By edging out Spain in a penalty shootout in the European championship final, England’s women’s team cemented its position as the standard-bearer for English soccer.

The team, decked in England flags and Union Jacks, travelled along The Mall on two open-top buses towards Buckingham Palace as the crowd chanted “It’s coming home.” The crowd was filled with people of all ages and genders,

Another day, another moment for these Lionesses that would have been scarcely imaginable for their forebearers. The back-to-back champions of Europe had won their crown on foreign soil -- the first England senior team ever to achieve such a feat -- and so perhaps could have been forgiven for underestimating the scale of affection for them back home.