They have been singing it for 26 years, that football will come home.

The golden generation has tried their hand. Stars have come and gone, from Alan Shearer to David Beckham and Harry Kane. Most people assume that the gentlemen are supposed to fix the steak.

But on Sunday it was the women who took home England’s first EC title. They have succeeded where the men failed – at home in 1996 and in 2021.

Throughout this playoff, fans have been singing the famous chorus of “Three Lions.” As soon as the final was over, the whole of Wembley declared “football is coming home”. With that, it wasn’t just England’s wait that came to an end.

You could say, the two national teams are also united.

Victory for the whole nation

Due to the fact that this victory is now considered the return of football means not only England womanwinning national team.

This achievement belongs only to English. All of England. And that’s important.

If this had happened 40 years ago, no one would have registered it. When England reached the final of the first women’s European Championship in 1984, interest was so low that only 2,567 turned up for the second match, played at Kenilworth Road in Luton, a small town north of London.

The track was so muddy that there was hardly any grass in the center circle. The players use four balls, and the half lasts 35 minutes. Sweden won, and the next day the players had to go to work.

The finals are hardly mentioned in English-language newspapers. Had England won, few would have cared. No one will feel that it makes up for the gentlemen’s disappointment.

But now on Sunday, in the final at Wembley, with green grass and 87,192 spectators, victory belongs not only to an unknown women’s team, but to the entire nation.

Behind this victory there are several factors that other countries can learn from.

Style study

It has become a style study of how to win EC. So much power behind the results, from the FA’s plans to the league’s advancement.

Since 2017 alone, the English Football Association has taken steps to increase the number of women’s players, teams and training centres. The domestic Women’s Super League has become one of the best in the world, with many sponsors, matches on national television, and financial strength.

All of these promises have improved the quality of coaches and facilities, which in turn is reflected in the level that England have shown across the EC.

In parallel, the national team has got a brilliant national team coach in Sarina Wiegman.

With his predecessor Phil Neville, name has always been greater than competence. Instead of having a former Manchester United player who barely achieved anything as a coach, England recruited the best candidate they could find.

Wiegman led the Netherlands to a European Championship victory in 2017 and a World Cup final two years later. It’s just a matter of getting him in. Now, almost a year after his appointment, he is the first coach to win the EC with two nations.

No one can say that this is inappropriate.

Always have an answer

Even before the EC, you could see that the UK had something big going on. They have now played 20 games under Wiegman and are yet to lose.

At every hurdle, England has an answer, from a tough opener against Austria to a thriller against Spain and a battle against Sweden. They often score late in the game, especially in the playoffs.

In addition, the immense width of England has made itself felt. They have seven goals from substitutes, four more than anyone else.

In the final, it was Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly who came off the bench and decided. Minutes later, England were the big winners.

The same can be said about football as a whole.

Higher quality

Because as many expected, EC has been a big step forward. One thing is viewership, which has more than doubled since 2017.

But also quality has gotten much better.

We’ve seen interactions in a class of their own, solid defence, adventurous individual performances, and a number of rushed saves. The players have scored more goals and made more passes than they were five years ago. There are fewer mistakes that lead to goals.

If you look to nothing but the final, Toone’s score shows where the list is: A beautiful stick from Keira Walsh, and a lob past the goalkeeper that would give any striker in the world an extra cheer.

Such performances – and statistics in general – attest to higher precision, better technique and more patient attacking play. The top teams in particular have shown an incredible level.

Norway knew before the tournament that it was still a long way off. Now we know how big the gap is.

New adventure

Is there any disappointment at EC? Outside of Norway, one can mention the injury to Alexia Putellas before the championship. Most were also looking forward to Alexandra Popp, who was injured in the warm-up, leading Germany out at Wembley.

Then we had empty seats, even though many games were sold out. But that was the fault of the organizers, and not a sign of a lack of interest.

It will be interesting to see if the next EC will break new records.

Those who haven’t entered this championship are really missing out. Especially those who cheer for England in general, and who must have been very disappointed when the team lost in the final on penalties against Italy last year. At the time, it seemed like football would never come home.

But the women had a plan. They never needed a penalty.

Now they have beaten Germany in extra time at Wembley, as the men’s team did at the 1966 World Cup.

The victory has long been legendary in England. So are the names behind them.

Now these women are also included in the English football adventure that will be told over and over again.