson managed, fighting to find the words. Chloe Kelly, the master of cool, simply shook her head as she walked up to the top deck and gazed out at the mass. “This is sick,” Georgia Stanway added. In the crowd a young Black girl holds a cardboard sign above her head that reads ‘Future Jess Carter’, with a downwards arrow pointing towards her. If you can see it, you can believe it.

Carter, incidentally, was missing from the celebrations because she has already flown back to the United States to rejoin her club Gotham FC, who are away to the Chicago Stars in the NWSL on Saturday. But it is also typical of Carter that England’s unsung hero did not get the plaudits she deserved after defying racist abuse to perform as she did in the final.

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Chloe Kelly and England’s players celebrate on top of the open bus (Getty Images)

It’s clear, though, that England did not expect this reception after returning home on Monday. “To do it again, to come back to this is incredible,” Lucy Bronze said. “I’ve not seen anything like it.” It is down to Kelly, of course, to deliver the first expletive and force Alex Scott into an apology for breaking the watershed on BBC One. “It’s so f***ing special,” said Kelly, before issuing an apology on social media. “Oops,” she wrote. “The emotions got the better of me.”

But Kelly was not the only one finding it difficult to take in what they were seeing. There is also an alternate reality where England either fail to respond correctly to the France defeat and crash out of the group stages, or Sweden score one of their two “match point” penalties during the quarter-final shootout, where none of this happens.

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Fans gathered around the stage on The Mall as celebrations were in full swing (PA Wire)

There is not a crowd of 65,000 for the Lionesses returning home but with their tails between their legs, only questions around what it would mean for the growth of the women’s game, given the correlation between major tournament success and attendances in the Women’s Super League. There are instead downcast discussions and predictions of stalling momentum.

During their time in Switzerland, several England players were asked about how they manage to carry that weight of responsibility. They responded by insisting it wasn’t a burden at all, but an opportunity. “We know that we’re very fortunate in England that when we have success, it really does explode,” Bronze explained before the quarter-finals. “Do we necessarily see that as the reason for winning? Not really. My main reason for winning the tournament is to lift the trophy.”

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Red and white smoke fills the air as England’s players celebrate on stage (PA Wire)

England, somehow, won and the nature of how the Lionesses brought it home again only adds to their legend. The comebacks and penalties. The spirit and fight and “proper England”. It means a team of history makers goes one step further, while revealing sides to them that we have been yet to see. It gives you tens of thousands on The Mall and red pyro above Buckingham Palace. It gives you Wiegman dancing with Burna Boy. “Is this real?” she mouthed. You had better believe it.