The China Mail - Lionesses party with thousands of fans after Euro 2025 triumph

Sarina Wiegman's team successfully defended their European crown by beating world champions Spain on penalties in the Swiss city of Basel on Sunday, sparking an outpouring of national joy.

They flew home on Monday and were immediately whisked to 10 Downing Street, the working home of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, for a reception.

On Tuesday it was the turn of supporters to celebrate the astonishing success of the Lionesses, who repeatedly defied the odds during their run to glory in Switzerland.

Two open-top buses emblazoned with the words "European Champions" set off from the bottom of The Mall, the road leading to Buckingham Palace, under grey skies shortly after midday.

Captain Leah Williamson held the Euro 2025 trophy aloft and supporters responded with cheers and by waving their flags in a sea of red and white.

The decibel count rouse as the bus crawled along the road, lined with Union flags and the St George's Cross, led by a military band.

The Football Association said at least 65,000 were packed onto The Mall.

The huge crowds then swarmed down the road towards the palace -- King Charles III's official London residence -- to party with the squad, with two large screens showing tournament highlights.

- 'Still we rise' -

An emotional Williamson was first to speak from a stage at the Queen Victoria Memorial, saying she had been crying all the way down The Mall.

"There's lots of ways to win a football match, and we repeatedly did it the hard way," she said. "But I think that you can see how much we care about playing for England, how much we love it.

"(Victory in) 2022 was a fairytale, but this feels really hard-earned, and we're very proud of ourselves."

The skipper said the team had overcome adversity, including defeat to France in their opening match: "Nasty things to deal with, and still we rise."

She added: "Everything we do, obviously we do it for us and our team, but we do it for the country, and we do it for the young girls.

"This job never existed 30 or 40 years ago, and we're making history every single step. Thank you so much, thank you so much for being with us. Stay with us, this story's not done yet."

Wiegman told the cheering crowds that her players "showed up" when they had to before dancing on stage with Nigerian singer Burna Boy.

"I had hoped for a little less chaos but they didn't keep their promise to finish things quicker," she said.

"But as we always have a plan, and we try to execute that, and the players on the pitch, and we just kept having hope all the time, and belief, and they just showed up when it was really necessary and urgent."

Williamson lifted the trophy beneath red fireworks and Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" was played over the speakers.

Fans had queued for hours to celebrate their heroes -- the first senior England team to win a major football tournament on foreign soil.

Signs included: "In Sarina we trust" and "So nice had to win it twice".

Sue Plummer, 57, a company director from the Isle of Wight, said: "They're just the epitome of British resilience and resolve.

"It's nice to see the total spectrum of people that have come out especially for this."

London retail worker Naomi Rumsby, 30, said she used to play football.

"It's nice to see so many people here," she said. "I never thought it would be like this. It's nice to see so many little kids with ladies' names on the back of their shirts."

Victory in Switzerland was sweet revenge for Wiegman's team, who suffered bitter defeat against Spain in the World Cup final two years ago.

The Lionesses were hosted at number 10 on Monday by Deputy Prime minister Angela Rayner and Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock while Starmer was in Scotland meeting US President Donald Trump.

Rayner hailed the players as a "shining example of talent and excitement for women's football".

N.Wan--ThChM