Ayisha Gulati: My highs and lows from an unforgettable Euro 2025 | OneFootball

Euro 2025 delivered plenty of drama, brilliance on the pitch and history being made as England were crowned European champions once again, winning on foreign soil for the first time.

As the month in Switzerland comes to a close, Hayters’ women’s football editor Ayisha Gulati provides her reflections on the highs and lows that defined the record-breaking tournament.

Goalkeeping excellence

Euro 2025 will be remembered as a tournament defined by outstanding goalkeeping.

Much of the pre-tournament noise around the England camp centred on the shock retirement of Mary Earps, just five weeks before the opening match. With Hannah Hampton set to take on the number one shirt, questions swirled about whether she could fill such big gloves.

Earps’ departure felt like a seismic blow for the team and for fans alike. The pressure on Hampton had never been higher.

In my pre-tournament predictions, I tipped Hampton as Player of the Tournament. While that accolade ultimately went to Aitana Bonmati, Hampton made her own statement by saving Bonmatí’s penalty in the final and earning two Player of the Match awards along the way to the European title.

On saving a penalty from two-time Ballon d’Or winner Bonmati, Hampton said: “I don’t think about who [the penalty] is from. I just think the girls have run around for 120 minutes, the least I can do is save a couple of penalties to help them out and get the result we needed. To be able to say that I’ve done my part for the team is a lovely moment.”

Her distribution has always been elite, and her (almost) assist in the Netherlands game showed just how influential she can be in build up play.

But after the group stages came the quarter-final and at the first possible opportunity, England took their first knockout match against Sweden to penalties.

Enter Hampton. At just 24 years old, she was standing in the most daunting of shadows after Earps’ previous heroics in an England shirt. But she delivered.

Hampton was not the only standout. Spain’s Cata Coll and Sweden’s Jennifer Falk shared the Golden Glove, keeping three clean sheets each.

Still, one save will live longest in the memory. Germany’s Ann-Katrin Berger clawing the ball off the line in extra time against France, after her team-mate Janina Minge’s header nearly turned into an own goal. That moment alone may become the defining image of goalkeeping in the tournament.

Hampton said: “Women goalkeepers have always had a lot of scrutiny on us but this tournament, we have proved the doubters and the hate wrong. Goalkeeper is now seen as a position that is a force to be reckoned with and it’s going to be hard for strikers and for teams in the future to get the ball in the back of the net.”

A stark reminder: Racism in the game

The lowest point of Euro 2025 came not on the pitch, but off it. England defender Jess Carter was the target of vile racist abuse on social media, prompting her to announce a break from all social media platforms.

It was a reminder that the fight against racism in football is far from over. The situation raised fresh questions about whether enough is being done to kick racism out of the game and society.

In a unified response, England’s players chose not to take the knee before games as they said it had become “repetitive,” but instead chose to take a stand.

Carter’s statement was powerful and resonant and for those who have experienced racism, her words were a reminder of both the pain and the strength in speaking out. The team rallied behind her, and fans responded in kind – singing her name at every opportunity.

In perhaps the most poetic of twists, Carter went on to produce the game of her life in the final. Still, her experience underscored an uncomfortable truth, that the fight is far from over.

ABBA vs The Beatles: Sparking the viral debate

Before England’s quarter-final clash with Sweden, I headed out to speak with fans which sparked a viral debate: ABBA or The Beatles?

A mother and daughter insisted that ABBA were superior to the Beatles, which in turn would mean Sweden would defeat the Lionesses.

After posing this to England captain Leah Williamson, she passionately defended the Beatles, but the fans continued making hilarious comparisons throughout the tournament.

For the Italy semi-final, we saw signs saying ‘Sticky toffee pudding > Tiramisu’ while for the Spain final, we saw ‘Ella Toone > El Atún (Spanish for tuna)’

Switzerland steps up as host

Hosting its first ever Women’s Euros (and first major football tournament since co-hosting the 2008 Men’s Euros), Switzerland proved to be an exceptional stage.

Only two matches did not sell out from the 31 played over 25 days, and across the eight host cities, fans created an electric atmosphere, proving how far women’s football has come.

Switzerland’s own team made history by reaching their first-ever quarter-final, where they fought hard against the world champions Spain, before crashing out valiantly.

For the Hayters TV team, we loved producing an (almost) daily Pitch Perfect Live show. We brought 25 live shows to our viewers, filming in Zurich, apart from two shows streamed live from outside Geneva Stadium.

Between floating down rivers and taking in the Swiss scenery, the off-pitch moments were as memorable as the football itself.

The England team’s base, the luxurious Dolder Grand Hotel where we attended media activity, provided a fitting backdrop for one of the most dramatic campaigns the Lionesses have ever had.

The Lionesses’ legacy grows

Nobody can forget the scenes from the Euros final at Wembley three years ago, when England became European champions for the first time.

To do it again, this time on foreign soil in Basel, was nothing short of legendary. In doing so, they became the first senior English side, men’s or women’s, to win a major tournament abroad.

It felt like a fever dream – quarter-finals and semi-finals where they looked down and out, but somehow finding a way through. The resilience, belief, and unity of this team shone through.

Georgia Stanway told me if she were to get a tattoo of the experience, it would be of a rollercoaster, which feels appropriate for their journey. Their “proper English” mentality saw them finish the rollercoaster on cloud nine.

But the story is much bigger than just the tournament. We saw the growth of women’s football after their previous success, and they wanted to build on it.

Before the final, I asked captain Leah Williamson what she hoped the long-term impact of Euro 2025 would be. She said: “You don’t want to be a flash in the pan, a memory. When we spoke before 2022, we said it was the start of something and we are still trying to play our role in that as well.

“Being here and being on this stage, we know how powerful that is and I hope it continues to grow. I hope the respect for the women’s game, the respect for women and women’s sport continues and we can try our best to continue to elevate that.”