Emily Fox Reflects on Women’s Champions League Title Win With Arsenal | OneFootball

Emily Fox had just about finished brushing the silly string out of her hair when she met the media after U.S. women’s national team training.

Upon arriving at this week’s USWNT camp, the defender was given a hero’s welcome by her American teammates after winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League with Arsenal the previous weekend.

“It was like a red carpet runway, things flying all over the place, American flags,” Fox said with a smile.

“It was really cool that literally everyone was there, like staff, players, the whole thing. Feel like we love doing these surprises, which is great. It’s really special just because you have club, you have country, and then it kind of meshes at some points.”

Fox played 90 minutes in the final, which Arsenal won 1–0 over Barcelona with a rugged and determined defensive display.

While it may be the first time Fox has conquered Europe with Arsenal, it’s not the first time she’s had to dig deep in a final between two elite teams.

Fox likened Arsenal’s gutsy Champions League win under head coach Renee Slegers to the 1–0 win by the U.S. over Brazil in the 2024 Olympic Final under Emma Hayes.

“I definitely lean on that experience and that grind, and we did talk about before the game, like being able to suffer and being okay with it because of the talent that Barcelona has. You know, being okay with not having the ball, which normally, as a team, we don’t do,” Fox said.

The match demanded unrelenting concentration on the task at hand. One mistake could alter history and who lifts the title.

“I think you don’t realize how well the team is playing, and you’re playing, especially in a game like that, where no matter who you’re up against, they’re the best of the best. So you just have to stay in the moment and stay present, because the minute you switch off, they have an opportunity or create an amazing opportunity,” Fox said.

Fox and her Arsenal teammates partied with their new trophy until the early hours of Sunday morning in Lisbon, Portugal, before heading to North London for a parade on Monday with thousands of Arsenal fans in attendance.

Getting time to celebrate an accomplishment as a soccer player isn’t always easy. Often players have to move on fast, and think about the next challenge without getting to soak in the joy of a trophy.

Fox was grateful that she and her Arsenal teammates had been able to spend a bit of time drinking in this Champions League triumph.

“It was so cool. I think we really had the time to celebrate and connect with each other, connect with the fans, and it definitely makes it more surreal when you have that time,” Fox said of the parade outside Emirates Stadium.

“I’d use the word surreal and just honored in the sense that I think when you’re in it, it’s hard to appreciate it, because you're always used to just go, go, going, and what’s the next thing?

“But then again, when you have that time to connect with the fans, and the entire season ... we have the most fans at the games as is. So I just think it's been an unreal experience.”

Fox is the sixth American to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy, after Ali Krieger, Gina Lewandowski, Alex Morgan, Catarina Macario and Lindsey Heaps. Fox’s Arsenal teammate and fellow American Jenna Nighswonger was also on the Arsenal team but did not feature on the pitch during the Champions League final.

The USWNT is set to take on China on Saturday, May 31, and then Jamaica on Tuesday, June 3, in two friendlies during this training camp. Fox has made 66 appearances for her country.