Alessia Russo 'sleep deprived' after whirlwind 48 hours of Euro victory celebrations

Alessia Russo told ITV News Reporter Chloe Keedy that she has barely got any sleep since the historic final victory over Germany

England striker Alessia Russo has said she was dancing all night after the Lionesses' spectacular Euro final win, describing the last two days as a "whirlwind" experience which has left her "quite sleep deprived".

She said it will likely take a while for the Lionesses' achievement to sink in for her as the celebrations to mark the new era for women’s football were so full on.

"I am quite sleep deprived right now - I have had a few hours here and there," Russo told ITV News.

"I think it might take a while to all sink in. I think it has been a bit of a whirlwind the past 48 hours from winning it to celebrating with all of our friends and families."

The Manchester United forward went on to tell of the strong sense of camaraderie that exists among the players - whom she calls "best friends" - in Sarina Wiegman's history-making squad.

After England's 2-1 extra time victory against Germany on Sunday the Lionesses - along with many others across the country - embarked on epic celebrations into the following day.

Russo says she "thinks" she was "on the dancefloor all night" with everyone else also showing off their moves, enjoying themselves as they basked in their historic footballing glory.

'I was on the dancefloor all night I think'

Up to 7,000 England fans flooded into Trafalgar Square on Monday to toast their Euro 2022 champions, with some of them seemingly nursing hangovers from the night before.

The Lionesses had reportedly been partying until 4am after winning England’s first major football tournament title since 1966.

Russo has become somewhat of a household name after winning the hearts of sports fans with her display of skill in the semi-final clash against Sweden last week.

'I will probably never score a goal like I did against Sweden again'

She scored a stunning backheel through the Swedish goalkeeper's legs to put England 3-0 up at Bramall Lane, a sort of goal she thinks will not happen again anytime soon.

"The backheel was the quickest route for me to get it back into the goal," she said.

"I have never scored a goal like that and I probably never will so I will take it while it is there."

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She suggested the Lionesses' Euro win shows the next generation they can achieve similar footballing success, with young girls having role models to look up to being so important in knocking down barriers.

But Russo said more could be done to improve access to teams across the country.

"If you can't see it as a young girl then you are never going to be able to believe that you can do it," she said.

"So I think that is so important for everyone to understand that it is achievable now for young girls.

"But we want girls to play all over the country and we want to make sure that everyone of them can have accessibility to teams and school teams."