THEY’RE the cute cubs who grew up to be the Lioness pride of England.
The girls who once dreamed of greatness now stand on the brink of retaining their Euro crown – and a place in sporting immortality.
With all of England backing them, coach Sarina Wiegman and her team face Spain in tomorrow’s final in the Swiss city of Basel.
The team’s never-say-die attitude in Switzerland means it is three finals in a row after their Euros victory in 2022 and their heartbreaking 1-0 World Cup defeat to Spain two years ago.
This year they have flirted with disaster several times, going two down to Sweden in the quarter-finals before pulling it back, then winning a nail-biting penalty shoot-out.
And against Italy in the semi-final they were seconds from elimination when forward Michelle Agyemang struck deep into stoppage time.
Her 96th-minute equaliser took it to extra time before Euros 2022 hero Chloe Kelly grabbed a winner from the penalty spot.
Here, as the big match looms, we present our heroines when they were youngsters.
DYNAMO Georgia was on the pitch when she was barely out of nappies.
Born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, she was playing alongside her three older brothers for Furness Rovers FC from the age of three.
The 26-year-old confessed: “I didn’t know what I was doing. I was just kicking the ball, but I loved it.
“When I’d turn up at games, the opposition would be like, ‘Ooh, there’s a girl playing’, but I thrived on it.”
Georgia sharpened her skills in Blackburn Rovers’ youth system, scoring 31 goals in just 14 games for their Under-17s side.
She broke into the senior team in 2015, before making the move to Manchester City at 16.
The tattoo fan joined German giants Bayern Munich in July 2022, helping them win three Frauen-Bundesliga titles and a German Cup by the end of the 2024-25 season.
Georgia was a key figure in the Lionesses’ historic Euro 2022 triumph, scoring the winner against Spain in the quarter-final.
BRUMMIE Hannah, 24, is a Euros penalty shootout hero – but doctors once said she’d never play football due to a serious eye condition.
Despite surgeries and ongoing depth perception issues, she is at the top of her game.
She wowed at Birmingham City and Aston Villa, then moved to Chelsea in 2023, winning back-to-back WSL titles in 2024 and 2025.
ENGLAND captain Leah was a born Gunner and joined Arsenal’s Centre of Excellence at just nine years old.
Now 28, she joined the club’s senior team in 2014 and made her senior England debut in 2018.
But after the 2012 London Olympics she almost quit to pursue a career in athletics, inspired by Olympic gold long jumper Greg Rutherford – who, like her, is from Milton Keynes, Bucks.
WINGER Lauren joined Norwich City’s Centre of Excellence aged eight, but the girls’ programme closed down.
Undeterred, she went back to the boys’ team at North Walsham Youth FC, and says it “shaped me as the player I am”.
Lauren, 24, was snapped up by Manchester City in 2018 and is one of the most feared attackers in the Women’s Super League.
FORMIDABLE defender Lucy Bronze, 33, began her football journey in Northumberland, enjoying kickabouts with her older brother.
She was often the only girl on boys’ teams such as Alnwick Town, but was banned from competing alongside the lads aged 12 under FA rules.
She has played for Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Lyon, Barcelona and Chelsea.
ALESSIA, 26, takes after dad Mario – a record goalscorer for Metropolitan Police FC.
From Charlton Athletic to Chelsea’s development squad and a brief spell at Brighton, she went on to play college soccer in the US before signing for Manchester United in 2020.
Joining Arsenal three years later, Alessia helped them win the Women’s Super League.
GROWING up in Hinderwell, a tiny village near Whitby, Beth was kicking a ball with the boys from the age of six.
Later her mum took a second job to pay for the petrol to take her on a twice-weekly, 45- minute drive to Middlesbrough’s centre of excellence.
At just 16, Beth – now 30 – made her senior debut for Sunderland, where she bagged 77 goals in 78 games.
In 2017 she joined Arsenal, and despite an injury-hit start, she blossomed after taking a wide position.
TEENAGE striker Michelle has become the Lionesses’ secret weapon at Euro 2025.
The 19-year-old supersub – whose Ghanaian surname means “saviour of the nation” – has made a stunning impact in the tournament, twice grabbing vital goals after coming off the bench.
Born in South Ockendon, Essex, the Arsenal fan was giving the boys a run for their money at her local club, Brandon Groves AFC, at just five years old.
Vice-chairman and girls’ coach Roy Enright, 45, said: “It is fantastic to see her progress.
“It is brilliant for the club here and for girls’ football generally.”
Michelle joined Arsenal’s academy at six and has been a Gunner ever since, making her senior debut at just 16 in 2022.
She will have to juggle her status as England’s latest footie hero with her uni career at King’s College London, where she is studying for a business management degree.
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