Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined England would win back-to-back European titles and establish a dominance like we have. But the two wins were very different and the noise around this summer’s tournament was something else.
There may have been some perceived negativity around beforehand and we were doubted by some before a ball had been kicked.
So this was a triumph of resilience over star names. There wasn’t one player you’d pick out above any others in our team. It was a squad effort.
A lot has been made of the lengths I went to in order to represent my country at the tournament despite my injured leg. Sometimes you simply have to get your head down and play.
I said live on TV after we beat Spain on penalties to win the final that I had been playing in Switzerland with a fractured tibia, but I never expected the attention that comment got.
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So here’s what really happened. There wasn’t one standout moment where I knew about it but I’d been experiencing discomfort at the end of the domestic season and then had a scan to diagnose it.
The first time I played with knowledge of the injury was against Spain in the Nations League in early June. I came off early in the second half because I was committed to playing at the Euros.
I never stopped training despite the pain that I’d experienced after having taken a few knocks. All I knew coming into the tournament was I wanted to play for England at the European Championship, although it was not a decision I took lightly.
Knowledge of the injury was something we wanted to keep within our bubble and I didn’t want a big deal made out of it and I also didn’t expect any special treatment.
For me, it was the usual ‘I’ve just got to get on with it’ mentality. Yes, some people were shocked that I was playing through the pain, but my pain threshold is a bit different.
I had conversations with boss Sarina Wiegman and the England medical staff, who supported me throughout, about the plan and the risks of playing on, but there was never a question in my mind I would do so.
The moment I really thought about it was when our captain Leah Williamson got injured in the quarter-final against Sweden and was in quite a lot of pain. I remember her saying to me: ‘If you can play with a broken leg, I can play on with this.’
I’m someone who trains and does all the extras, so having points where I couldn’t do all that stuff was hard for me. I couldn’t push myself ahead of the tournament.
But I ended up playing 120 minutes in the quarter-final and semi-final, and also the vast majority of the final, which also went to extra-time.
People know what sort of person I am and Sarina knows me really well. She also knows how much I love playing for my country. The relationship we have means I’ll always be honest with her.
I heard my penalty in the shoot-out victory over Sweden described as my ‘Stuart Pearce moment’ but really the spot-kick I took – hitting it hard to make sure – was the only penalty I had in me!
Because of the injury, I thought to myself: ‘Well, I can’t place it, I can’t lean back or try to pass it in.’ That celebration was one of massive relief after the ball went in.
I actually really enjoyed the shoot-outs. Against Sweden, I had taken the armband after Leah went off and I knew without some experienced players to call upon I had to be positive and focused for the girls.
I always had faith in us, every single time we were in trouble, to come through it. We know how to beat the best in the world.
Yes, we had a tough road to win it, but we never doubted ourselves. Losing our first game to France proved the thing that ignited the fire in us. So many players stepped up and maybe that’s what other teams didn’t have.
I hope we’ve made people proud to be English – perhaps in a different way to 2022, because we really did do it the hard way this time.
Now I just have to sit tight – unfortunately – and wait for the bone to heal before I resume training with Chelsea. Hopefully it won’t be too long. I’m itching to return already.
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