England will not dwell on Spain World Cup defeat in Euro 2025 final rematch, says Walsh

Keira Walsh insists England will not be dwelling on their 2023 World Cup final defeat as they prepare to face Spain in the Euro 2025 final on Sunday.

The Lionesses fell to 1-0 loss at Stadium Australia two years ago owing to a 29th-minute strike from Olga Carmona.

But that will be out of their mind as they prepare for a fresh challenge against Spain at St. Jakob Arena in Basel with a second consecutive European Championship title at stake.

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“[The World Cup] was a massive disappointment and as a collective we feel we didn’t have our best performance that day,” reflected Walsh.

“But as a football player, you can't become too emotional and have too many things going on. For us, it’s a new game and a new team and we know what we’ve been bringing to this tournament so we’re just going to focus on that.

“Obviously, you think about it a little bit, but for us it’s put it aside and focus on Sunday.”

Having played out a 2-1 extra-time victory over Italy on Tuesday, the Lionesses had to wait to find out who they would face to compete to lift the trophy.

As Germany fought to fend off the Spanish in Zurich on Wednesday evening, the Lionesses watched on to witness a 1-0 victory after another 120 minutes of football as Aitana Bonmati eventually found the winner in the 113th minute.

“We were all sat in the players’ lounge, Jill Scott was there as well as she always is,” laughed Walsh.

“It was an intense game. Germany had chances as well, but the Spanish team are incredible and they’ve got some really good players.

“We also know what we’re capable of and where we can hurt them, so it’s going to be an interesting game.”

It was double Ballon D’Or winner Bonmati who, having recovered from being hospitalised by viral meningitis just days before the tournament, once more proved her brilliance to help Spain to a final.

Her goal was no less sublime than the player as she spotted Ann-Katrin Berger had left space at her near post as she raced into the box at the byline and struck from a seemingly impossible angle to break the deadlock.

But despite the individual brilliance of the Barcelona maestro, Walsh insists England will not be focusing their efforts solely on Bonmati.

“She’s an incredible player but if you try to nullify her, I think Patri [Guijarro] has been one of the best players at this tournament,” she explained.

“So you can focus on Aitana but then you’ve got Patri and Alexia [Putellas] and Mariona [Caldentey] so we’re not focusing on one player.

“We know what we can bring defensively and we’re confident in that, so it’s just about focusing on what we can do. We’re going to have chances as well that we need to take.”

England’s own route to the final has not been straightforward. They have twice had to fight back from behind to avoid an early exit.

It was a two-goal deficit they clawed their way back from in the quarter-finals against Sweden before winning on penalties, and they also came back from a goal down against Italy to win in extra time.

But Walsh reinforced that such a fight and refusal to be beaten had become a key trait of the England side.

“It’s part of being English. That’s what we feel when we put the shirt on, we give everything and we run ourselves into the ground,” she said.

“That’s the beauty of this squad, we know that if we have to come off because we’re tired, there is going to be someone else to come on and finish the job.

“That English resilience is what we speak about as a team. It’s something that we really pride ourselves on.”

Now, having faced Spain twice already this year with a win and a loss each, Walsh is ready to take that fight into the final and apply the lessons that have been learnt along the way.

As England take confidence from their own displays and abilities against the world champions, they are once again ready to contest tooth and nail until the very end.

“One thing I would take from the previous times playing against Spain is that we’ve not been as confident as we could be on the ball,” explained Walsh.

“We’ve got unbelievable strengths on the ball, so we need to take more pride in that and keep the ball for longer periods. We’re going to get chances, so it’s about taking those and being confident.

“It’s another final and I want to win it. It’s like we’re doing it all over again - it’s a different country, a different tournament and a lot of different players so it feels like a fresh start.

“When you play for England, you always want to win every game.”