Caroline Weir on England's glory, 'quiet' Chloe Kelly and a new chapter | OneFootball

Scotland international and Real Madrid star Caroline Weir joins OneFootball for the final entry in her exclusive column Euro 2022 column! Here she talks about England’s triumph in the final, Chloe Kelly’s iconic moment, the future of women’s football and her new life in Spain.

Perhaps it’s not the typical Scottish response, but I was over the moon for England when they beat Germany in the Euro 2022 final to lift their first major honour.

I was at Wembley and before the game I wasn’t really fussed about who won, I was just hoping to see a good match. But then when I saw the England girls celebrating – many of whom are friends I know well from my time at Manchester City – I was buzzing for them. It was a great day for them and for the women’s game, and seeing Wembley like that was wonderful.

Unfortunately I didn’t get chance to see any of the girls on the day but I’ve texted a few of them since and they’ve had a very fun week celebrating by the sounds of things! I just told them to enjoy it because from the outside it’s such a dream to play at Wembley and to win a home Euros, and they deserve to milk it for as long as possible.

I thought Germany played well in the final and it could have gone either way. Maybe it would have been a different game if Alexandra Popp hadn’t got injured in the warm up, and I really felt for her. Of course she was their biggest threat so as soon as you take that threat out of the team, it becomes a totally different challenge for everyone.

But I also think England throughout extra-time looked like the fitter of the two teams and they became more and more threatening as the game went on. Overall, the Lionesses only had that slight hiccup against Spain and apart from that they seemed to breeze through the tournament, so I think they were definitely worthy winners. While many pegged them as favourites before the tournament began, they had their doubters too, and they proved their doubters wrong. It was nice to see them show everyone what they’re all about.

I was buzzing to see my old team-mate Chloe Kelly score the winning goal, especially after the nightmare ACL injury she suffered through last year. It’s crazy how much can change in a year, and that’s what’s so amazing about football. Chloe spent most of last season re-habbing and doing all the tough, boring things that you have to do, but she was always so positive and happy and she just got on with it.

For her to be selected in the England squad was an achievement in itself, and then to have the iconic moment of scoring the winner in the final was amazing.

Her celebration made me laugh because Chloe is quite different off the pitch to on the pitch. Off the pitch she’s quite quiet but very sweet and very friendly and just a lovely person to be around. She loves her dogs and she and I often used to meet up for dog walks when I was at City.

But on the pitch she’s got a bit of attitude, and you can see that in the way she plays and in that celebration.

It was absolutely no surprise that another of my ex-City team-mates – Keira Walsh – won Player of the Match in the final because she ran the show not just at Wembley but in lots of the games leading up to it. She’s such a technically talented midfielder who does a really important job for England and City and she’s one of the best players I’ve played with.

It’s nice to see her get the recognition because I think she has flown under the radar at times, but the people who know her and have played with her and managed her know how good she is and in terms of consistency, Keira was my Player of the Tournament.

We need to talk about that 87,192 record attendance at Wembley for the final. Amazing!

I loved walking up Wembley Way before the game and seeing all those people there for a women’s game, and it really shows how far we’ve come. The atmosphere and the occasion actually made me quite emotional because that’s the kind of thing I was dreaming of, even as recently as five years ago, and I was so glad to be part of it.

I’ve heard the buzz generated by the Euros has already resulted in record ticket sales in the Women’s Super League ahead of next season and this is 100% the start of another wave of momentum for the women’s game. I have no doubt it’s going to keep growing and go to a new level in England, and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out.

Of course I will be watching it all from afar because I’m now settling into my new life in Spain after joining Real Madrid this summer.

Madrid is a great city and I have just moved into a new house with my boyfriend and my dog joining me over here, but it’s taking some time to adjust to the new schedule, the new lifestyle and a new language. We went on our first away trip at the weekend and even just the times that we eat are so different to the UK. I was having to ask for more snacks because I don’t think the Spanish seem to eat as much as the British!

I’m just trying to embrace the change and take on as much as possible without putting too much pressure on myself to begin with, because it’s definitely going to take some time.

But the club have been great and very welcoming, and I’m really excited for this new chapter in my life and career.