The Rest of the World Finally Seems to Be Embracing Women’s Soccer

At the Women's Euro 2025, England rallied behind the Lionesses in a way I’ve never seen before.

By Alyssa Mercante | July 28, 2025 | 4:54pm

Photo: Getty Images

The Rest of the World Finally Seems to Be Embracing Women’s Soccer

The U.K. Women’s national soccer team, also known as the Lionesses, just won the 2025 Women’s Euros, the biggest tournament across the pond. Their win over Spain in penalty kicks drew 12.2 million viewers in the United Kingdom alone, making it the most-watched TV moment of 2025 thus far. Attendance at the tournament itself, which was held in Switzerland this year, broke records for the women’s tourney, with 657,291 people in the stands at St. Jakob-Park in Basel on Sunday.

In the U.S., our relationship with women’s soccer is very different, and has dwarfed support for men’s soccer for decades (probably because the men’s team sucks). But for the rest of the world, the 2025 Women’s Euros seems to have made women’s soccer the worldwide phenomenon it should have been for the last 30 years.

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America is used to women’s footy supremacy. Megan Rapinoe’s been on the cover of countless magazines, and we’ve watched Alex Morgan’s tea-time celebration on big screens everywhere. Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, and Trinity Rodman are all household names. Though the USWNT has had to fight against pay inequality and against homophobic and misogynistic hate, their dominance on the global soccer pitch has afforded them a level of notoriety.

That’s not the case for other women’s soccer teams across the globe. Though the 2025 Women’s Euros brought in fewer viewers than in 2022 (which had over 16 million), this year’s competition had more viewers than the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

@metrouk England were crowned back-to-back European champions after beating Spain on penalties in the thrilling final of Euro 2025 on Sunday. In a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final, the two best teams in the competition faced off, with the Lionesses avenging that heartbreaking defeat in Sydney two years ago. La Roja looked the better side overall and took a first-half lead but Sarina Wiegman’s team fought back, with Alessia Russo equalising after the break. After a nervy 120 minutes, Hannah Hampton was the hero in the shootout, saving three penalties, giving Chloe Kelly the chance to score the winning spot-kick. #lionesses #england #womensfootball #chloekelly ♬ original sound – Metro

Off the field, women’s football players across the globe have struggled to be treated as equals. Spain, which made it to the Euro finals this year, won the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (beating England 1-0 in the final), but their win was overshadowed by the historically abhorrent behavior of the Spanish football association. During the celebration, the former Spanish FA president, Luis Rubiales, kissed forward Jenni Hormoso without her consent, and was eventually found guilty of sexual assault. Rubiales’ disgusting public display came after years of mistreatment at the hands of former coaches Ignacio Quereda and Jorge Vilda.

And during the run-up to this year’s Euro finals, the English women’s national team called the police after defender Jess Carter was the target of racist abuse. Online hate monitoring showed Carer was the subject of the most negative sentiment, with 91% of comments about her skewing negatively.

Fortunately, despite this, something felt different this year. Sweden’s “Soft Hooligans” offered a new take on radical fandom, Spain has a better coach (and she’s a woman!), and England seemed to rally behind the Lionesses in a way I’ve never seen before.

“It’s the biggest outpouring of support for the Lionesses I’ve ever seen,” London-based content designer Patrick Wilson tells me over DM. “It was great, all the pubs were full.”

I was in England during the Euro semi-final, and watched the game in a pub that’s one of several hubs for Newcastle United fans. Though it was relatively empty (it was early in the week), they happily put the game audio on for me. As the familiar sounds of footy commentating floated out the door and down Strawberry Lane, men trickled in fresh off construction sites and other blue-collar jobs, seemingly drawn to it like children following the Pied Piper. Soon, a small crowd had gathered to watch the English women play Italy, roaring and jeering with such gusto it surprised me. A Sheffield-based man repeatedly bragged to me that his city helped produce Olympic defender Millie Bright. “We’ve got a mural for ‘er,” he shouted over the din.

The next day, after England won in penalty kicks and secured their spot in the final, the papers were plastered with pictures of the Lionesses. A news broadcast sang the praises of 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang, the breakout star whose family moved to England from Ghana. “Her last name means saviour of a nation,” the broadcaster said proudly, just a day after Agyemang scored the equalizer in the 96th minute against Italy.

@bryonylou30 Well done @Lionesses 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⚽️❤🤍 #lionesses ♬ original sound – Bryony Louise 💕

This Friday, as I walked through the London Underground to catch a train to Heathrow for my return to New York, the Lionesses stared at me from the tube hallway. “Admire England. Fear the Lionesses” was emblazoned in black and silver on a bright red wall, with pictures of Chloe Kelly (who won both the semi-final and final game for England), Keira Walsh, Ella Toone, and Leah Williamson running the length of the curved hallway.

When I climbed on the tube, I picked up an abandoned newspaper resting on the seat, which was turned to the sports section, and the Lionesses dominated the spread. At the airport, a young girl walked past me wearing the 2025 England Women’s National Team kit. On Tuesday, the triumphant Lionesses will enjoy a homecoming parade in London.

“We’re English. You can’t write us off,” Kelly said Sunday after the win. “We showed most of the world what it is to be English, and that’s not going down without a fight.” I can’t wait to see how the 2028 Summer Olympics play out. The U.S. is coming for you, Lionesses.

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