'Not happy' - Leah Williamson explains why Lionesses were not satisfied with Euro 2025 qualification campaign despite securing spot at tournament

The Lionesses ended their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign with a nervy goalless draw against Sweden away from home on Tuesday as they secured a berth in the main competition next year. Despite booking a spot in the Euros, captain Williamson was unhappy with the team's overall performance throughout the qualifying campaign.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, the Arsenal star said, "I've worked hard to be back here. This team knows how to fight, we've proved that over and over. But now we need to get back to our top level, there is a new top-level and we need to be able to find and get to it. The campaign has tested us but we have come through it. We were not able to top the group, which we are not happy about, but we qualified and that gives us a year to literally squeeze everything we can out of ourselves.

"High stakes games make players but you can't always work on what you need to. You have to play the game in front of you to get what you need. It is good preparation for us to have the friendlies in place, we know what is ahead of us next summer. We are reigning champions so we know we should qualify but we take pride in the fact that we have."

Manager Sarina Wiegman was also left disappointed with England's performance, especially against Sweden as they narrowly avoided defeat. The Dutch manager also outlined the areas where her team needs to improve to defend their title in Switzerland.

The 27-year-old is likely to take a short vacation before joining her club for pre-season. They are set for two friendly matches in August against NWSL side Washington Spirit and WSL rivals Chelsea.