Thousands of fans embraced and shed tears of joy at home and in Switzerland after the Lionesses’ historic victory over Spain in the Euro 2025 final.

The Lionesses recovered with an equaliser in the second half of the knife-edge match, bringing the score to 1-1 before securing a win on penalties.

After scoring the winning goal, England’s Chloe Kelly said: “I am so proud of this team. So grateful to wear this badge. So proud to be English.

“I was cool, I was composed. I knew I was going to hit the back of the net. I don’t miss penalties twice.”

She told BBC One: “I hope the whole of England comes out to support us and shows their love to these girls as they deserve it.”

Sir Keir Starmer, who watched the final from the stands in Basel alongside Prince William, hailed the win in a post on X.

He wrote: “Champions! Congratulations @Lionesses – what a team. What a game. What drama.

“You dug deep when it mattered most and you’ve made the nation proud. History makers.”

Uefa said a record 657,291 attended the Women’s Euro 2025, surpassing the previous record of 574,875 in 2022.

England celebrates with the Uefa Women’s Euro trophy after their victory (Photo: Maja Hitij/Uefa via Getty Images)

More than 34,203 people packed the sold out St Jakob-Park in Basel, where England secured its second Women’s Euro crown and gained revenge following their World Cup final defeat to Spain two years ago.

King Charles expressed his “warmest appreciation and admiration” of the Lionesses in a statement released on Sunday evening.

He said: “For more years than I care to remember, England fans have sung that famous chant ‘football’s coming home’.

“As you return home with the trophy you won at Wembley three years ago, it is a source of great pride that, through sporting skill and awesome teamwork, the Lionesses have made those words ring true.

“For this, you have my whole family’s warmest appreciation and admiration.

“More than that, thugh, you have shown through your example over the past weeks that there are no setbacks so tough that defeat cannot be transformed into victory, even as the final whistle looms.”

Among fans in attendance were three sisters that host a football podcast, who told The i Paper the Lionesses’ victory would “shift the dial even further” for women’s football.

Imani, Leila, and Aesha Ayimba-Golding released their first episode of ‘Sister Goals’ in September and spend every week digesting and analysing the women’s games.

England fans celebrate during a screening of the Uefa Women’s Euro 2025 final match at Boxpark Croydon, London (Photo: Jeff Moore/PA Wire)

The sisters, who all started playing football at five years old, said a win would inspire more girls to get involved, and for brands and social media creators to back the game.

Imani said: “England have got through by the skin of their teeth which makes it more exciting. We’re just happy to be here.”

She added: “I definitely think the fan base is growing for both women and men. Everyone is on board, brands are on board, broadcasters are on board. You can just feel it; every week we are breaking records.”

Supporters of the Lionesses with St George’s flags painted on their faces and cardboard cutouts of players began piling into fan zones in Basel as early as Sunday morning.

Pubs and bars across the UK estimated that they would pour up to one million extra pints throughout the day.

Licensing hours were extended across England on Sunday, allowing pubs to stay open until 1am, long after the game kicked off at 5pm.

Fans celebrate after the Lionesses won on penalties (Photo: Reuters/Peter Cziborra)

Throughout the tournament, the UK economy was estimated to benefit from £801m in spending, according to research by GlobalData for VoucherCodes.

That included £566.4m spent in supermarkets, sportswear shops and other retail stores, along with £234.6m spent by 5.9 million punters at hospitality venues across the country.

Fans at UK pubs were estimated to spend nearly £27m while watching the final, Sam Miley, head of forecasting and thought leadership at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), said.

“The success of the England national team provides another set-play event for hospitality venues to benefit from,” he told The i Paper. “Cebr estimates that consumers [would] spend £26.8m in pubs and bars while watching Sunday’s match.

England supporters in the fan zone ahead of the final at St Jakob-Park in Basel (Photo: Nick Potts/PA)

UK pubs are expected to pour an extra one million pints on Sunday (Source: PA)

“This is a notable increase from our figure for the 2022 final, highlighting the increasing popularity of the women’s game in recent years.”

The UK economy was forecast to enjoy a £5m boost from the extra one million pints sold during the clash, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said.

In total, the BBPA said the Women’s Euros would pump an additional £13m into the UK economy, with over 2.6 million extra pints sold.

More than one million supporters have made their way to fan zones across the eight host cities, while over 95,000 fans joined the pre-match fan walks.