Football fans, famous names, and more have been reacting to England’s “inspirational” win in the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 final last week.
People have been taking to social media in their thousands to shower the Lionesses with deserved praise and support after they not only clinched the coveted title of 2022 European Champions by beating Germany 2-1 in a thrilling final match at Wembley Stadium yesterday – but also truly inspired the nation in the process.
In front of a roaring sold-out stadium packed full of excited fans, England scored the match’s first goal, with Tyldesley-born Manchester United forward Ella Toone smashing it into the back of the net in the 62nd minute, but hopes were dashed slightly when Germany equalised shortly after.
With the score 1-1 at the full 90-minutes, the match was taken to extra time.
The winning goal didn’t come straight away, but with the prospect of a penalties looming, the ball was at the feet of Manchester City star Chloe Kelly – who scored in the 110th minute to bring home the title.
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The win is the country’s first international silverware since 1966.
Bringing home the title was the icing on the cake to what had been an impressive run of victories and goals by the Lionesses throughout European football’s flagship tournament, and has cemented its stars as household names throughout the country.
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Many have already called England’s victory more than just a sporting achievement.
Some have branded it a “seismic moment” in this country’s history, and others have said the impact of the win is too great to truly quantify at this time.
Rafts of football fans, famous names, and people previously not-interested in women’s football alike have all taken to social media last night and this morning following the win to share their reactions and thoughts, and ultimately pay congratulations to the Lionesses.
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The Lionesses took home the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 title beating Germany 2-1 / Credit: Lionesses (via Twitter)
Queen Elizabeth II, and the Duke of Cambridge Prince William were among the famous names to lead the congratulations to the team.
“The championships and your performance in them have rightly won praise,” The Queen said.
“However, your success goes far beyond the trophy you have so deservedly earned. You have all set an example that will be an inspiration for girls and women today, and for future generations. It is my hope that you will be as proud of the impact you have had on your sport as you are of the result today.”
Prince William – who is president of the FA, and watched the match live at Wembley yesterday – described the match as “sensational”, and said “the whole nation couldn’t be prouder of you all”.
“Your success goes far beyond the trophy you have so deservedly earned.
“You have all set an example that will be an inspiration for girls and women today, and for future generations.”
🏴 🏆 The Queen has sent a message of congratulations to the @Lionesses:
Sensational. An incredible win @lionesses and the whole nation couldn’t be prouder of you all. Wonderful to see history in the making tonight at Wembley, congratulations! W
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) July 31, 2022
Several of England’s national men’s team also took to both Twitter and Instagram to share their messages of support and congratulate the Lionesses, as well as a few of them being present at Wembley to watch the win live.
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England captain Harry Kane, as well as Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford, and Phil Foden were just a few of the players to publicly show support.
Absolutely unreal scenes at Wembley!! Massive congrats to the amazing @Lionesses!! @ellatoone99 take a bow for that finish too 👌
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire said on Twitter: “Huge congratulations to the Lionesses. Brilliant game. History made. The whole country is proud of you. Enjoy the celebrations.”
“Unbelievable achievement from the Lionesses. An inspiration to everyone in the country,” Manchester City’s newest recruit and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips said on Twitter.
Former City winger Raheem Sterling also called the Lionesses “history-makers” on Twitter.
Gary Lineker, Michael Owen, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Ian Wright, Alan Shearer, and a handful of English football’s other most-famous names in recent years have also heaped praise on the Lionesses after the win.
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Football is a simple game. 22 women chase a ball for 90 minutes and, at the end, England actually win. Congratulations @lionesses. Fabulous.
What the @Lionesses have just done is amazing and so damned bloody hard to do. A seismic moment for Sport in this country! Well done to you all 🏴 ❤️⚽️
Former England and Arsenal defender Alex Scott struggled to speak as the players celebrated their win on the Wembley pitch, explaining: “This is a dream, an absolute dream for every young girl that dreamt of playing football.
“It’s incredible.
“Every single player has played a part. Nikita Parris, who came on at the end, came on to do a job for the team and the way teams play as a whole determines its success.”
Away from football, countless celebrities and well-known names have congratulated the Lionesses on their title, with some of the most prominent and heartfelt messages of support coming from iconic 90s girlband Spice Girls, singer Adele, Dame Joan Collins, and comedian Miranda Hart.
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Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood also said that the Lionesses had “made us all so proud” as he congratulated them.
“What an incredible result – Thank you forever!” he added.
Adele described the achievement as a “game changer, and shared a photo of the Lionesses celebrating their win on Instagram, writing: “You did it – It’s come home.”
Crying. So brilliant. So important. Too emotional to articulate more. I am glad there are 7 year olds watching this who wanted to be a goalkeeper like I did! But didn’t think it was ‘appropriate’ or ‘allowed’ to voice it. Thank you Lionesses. #Lionesses
You can now name a bin after your ex just in time for Valentine’s Day
Emily Sergeant
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and one company is offering bitter singles the chance to honour their ex in a fitting way.
With less than a week to go until the international day of love itself arrives, and loved-up people across the globe take the time to shower their nearest and dearest with affection, Valentine’s Day isn’t always the happiest of times for those of us who are single or who have a history of mistreatment by an ex partner.
Which is why, commercial waste management company, BusinessWaste.co.uk, is offering singles the chance to get their own back.
Back by popular demand for 2025, after proving to be a huge success in years past, the company is giving single people the chance to clean up their breakups by printing their ex’s name slap bang on the front of a bin.
Anyone who wants to see their ex emblazoned on the side of a bright green bin will just need to fill in a short form on the company’s website.
You can now name a bin after your ex just in time for Valentine’s Day / Credit: BusinessWaste.co.uk
All you’ll need to do is simply enter the name of your ex, select the type of bin you want to add them to, and then pick one of three messages you’d like to send – ‘Binned’, ‘Bin there, dumped that’, and ‘You’re dumped’.
The name with the most entries will then be added to a bin on Valentine’s Day itself (14 February).
“For many people, the memories they have of their ex are quite simply rubbish,” commented Mark Hall, who is the co-founder of BusinessWaste.
“With over 50,000 bins throughout the UK, we wanted to put them to good use and offer people the chance to take the trash out by naming a bin after their ex.
“We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to turn heartache into healing, a cathartic experience for those who need to dump the past, or the perfect way to cheer up a friend who’s single this Valentine’s Day.”
Fancy it then? You can find more about naming a bin here.
Featured Image – PickPik
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Football Manager 25 has been officially cancelled following delays
Danny Jones
Beloved videogame simulator Football Manager 25 has been officially cancelled following continued delays.
The long-standing game where players take control as virtual managers of football teams has been a mainstay of digital sporting entertainment for more than three decades.
Developed by London-based studio Sports Interactive and published by gaming giants SEGA, the game hasn’t missed a single season since it began life as Championship Manager back in 1992.
However, following two significant delays to this year’s title, Sports Interactive have confirmed that Football Manager 25 has now been cancelled, despite countless pre-orders having already been made.
While the news doesn’t come as a total surprise, with FM25 having first been delayed ahead of its initial November 2024 release date and then moved again to March 2025, many fans would
The statement reads: “Sports Interactive [SI] regret to inform that, following extensive internal discussion and careful consideration with SEGA, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Football Manager 25 and shift our focus to the next release.
“For the large numbers of you who pre-ordered FM25, we thank you enormously for your trust and support – we’re very sorry to have let you down. Please see the FAQs below on obtaining your refund.
“We know this will come as a huge disappointment, especially given that the release date has already moved twice, and you have been eagerly anticipating the first gameplay reveal. We can only apologise for the time it has taken to communicate this decision.
“Due to stakeholder compliance, including legal and financial regulations, today was the earliest date that we could issue this statement.”
Insisting that they pride themselves on “delivering the best value for money games that bring you countless hours of enjoyment”, they simply didn’t feel like they were able to release the latest FM title to a good enough standard in its current state following playtesting.
They go on to add that ahead of working on this, the studio undertook the “biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation, laying the building blocks for a new era”, hence why the significant delays. The news has been met with mixed reactions, to say the least.
Don’t worry only gotta wait till November!!! Only in February FFS
— Out of Context Football Manager (@nocontextfm1) February 7, 2025
You can read the statement in full HERE, in which they also rationalise that it simply no longer made sense or felt fair to expect people to buy FM25 when it was ready only to purchase the next instalment later in the year.
Fortunately, with regular updates as well as community mods and patches to the current Football Manager (FM24 was released back in November 2023), loyal fans have been more understanding about the delays and now the cancellation.
SI signed off by stating: “Through the cancellation, every effort is now focused on ensuring that our next release achieves our goal and hits the quality level we all expect. We will update you on how we are progressing with that as soon as we are able to do so.
“Thank you for reading, your patience and your continued support. Our full focus now returns to creating a new era for Football Manager.”
Lighting a candle for the people who collect a physical copy of every Football Manager, with no FM25 their collections will be ruined forever. pic.twitter.com/M1S5LiLJtQ
Emily Sergeant -
1st August 2022 
