Heartbreaking story behind Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman kissing her wrist during Euros final
The Lionesses may not have won their match against Spain at yesterday's World Cup Final, but we can all agree they have so much to be proud of.
The final comes just a year after the Lionesses won Euro 2022, due in no small part to the managerial magnificence of Sarina Wiegman.
Beating Germany 2-1 thanks to goals from Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly, it was the first major international trophy an England team have won since the men lifted the World Cup all the way back in 1966.
It was a staggering achievement and one which triggered huge celebrations across a country that has waited more than five decades to see players with three lions on the shirt lift some silverware.
Advert
Amid all the cheers, chanting and celebration that rightly followed the Lionesses victory, cameras spotted Wiegman kissing a bracelet on her wrist, and the manager later revealed the heartbreaking reason why.
Wiegman explained that the bracelet had belonged to her sister, who died in June 2022 shortly before the Euros started.
She said: "I'm kissing this little armband that was my sister's. My sister passed away during our prep camps.
"She would have been here. She would have been really proud of me and I would have been proud of her too."
The manager went on to say she thought her sister was there for the game, smiling and saying 'I think she was on the crossbar', a reference to a nail-biting moment where Germany's Lina Magull fired a shot towards goal which bounced off the bar and away to safety.
Over a year on from her tragic lost, Wiegman has been speaking about the impact of losing her sister has had on her.
In an interview with The Independent ahead of the showdown with Spain today, the England manager said: "I’m a pretty positive person but of course I also have feelings.
"When someone passes away who is really close to you, you don’t just say: ‘Oh, it’s two months now, it’s gone.’ I have strategies but of course sometimes that’s still sad and it is challenging for me too."
The Lionesses had previously paid their own tribute to Wiegman's sister, with the players asking if they could wear black armbands to signal their mourning for their manager's personal loss.
Wiegman at the time said the offer showed her players were 'such great people', the manager had also been given time off from the pre-tournament training camp to grieve for her sister.
Joe Harker