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Captain Leah Williamson said she felt “10 times taller and 10 times stronger” making her return for England for the first time in a year in their victory over the Republic of Ireland.
England picked up their first win in Euro 2025 qualifying with a 2-0 victory in Dublin thanks to first-half goals from Lauren James and Alex Greenwood.
Williamson played a key role as they kept a clean sheet despite late pressure from the Republic of Ireland.
“I had my eyes set on this,” she said.
“Honestly I just really, really love playing for England. When I put this badge on I feel 10 times taller, 10 times stronger. The girls are such a great group of girls and I loved every second of that.”
Williamson’s last start for the Lionesses was in a friendly against Australia on 11 April 2023, eight days before she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury which meant she missed the Women’s World Cup as England finished runners-up.
“These days with ACLs, you come back hopefully in a healthy way, but I wanted to be good enough to play for England again,” added Williamson.
“The standards are so high and the players that have been here have made them higher. This was the thought and I felt today was a completion of that journey.”
Williamson said she “struggled” to keep her emotions in check during the national anthem as she spotted her mum in the crowd.
“When it finished, that was the most emotional I was. I wanted to stay in the game and be present but it’s been a journey. It’s a nice feeling,” she added.
England boss Sarina Wiegman said she was “happy” with Williamson’s performance and it was a moment she “had to get through” following injury.
“I have to look back but my first reaction is that I’m happy with her performance and she did well,” said Wiegman.
“I think she was very front-footed, alert. Her overall passing was good and in some moments she won duels that were really necessary [for us] to win.”
‘You’re always under pressure to win’
England’s win at Aviva Stadium was a crucial one after a frustrating 1-1 draw with Sweden on Friday means they trail leaders France by two points in the qualifying group table.
They face France next in May and Williamson said England “will get better” having looked off the pace this month.
“They will probably get better as well, but you can expect a competitive side [in May],” said Williamson.
“The most important thing was three points. It’s what we came here for. Obviously we would have liked it to be more convincing, a bit like the first half, but sometimes you’ve got to see out games.
“It says a lot about our standards that we all think [the 1-1 draw with Sweden] is a setback now. We knew we had to come here and win which is why I am so happy with it. It wasn’t a convincing [last] 20 minutes but I’m very happy with three points.”
Wiegman wanted her side to be better on the ball and said they must improve if they want to remain among Europe’s elite having claimed the title at Euro 2022.
“We know [France] are top level so yes, we have to be at our top level,” she said.
“We have to improve all the time, first of all because we want to improve. Secondly, because if you want to stay at the top, then it’s necessary to develop. We demand that from ourselves.”
England midfielder Keira Walsh added: “That’s the beauty of playing for England, you’re always under pressure to win. A lot of our players thrive off that.
“You could see in the first half [against the Republic of Ireland] the way we came out – we knew it was going to be a massive game – and it was a good team performance.”
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