Carter happy to repay faith in her and find a happy ending

Defender 'super scared' and surprised to be picked for final, after a difficult month, takes strength from her team

- Murshida Uddin Eze Obasi

It has been quite the journey, but at the end of it Jess Carter was standing there with a beaming smile, having just made history with England at Euro 2025.

Part of the Lionesses squad that defended their title from three years ago and became the first England side to win a major trophy abroad, she had been subjected to horrendous racial abuse from the start of the tournament.

After the narrow quarter-final win against Sweden she revealed she was taking a step back from social media because of the abuse, saying: "While I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don't agree or think it's OK to target someone's appearance or race."

The Gotham FC defender, who played for Chelsea between 2018 and 2024, was then left out of the starting XI for the semi-final victory against Italy, only to return and produce her best performance of the tournament in the final against Spain, which England won on penalties.