England defender Jess Carter has returned to the starting lineup and appeared in the final victory of the Lioness European Championship in Spain in Basel on Sunday
Jess Carter was delighted that she had become a normal, relaxed self as she laughed and joked with England’s manager Sarina Wigman after the Euro 2025 final – but the defender misses Tuesday’s parade.
It was a challenging few weeks for Carter, a defender who bravely voiced himself about being racially abused during the tournament. However, she was all smiles after starring in the final as the Lioness defeated Spain in a penalty after a 1-1 draw.
“It’s usually me,” Carter said. “Through this tournament, I didn’t feel that. I’m really very sad and disappointed by the fact that I wasn’t the relaxed Jess I know.
“I’ll be. We’ll go out there and give it everything.
“That’s not the way I played this tournament. I’m trying to give it all to this final, if we lose, we lose and we have a great victory.”
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Carter dropped out of the semi-final starting XI, and Esmeogan won his first tournament start after being moved from the dormitory bench. However, the Gotham FC star returned to Spain and embraced some important defensive challenges as England retained the Euro title.
Carter returned to the UK on Monday with the rest of the British forces and instead returned to the US. That means she missed the reception on Downing Street and will be absent from Tuesday’s parade in London. Lioness said on his X account: “Safe Travel Jess! The Lioness defender returned to the state this weekend before Gotham FC fixtures.”
When asked how Wiegman had defeated the news of her recall, Carter said: “We’re going to workout and she’s thinking of sitting me down and starting you on Sunday. “OK, thank you.
“I can’t scream enough for Esme. She was an incredible team player. When she came on the pitch, she was incredible.
“So I had that faith from Salina to bring me back to the team and she believed I could support this team with the trophy.
Wiegman made a defensive switch early in the tournament, moving Carter from left back to centre back after a group stage defeat against France, saying her choice decision was based on the opposition. “Well, first of all, it says something about the teams we can make tactical decisions,” the manager said.
“I have said it a few times because I was really happy with the team before the tournament, and we had players in the same position that could bring something different. In this case Italy was a different game from Spain.
“She was ready to play against Italy, but it was a tactical decision and now she made a tactical decision (against Spain) I trusted her all.
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Lioness will take it home again – Souvenir Edition
The legend of Salina Wigmann made history and brought football home once more after defending the title and winning the Euro 2025 in Switzerland. We have produced this special souvenir edition of women’s football news.
It’s packed with interviews with lionesses, special features, match-by-match paths to glory, and dozens of fantastic images. Click here to buy
