Beth Mead explains how Lionesses forged ‘proper England attitude’ that is aiding bid for back-to-back European Championship crowns

Mead spoke to the BBC about some of the secrets behind the scenes to the squad's success and how manager Sarina Wiegman has contributed to this. Mead said the players and Wiegman have been "vulnerable" with each other and this has contributed to their ability to show the right attitude on the pitch and get through tough moments as a team.

England reached the semi-finals after producing a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to beat Sweden on penalties with two goals in the final quarter of an hour of normal time. This was not the first time the squad had to come back from a set-back in the tournament, after a disappointing 2-1 defeat to France in their opening group game.

Mead said: "I think we've made ourselves very vulnerable, whether it's individually, as Sarina herself has made herself very vulnerable, staff, players. I think that gives us so much more togetherness, so much more trust of each other, that we're willing to share really tough moments with each other. How can we help each other in those moments?

"I'm super proud of how we've actually dealt with that as a squad. In the past, I feel like maybe teams that I have been a part of might not have been able to do that so positively and quickly in hard moments. I really think that Sarina has instilled that into us as a team, and we know she's got our back, we've got her back and you can see that in the way, obviously, we have come back in performances and it's not gone quite right and we've still, you know, given that proper England attitude."

England face Italy in the semi-finals on Tuesday, July 22. A place in the final against Germany or Spain is up for grabs, with a second consecutive Euros title getting tantalisingly closer. Mead has seen her role develop to one of impact off the bench in the tournament and she will hope to have her say once again in the semi.