Thousands of fans flocked to Trafalgar Square on Monday to join the celebrations with England's Lionesses following their Euro 2022 triumph - as captain Leah Williamson declared "we play hard, we party harder!"
Less than 24 hours after their victory over Germany at Wembley, Sarina Wiegman's side took to the stage in central London after a night of parting back at their team hotel. Chloe Kelly's goal in extra time proved to be the difference after she prodded the ball home from a corner to send the nation into raptures.
England's players were jubilant on the field at Wembley before carrying the party into their dressing room and beyond until a 4am finish, emerging from their hotel this morning somewhat bleary-eyed but full of pride after capturing the nation's hearts.
Williamson was first on the mic in front of supporters and was quick to admit: "We've partied more than we've played football in the last 24 hours."
But the celebration was about more than just England's deservedly raucous post-match antics, as their unbeaten run to the trophy has inspired so many and brought a real feeling that change is on the horizon. Williamson added: "What we've done for women and young girls that can look up and inspire to be us.
"I think England have hosted an incredible tournament and we've changed the game in this country and hopefully across Europe and across the world. But we said we wanted to make our legacy about winning and that's what we did."
For England's women, past and present, it has been a long-fought battle for this kind of recognition. Indeed it was defender Jill Scott who said her hope was just that women's football would be known as 'football' from this point on. Fans Eff Urquhart, 55, and Gill Allen, 42, who were in attendance and had watched the final live at Wembley, recalled how growing up it was very much a boys-only game.
“We weren’t allowed!” she explains. “I was talking to someone this morning who is a similar age, and she said that when she asked the boys to play football at school they said yes, then made her be one of the goal posts.”
The duo who both live in Liverpool are considering buying season tickets for the Liverpool women’s team - a sign of the impact this England success can have. “It’s only 60 quid for the season which is amazing! We went to a few games last season,” says Eff.
Former England star Alex Scott had introduced the Lionesses - many of whom wearing sunglasses - onto the stage, along with boss Wiegman, who has delivered England's first major honour in almost 60 years. Williamson referred to the Dutch coach as the "missing ingredient" while Wiegman told Scott: "I feel pretty good. We need some music here."
Confetti cannons and giant sparklers had been out in full force while Scott started a rendition of 'Football's Coming Home' - all of which contributed to a real party atmosphere. It was a 1-0 win over Austria which kicked off England's assault on the trophy nearly a month ago.
Since then a number of players have become household names, with Beth Mead claiming the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament, Alessia Russo impressing with her clever backheel against Sweden in the semis, goalkeeper Mary Earps a mountain between the sticks, while old favourites Lucy Bronze and Jill Scott got plenty of cheers as they joked on stage.
Forward Ella Toone has received plenty of plaudits for her stunning finish to open the scoring in the final, lobbing Germany's goalkeeper expertly, much to the delight of England men's captain Harry Kane who congratulated her on the goal. "Yeah, I taught him that," Toone joked.
Woman of the hour, Kelly, was next on the mic and stressed: "I ain't stopped dancing, my feet just keep going. Everyone's absolutely buzzing. We had a good night last night but some of us were a bit worse for wear this morning."
Wiegman then reiterated her pride in the team for their incredible achievement. "First of all they're very good football players, they're very good people,"; she said. "The willingness, the commitment, the resilience, the behaviour towards each other. The support has been so incredible and most of all the willingness to win so badly."
It makes it extra special for England to have done it in front of a home crowd, with a packed out Wembley registering a record attendance and more than 17million watching on TV - a BBC record too.
The area at Trafalgar Square only had enough room for 7,000 fans on a first come, first served basis, but it felt far more as swathes of supporters filled the surrounding areas wearing face paint and waving St' Georges flags to cheer England's girls.
Siblings Ronan Mitchell, 11, and Esme Mitchell, 9, were in the crowd in their England kits after having watched the match live last night. Ronan explains that at school in Newquay, Cornwall, the boys and girls now play football together, and they are good too. “It was so phenomenal,” he says of last night's win.
Little sister Esme plays in a girls football team and is excited to see the England stars, especially her favourite player Alessia Russo. “I love how they're spreading the word, it's amazing,’ she explains.
Katie Mercer, 32 and from London, brought her two-year-old daughter Olivia along. “I didn't want her to miss it. She won't remember. But there'll be pictures and then I can tell her she was there,” she says. Katie, who is a PE teacher and runs the school football team, adds: “I think it's massively important because even when I was a kid, which wasn't a crazy long time ago, there wasn't an opportunity for me to play.
“I was on boys teams and then I just wasn't on a team because it wasn't a thing. Now so many girls are interested. But now this shows them it is just the norm.”
Naturally it didn't take long for 'Sweet Caroline' to come blaring out of the speakers as England's players stood arm in arm swaying on stage in front of their legions of supporter. What a moment for women's sport and for the country. Good times never felt so good.
But Wiegman already has one eye on the next step and "fighting for the World Cup" in 2023. It was a feeling echoed by full-back Bronze, who stated: "It's another trophy - and the best one by far. But there's still one more we can get our hands on next year."
They can count on the rest of the country being right there with them.
