England captain Leah Williamson reveals that she has held anxiety heading into Euro 2025 after missing the World Cup through injury.
The Arsenal defender and Lionesses star, who missed out on England’s FIFA Women’s World Cup journey in 2023 after sustaining an ACL injury, says that she is taking everything in heading into Women’s Euro 2025.
“I’ve probably held some anxiety up until this moment just because I wanted to be here and I wanted to be with the team and experience another tournament for England,” Williamson admitted.
“Being away from home is special. When you come to another country, to represent your country, and just take everything in. It’s a bit different to England in 2022, so I’m just taking everything in. I’m very excited, but also so much has changed, so I’m intrigued to come back and enjoy that tournament football.”
Williamson praises defensive partner Greenwood ahead of Euro 2025
Following the news of Millie Bright’s withdrawal from selection for the tournament, Manchester City captain Alex Greenwood seems to be the certain replacement for the Chelsea star alongside Williamson at the back.
“Alex is an exceptional ball player,” Williamson praised of her compatriot. “She sees things that not many do. She is always at such a high performance. When you play next to someone like Alex she is demands so much of herself and naturally of you too.
“She is one of my best mates so I have a good time playing with her but she is also one of those players that you don’t want to let down because her level is so consistently high.”
Sarina Wiegman ‘doesn’t like to lose’
Greenwood wasn’t the only person that Williamson had praise for, as the Arsenal defender packed on the compliments for head coach Sarina Wiegman.
“Sarina is a winner, she doesn’t like to lose. She wants to do things the right way. She’s a good person, so as a player, you want to respect the person that you play for, which we do,” Williamson explained.
“You want somebody that’s going to push you and challenge you, and I think we had some hard conversations over the last couple of years over different stages of work, say from my personal experience, where I was at highs, lows, and always trying to get the most out of somebody. So I think first comes the respect for her as a human, as a coach, to know that somebody’s done what they’ve done, and to have them on your your team is it’s comforting, to say the least.”
You can read all of the latest news, analysis and opinion at Euro 2025 on The Halfway Line.
