As England’s women prepare to face Sweden in Thursday’s Euro 2025 quarter-final in Zurich, former midfielder Janet Bagguley — Lioness No. 4 — has reflected on the side’s journey from its first official international in 1972 to its present-day prominence. Bagguley recalled paying her own way to play on a frozen pitch against Scotland on 18 November 1972, when England won 3–2 in the face of a recently lifted 50-year ban on women’s football. Players borrowed men’s kits, bought their own boots and relied on employers for time off work. She contrasted those beginnings with today’s fully professional set-up, backed by Football Association funding that helped deliver the Euro 2022 title at Wembley and a World Cup final appearance in 2023. Thursday’s match will mark the Lionesses’ sixth successive quarter-final at a major tournament. Now a Royal Mail postwoman, Bagguley has secured her first sponsorship deal — delivering fans’ messages to the current squad — and says the team’s success is inspiring a new generation who know its stars by name.