Lionesses’ Euro 2025 Final vs. Spain – Keira Walsh Pre-Match Press Conference
Date: [Date of press conference – not specified in source, but implied to be days before Sunday’s final] Source: Excerpts from “Keira Walsh looks ahead to Euros final against rivals Spain”
Key Themes and Important Ideas/Facts:
Keira Walsh, midfielder for the England Lionesses, addressed the media ahead of the Euro 2025 final against Spain. Her comments highlighted the team’s relentless spirit, respect for their rivals, strategic approach to the match, and the motivation to achieve unprecedented success.
- The Lionesses’ “Relentless” and Resilient Mentality
Walsh repeatedly emphasised the English team’s unwavering spirit and refusal to give up, even in difficult circumstances. This “never say die mentality is seen as an inherent part of being English and a core strength of the squad.
“Yeah, we just um don’t know when to give up.”
“I think that’s kind of the beauty of this team is that we are relentless and we’ve got belief in ourselves that even in the 90th minute we can get a goal and we can win, and yeah, I think that’s yeah what’s special about us at the minute.”
“Honestly, I think it’s part of being English. I think that’s what we feel when we put the shirt on, it’s that we give everything we run ourselves into the ground… It’s kind of just what we speak about as a team is that English, you know,w resilience and um it’s something that we pride ourselves on.”
This resilience will be crucial against Spain: “I think the Spanish are probably one of the best possession teams in the world and I think for us it’s just about being patient when we don’t have the ball it’s not about panicking and getting frustrated i think we just have to be comfortable defending and then as I said when we get the ball we have to look after it.”
- Respectful but Intense Rivalry with Spain
Despite the rivalry, Walsh stressed the significant mutual respect between the two teams. She expressed a desire for the Spanish players to “enjoy this final” free from external controversy, acknowledging their “incredible football.”
“I think there’s a lot of respect between both the teams, and — I think the most important thing for them is you know as a footballer is that they can enjoy this final, you know there’s not the controversy surrounding it and the girls deserve to be there, they play incredible football.”
“Yeah, I mean yeah it is a rivalry, I think yeah as I said there’s respect between the teams and they play incredible football.”
Walsh has friends in the Spanish camp, including Jana Fernandez, but acknowledged that for the final, “right now we’re rivals.”
- Tactical Approach and Confidence Against Spain
Walsh confirmed the team watched Spain’s semi-final win against Germany together. They are aware of Spain’s talent but are focused on their strengths.
“We were all sitting in the players’ lounge… I think it was an intense game… but I think we also know what again what we’re capable of and where we can hurt the,m so yeah it’s going to be an interesting game.”
England will not focus on nullifying a single Spanish player (e.g., Aitana Bonmatí) due to the depth of their squad, which also includes Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas, and Mariona Caldentey. “For us, we’re not focusing on one player. I think we know what we can bring defensively and we’re confident in that.”
A key learning from previous encounters with Spain is the need for England to be more confident in possession: “I think maybe we’ve not been as confident as we could do on the ball and yeah I think that’s also one of our strengths we’ve got unbelievable players on the ball so yeah I think we need to take more pride in that and keep the ball for longer periods.”
Walsh noted the strength of both teams’ benches, highlighting Salma Paralluelo for Spain and Alessia Russo’s impact for England in a role similar to Ellen White’s in previous tournaments.
- Motivation and Overcoming Past Disappointments
Walsh is personally motivated by winning, regardless of historical context, viewing this as “another final and I want to win it.” The World Cup final defeat against Spain is acknowledged but not dwelt upon.
“Honestly,, from like a personal perspective, I can only speak for myself isUmm yeah, I think I just go out to win, whether it’s the first time, the second time, the third time i this,,nk u,m yeah, for me it’s another final and I want to win it.”
Regarding the World Cup final loss: “I think obviously that was a massive disappointment and um yeah I feel like from a collective we probably feel like we didn’t have our best performance that day but I think as a a football player you can become too emotional and I think if you’re trying to pull on that too much then you’re going to be you know uh yeah too emotional and too many things going on and I think for us it’s a new game new team and yeah we know what we’re bringing this tournament so we’re going to keep doing that and yeah just focus on the positives and yeah not try and draw on that too much.”
The team has “so many new players” who bring “so many new things,” creating an “exciting” fresh start.
- Managing Family Expectations (and Nerves)
Walsh light-heartedly acknowledged that families and fans are hoping for a 90-minute victory to avoid another “emotional roller coaster” after recent prolonged matches.
Yeah, well, I kind of made that mistake after the first time round and said, ‘Yeah, we’ll try and do it again.’ And then yeah we went to 120 minutes again luckily it wasn’t penalties this time but um yeah never mind the families i think you know obviously I came off in the 120 minutes and sitting there for us is also equally not nice so yeah we’ll try and get the job done but we know it’s going to be a difficult game and yeah yeah hopefully um our families won’t be too nervous.”
