Captain Leah Williamson said her England side “changed the game in this country” as they celebrated their historic Euro 2022 victory.
They lifted the trophy and sang Sweet Caroline to thousands of fans in Trafalgar Square on Monday.
“We said we wanted to leave our legacy about winning, and we did,” Williamson said.
“The legacy of the tournament was already being left before this final – what we’ve done for women and young girls who look up and aspire to be us.
“I think England hosted an incredible tournament and we changed the game in this country – and hopefully across Europe and around the world.”
The Football Association is now preparing for this Have talks with manager Sarina Wiegman about the contract extension with England after Sunday’s success.
Dutchwoman Wiegman, whose contract with England currently runs until 2025, has now won back-to-back European Women’s Championships after leading the Netherlands to the title in 2017.
“She’ll have a few weeks off. When she comes back we’ll talk,” said Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA’s head of women’s football.
“It will be like rocket fuel”
Speaking on the legacy of England’s Euro 2022 triumph, FA Chairwoman Debbie Hewitt said: “We need to get girls across the country playing football in schools.
“Once they all have the opportunity to play in schools and link them to clubs you will see how this just takes off. It will be like rocket fuel, the effects of victory.”
Hewitt said the Premier League can do its part to support the legacy of Euro 2022 by continuing to invest in women’s football.
She said: “We had over 17 million viewers watching this game in this country last night. If you are the Premier League. Why wouldn’t you want to capitalize on that?”
England midfielder Fran Kirby has said she wants Euro 2022 success to be ‘normal’.
“We want people to come and watch and sell out crowds in this country and around the world, so hopefully we’ve played a big part in that and hopefully we can continue to build on that,” Kirby said.
Ella Toone, who scored England’s first goal in the final, added: “That’s what we set out to do in this tournament – to make the nation proud, to fight for women and also to include young girls and I think we have that we’ve done every single woman in this world.”
“There will be expectations but we have a great squad”
With less than a year to go until the Women’s World Championships in Australia and New Zealand, expectations are high for the new European champions.
“I think we should first take time to think about it, enjoy it before we start thinking about it [World Cup]’ Kirby said.
“Obviously there will be big expectations but we’ve got a great squad, we’ve got a great manager, so yeah, we’re really excited.”
Defender Lucy Bronze said she is keen for the England team to get a star on their badge to match a World Cup win.
She said: “The EURO is fantastic, especially in our home country, but at the moment there’s a little star missing from our crest on the England shirt. That’s definitely our mission to take that star there.”
Germany is warmly welcomed in Frankfurt
Thousands of fans greeted defeated finalists Germany at Frankfurt’s Römerplatz on Monday.
Manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and her team turned to supporters from Frankfurt City Hall.
Germany have an incredible record at the European Women’s Championship, winning it a total of eight times, most recently in 2013.
Forward Alexandra Popp (centre) and manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (right) entered the balcony of Frankfurt City Hall together with the rest of the DFB team
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