GIVE THEM A GONG

EURO 2022: LIONESSES AND FANS PARTY ALL DAY

- JEREMY ARMSTRONG and LYDIA VELJANOVSKI

• Honours plea for England stars
• Joyous scenes at victory parade

CALLS were last night growing for the England women’s team to be honoured by the Queen after their incredible Euro 2022 victory.

The triumphant Lionesses showed off the trophy and their medals to thousands of ecstatic fans in London’s Trafalgar Square yesterday.

Players and supporters partied all day, following a boozy night by the stars that went on until 4am. Some wore sunglasses on the victory parade to help with their hangovers.

Former England striker and BBC pundit Ian Wright led the pleas for gongs after the team’s run in the competition that ended with a stunning 2-1 victory over old foes Germany at Wembley on Sunday. He said: “I think that when the cricket team won the world cup they were all given MBEs.

“They should be thinking about that now for the women. This team deserves every accolade, everything that can be bestowed upon them.”

Labour also called on No10 to ensure the Lionesses receive awards in the New Year Honours.

Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the PM “would definitely want to see the team receive the recognition they deserve for their historic victory”.

A No10 source added: “There’ll have to be something given. We’ve honoured the men in the past even when they didn’t win anything.” There is likely to be an honorary award for coach Sarina Wiegman, 52, who as a Dutch citizen is not eligible for a UK gong.