Beth Mead is vital to England's Euros title defence again - but the Lionesses' star of 2022 must continue to play super sub thanks to Lauren James

It's not been easy for Mead since the historic high of Euro 2022. Just a few months later, she suffered a devastating ACL injury that sidelined her for almost a year and forced her to miss the 2023 Women's World Cup, right as she was playing the very best football of her career.

Mead would cite her mother's cancer diagnosis as the fuel for the incredible level she was playing at before that injury, as she tried to make her "happy" and "proud" in the most difficult of circumstances. Then, in the first few days of 2023, while the winger was completing some of the first steps of her long rehab process, the devastating news that her mother had lost that battle and passed away came. It's near-impossible to comprehend how someone copes going through such difficult times in their personal and professional lives at the same time.

To see Mead playing well again, then, is a joy. After suffering an ACL tear, players can take months to feel like themselves again, with form up-and-down for a while. Recent months, though, have seen Mead tune-up nicely for Euro 2025. The Arsenal star ended the 2024-25 season with seven goals and three assists to her name in the Women's Super League, despite making just 13 starts, and she provided an outstanding assist for Stina Blackstenius' goal in the Champions League final, the monumental match that Mead chose to release her Players' Tribune piece just before, detailing the impact of her mother like never before.

That 1-0 win over Barcelona in Lisbon, which confirmed Arsenal as European champions, will have only added another spring to Mead's step coming into a big summer with England. She's been in strong form for the Lionesses in 2025, with three goals and two assists from the five fixtures that preceded the Euros, and that helped her to nail down a starting role for the opening game despite the intense competition for places.

Still, it always felt like Mead's place in Sarina Wiegman's XI was under threat from the returning James, the most talented player in this England team. The Chelsea forward had been struggling with a hamstring issue and how fit she was as the tournament began was unclear, with just 30 minutes under her belt since early April. But Wiegman was happy enough to start her in England's first game against France - and keep Mead in the team, too.

It tipped the balance too far in the wrong direction, though. As Mead played on the right, James was deployed as a No.10, removing some necessary steel from the midfield. As such, Les Bleues ran the show, dominated the middle of the park and could've registered a much heavier win than their eventual 2-1 success.

It was a game that forced Wiegman to make changes, with one of those seeing Mead drop to the bench as James went onto the right and Ella Toone came into midfield. It has worked brilliantly for the team, who responded with a 4-0 thumping of the Netherlands and a 6-1 thrashing of Wales to make the last eight. It does, however, leave the hero of Euro 2022 without a starring role.

But as much as Mead would love to contribute from the first whistle, she is a team player and she has shown she can channel any frustration into her play when she enters the pitch. Against Wales, she was fantastic off the bench, netting a fantastic strike to make it 5-0 before providing a superb cross to Aggie Beever-Jones for England's final goal of the day.

When Mead's shot hit the back of the net, she poignantly pointed to the sky, dedicating her first major tournament goal in three years to her mother. It was something that Toone, who took Mead's place in the XI, had done earlier, too, having lost her father just last year.

"I've been a shoulder to be there for her," Mead said of Toone. "We both said the first game we really struggled. You look to the stands for your person who was standing there and they are not there anymore. My mum was the first person I would look for in the stands, so I understand what Ella felt in that moment. It's special to be able to have that moment to think about them and dedicate it to them."

Mead's impact goes beyond just that on the pitch in this England team.

The winger's on-pitch influence, though, is also noteworthy. England need some super subs. It was a key feature of Euro 2022, when Toone, Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly thrived as 'finishers', but it was only back in April that Beever-Jones ended the Lionesses' 21-game, 16-month drought without a goal or an assist from a sub.

To have someone of Mead's calibre coming off that bench as the Lionesses enter the latter stages of Euro 2025 could be crucial. There are a lot of talented young players at Wiegman's disposal on the sidelines, but to have someone with the 30-year-old's know-how? Mix it with her quality and work-rate and that's priceless.

England's bench could be particularly important in Thursday's quarter-final against Sweden. While the Lionesses have stepped up in recent outings, Peter Gerhardsson's side have been one of the very best on show at Euro 2025 so far, owing to their defensive, solidity, hard-working midfield and lively attack.

When these two met last year, in qualifying for this tournament, they fought out two draws: 1-1 at Wembley, and goalless in Gothenburg. The expectation is that, once again, this encounter is going to be tight.

That's where the impact of fresh legs running against tired ones in the second half could well decide things. After running riot against Sweden at Euro 2022, scoring one and assisting two more in a 4-0 win in the semi-finals, Mead will be out to cause issues as a sub this time around - as her mother and Toone's father, in the Manchester United star's words, are "up there with a pint in their hand watching us".