Sarina Wiegman named honorary dame in New Year Honours list as Leah Williamson and England team-mates also recognised

Wiegman has the unique distinction of guiding England to two successive European Championship victories, one on home soil, and one in Switzerland, beating Spain on penalties in the latter showpiece to exorcise the ghosts of their 2023 World Cup final loss. As a result of that victory, several England stars have been named in the King's New Year Honours list: Arsenal captain Leah Williamson is made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) and Ella Toone, Keira Walsh, Alex Greenwood, and Georgie Stanway are all made MBEs (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) following their own contributions.

While Wiegman has been made a dame, she cannot use the title, because she is a foreign citizen, as she hails from the Netherlands. 

She said: "When I first arrived in England, I could never have imagined the respect and warmth I've experienced from the English people. I deeply thank the fans for their support.

"This title is a reflection of my exceptional team of players and staff. My congratulations go to Alex, Ella, Georgia, Keira, Leah and also Dr Ritan Mehta (England women's head of medical and team doctor, who has been an MBE) who have all been celebrated for their brilliant contributions.

"Our team values mean that when there is recognition for one, then there is recognition for all. I want to pay tribute to every member of our Euro squad.

"They should all be celebrated for everything they brought to the pitch and for the positive role they play in society. I'm proud to work alongside such a dedicated group of people.

"It's been a special year and as we look ahead to our next objective, qualifying for the 2027 World Cup, we hope we can continue to make the country proud."

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Wiegman has guided the Lionesses to the final of every tournament she's managed the country in - a remarkable statistic - and she will be aiming to continue that record at the 2027 World Cup. The tournament will take place in Brazil and while qualification is yet to begin, Wiegman's troops are likely to be regarded as one of the major favourites. They face a tricky qualifying group, though, as they must negotiate a World Cup final rematch with Spain, and clashes with Iceland and Ukraine.

Wiegman said of the draw: “We seem to meet up all the time, either in tournaments or in draws such as the Nations League now and you can see both teams are very, very competitive and close and so here we go again.

 “I think it’s also nice to play Iceland and Ukraine. We haven’t played them for a long time.

“Of course, they [Ukraine] got promoted to League A, which was very good for them and it’s a team that we don’t know very well at the moment but I find it nice to play a team that we don’t know yet, to have that challenge.

“Iceland, of course, had to play against Northern Ireland in the play-offs which was was a tough team to play.

“I haven’t played them with England, but they have some very good players in their squad too.”

The Lionesses return to action on March 3 against Ukraine as qualification gets underway for the 2027 finals. Wiegman's current contract expires after the conclusion of the tournament, and she is eager to secure more silverware.