Lego, Lash Lifts And Reggie The Dog - Inside England's Euro 2025 Success

Everything had to beryllium conscionable correct for nan Lionesses down nan scenes connected their measurement to triumph astatine Euro 2025 - and it was.

World-class accommodation, awesome Swiss hospitality and imaginative hobbies were each cardinal to building England's resilience and keeping them relaxed.

Here is what they sewage up to down nan scenes.

The Football Association pulled retired each of nan stops to springiness England what skipper Leah Williamson called "a location distant from home".

Their five-star hotel, nan Dolder Grand, which sits proudly astatine nan apical of a steep elevation overlooking nan metropolis centre of Zurich, was described arsenic a "Disney Castle" by BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Katie Smith.

To scope it, galore would thrust connected nan funicular - a type of cablegram railway - which had a extremity conscionable for edifice residents.

Players would mingle successful nan reception areas pinch family members, having java aliases specialised Lionesses-branded Yorkshire tea.

In their free time, they visited Lake Zurich, went exploring successful nan adjacent hills and made usage of nan luxurious edifice spa for betterment and relaxation.

When thunderstorms struck, midfielder Jess Park would watch and perceive from her edifice balcony, overlooking nan stunning views below.

There was attraction to item successful each corner, pinch shirts displaying nan players' names hanging astir nan media centre, alongside a framed missive written by Wiegman thanking members of nan property for their coverage.

And possibly champion of all, nan squad had their ain barista who brought on his canine Reggie. The cavapoo spent hours astir nan players, gatecrashing their 'diary room' videos, and was connected manus erstwhile they missed their ain pets.

Defender Lucy Bronze said England were "really calm" pursuing their opening crippled conclusion by France, knowing they had to hit nan Netherlands successful their 2nd group crippled to enactment successful nan tournament.

"Leah Williamson, Keira Walsh, Ella Toone, Alessia Russo and Beth Mead were playing Monopoly while I was building a jigsaw pinch Michelle Agyemang and Maya Le Tissier each morning," said Bronze.

"We were beautiful calm, we knew what we had to do. We couldn't dwell excessively overmuch connected nan French crippled and we trained really well. It paid off."

Bronze joked nan jigsaw had been near successful a "mess" but location were plentifulness of different hobbies to support nan Lionesses entertained.

Aggie Beever-Jones took inspiration from Alex Greenwood and took up photography, adding pictures to her diary to create a representation book.

Defender Lotte Wubben-Moy, who did not make an quality astatine nan Euros, turned to location comforts, bringing her sourdough starter for Lionesses cook Stuart to provender each day.

Building Lego is thing guardant Lauren Hemp has done for years. She built a Beauty and nan Beast castle while successful Switzerland, which she proudly carried arsenic nan Lionesses checked retired of nan edifice earlier flying location connected Monday.

Hemp managed to get others connected committee too, pinch teen Agyemang besides getting involved.

"I was building a really mini stadium nan different time because I was saturated and abruptly Lucy [Bronze] was like, 'we tin make this truthful overmuch better'," said Agyemang, who was nan breakout prima of nan tournament.

"I didn't cognize she had really bully skills erstwhile it came to Lego. We made a replica of nan stadium and now she wants to make it a tradition, truthful I deliberation we'll person to do Geneva adjacent time."

Agyemang surely kept herself busy, playing a soft that was brought complete by nan England kitman successful a van.

"I play nan piano, nan bass guitar and nan drums. I person my soft successful my room truthful I'm spending a batch of clip successful location conscionable playing and chilling," she told BBC Sport.

"It's 88 keys, truthful afloat size - but not a expansive piano. It's very important. I don't deliberation that there's a time that I spell without playing it because it's correct successful beforehand of me.

"Especially connected crippled days, I astir apt walk astir 2 hours conscionable playing and enjoying myself.

"With evening games, wherever they are six o'clock aliases 9 o'clock [kick-offs], location is simply a batch of clip wrong nan time to conscionable chill and that is what I do."

Agyemang's soft playing has been truthful awesome it put disconnected Williamson from playing, who performed pinch nan BBC Concert Orchestra astatine Maida Vale Studios successful December 2023 erstwhile she was recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

"I did bring a portable keyboard and I felt discouraged because I heard immoderate of nan different girls successful nan squad had been playing theirs," said Williamson.

"I felt for illustration I was excessively acold down truthful I near it. There's truthful overmuch socialising to beryllium done I don't person clip for hobbies. I will prime that up erstwhile I get back."

Meanwhile, defender Esme Morgan encouraged nan squad to nutrient hoops instrumentality shots for a societal media video successful nan group stages.

Chloe Kelly told BBC Sport that Morgan turned her room into a beauty salon to guarantee nan Lionesses looked their champion connected nan large stage.

"We bask spending clip together distant from nan pitch, which is really nice," said Kelly.

"Whether that is Esme [Morgan] opening her beauty salon to do lash lifts, aliases sitting down and watching Love Island.

"It intends erstwhile you spell connected to nan transportation you cognize you've sewage each other's backs."

Wiegman is simply a meticulous planner truthful everything needed to beryllium conscionable right. She had brought objects into camps pinch nan Netherlands that reminded her of location and utilized them arsenic motivation. She revealed she did nan aforesaid earlier England's semi-final triumph complete Italy but wanted to support it a secret.

Wiegman encouraged players to show their stories of really they had made it to nan Euros, their footballing journeys and nan individual battles they had faced.

Each subordinate was fixed a diary to constitute notes successful and Beever-Jones kept a log of each morning's inspirational quote from nan physio.

Kelly admitted she had missed 3 penalties successful training nan time earlier scoring nan decisive spot-kick successful nan shootout triumph complete Spain - but she was successful an situation that allowed her to judge she could do it.

Family members played an important role, spending clip astatine England's edifice and travelling crossed Switzerland to support them astatine games.

"We person noticed a existent shift. Certainly nether Sarina [Wiegman], location has been an attack to person nan family and friends engaged but cognize what our domiciled is," Bronze's relative Jorge said.

"We took Lucy to a play parkland and gave her a half-eaten food sandwich that my four-year-old didn't finish.

"Everyone is having a somewhat different acquisition but each subordinate needs their ain downtime successful their ain way. Our occupation arsenic a family is to conscionable springiness them that spot of normality.

"Whether that's smashing her astatine array tennis aliases Mario Kart, to punctual her I americium still her older brother, aliases if it's conscionable chatting things through. Whatever it is, that is what we are present to do for nan players."

Georgia Stanway's relative John Paul said their discussions were not really astir shot but were to bring "calmness".

Former England midfielder Jill Scott, who retired aft winning Euro 2022, said it was "so important for nan families to beryllium there".

"You tin get a java pinch your family, but astatine nan aforesaid clip location is nary unit to spot them arsenic well. The families thin to go a family distant from nan pitch," said Scott.

"It's truthful bully they are having specified a awesome time, it's for illustration they are connected holiday. I deliberation they would alternatively beryllium retired pinch nan different families having a brew than successful camp."

Scott played a cardinal domiciled down nan scenes successful Switzerland, keeping friends Williamson and Walsh distracted and passing connected words of wisdom.

"We can't get free of her. I had a mates of conversations this tourney pinch Jill. She is simply a funny characteristic and 1 of nan less-serious people," said Williamson.

"She has truthful galore experiences of her own, but besides this unthinkable perspective. She does thief america out. When she retired we were begging for nan FA to employment her conscionable to bring her on - truthful I'm gladsome that she is here. She is 1 of nan top team-mates I person ever had."

Scott said it was nan "same job" she had successful nan squad erstwhile she played but it was clear nan camaraderie Wiegman has instilled was moreover stronger this clip around.

The squad down nan squad were nan squad down nan dream arsenic England delivered against each odds.