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Sports Personality of the Year 2022: England's Lionesses and Sarina Wiegman win team and coach of the year

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England's Lionesses and Sarina Wiegman win team and coach of the year

England's Lionesses have been named 大象传媒 Sports Personality Team of the Year 2022, while head coach Sarina Wiegman has won Coach of the Year.

Wiegman guided England to Euros victory in the summer, the nation's first major women's football trophy.

England are unbeaten in 26 games since Wiegman's appointment in 2021.

Captained by Leah Williamson, the Euros victory over Germany also marked England's first major football trophy since the men's 1966 World Cup triumph.

Jill Scott, who retired after the summer Euros, said: "A massive thank you for everyone's support. We really had the support of the nation behind us.

"This Christmas, to think there will be little girls asking for football boots and embarking on their own journey. That's all we can ask for."

A trophy hat-trick was completed for England as Euro 2022 top scorer Beth Mead was voted Sports Personality of the Year.

Wiegman, 53, who was appointed in 2021 having won Euro 2017 with the Netherlands, steered England to a famous victory in July which catapulted women's football into the spotlight in England.

"I feel humbled and grateful to win this award," she said.

"Without this incredible team of players and human beings we could never have performed as we did. We have incredible staff. It has been fantastic.

"I've been the lucky person to come into this and work with these players. We played at Wembley of course and we broke records. We've made a change in society.

"Now little girls are walking around with the names of our players on the back of their shirts."

Wiegman is the first woman to ever win the Coach of the Year award since its inception in 1999.

The Lionesses won all six of their Euros matches, topping their group and going on to beat Spain and Sweden to set up a final against Germany.

They claimed a dramatic 2-1 victory at Wembley with Ella Toone opening the scoring before Chloe Kelly bagged the famous winner in extra time.

They then qualified for the 2023 World Cup with a 100% record, without conceding a goal.

England's men won last year's Team of the Year award and Gareth Southgate was Coach of the Year following their own Euros campaign, where they reached the final but were beaten by Italy on penalties.

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'The world around me has changed' - England boss Wiegman on Euros triumph