Beever-Jones captures Euros experience with ‘memory book’

Aggie Beever-Jones has had to bide her time to experience a major tournament with England – so she is not going to let it pass her by.

A fresh love for photography and daily journals are helping the 21-year-old enjoy Euro 2025 after the Covid-19 pandemic prevented her going to youth tournaments for her country.

Beever-Jones has been keen to explore Switzerland, swimming in Lake Zurich and making “a little memory book” to soak up cherished moments during the tournament.

“Literally in my bag here, they gave us a journal. People are using it however they wish, but I’m quite big on writing stuff down,” she revealed.

“I’ve got quite into photography so I take pictures. I’ve got my own little wallchart of each game. It’s a book full of all the memories and little details that sometimes you might forget.

“Every day we have a wellness [session], and one of the physios writes a quote on the wall. I just always write it down, and try to find the joy in the little things.

“It can get a bit repetitive doing the same thing every day so it’s nice to take a step back from football, see and appreciate everything else that’s going on.

Beever-Jones burst on to the scene on her return to Chelsea after a loan spell at Everton in 2023 and her senior international debut followed a year later.

She has gone on to score five goals in nine England appearances, including a 33-minute hat-trick at Wembley in a 6-0 thrashing of Portugal in May.

But with Arsenal’s Alessia Russo firmly in place as number nine in Sarina Wiegman’s side, Beever-Jones has to wait patiently for her opportunities in Switzerland.

She was overlooked in the 2-1 opening-game defeat by France but came on as a substitute in the second half of England’s crucial 4-0 win over the Netherlands on Wednesday.

“I know my strengths and I have done it for two years coming off the bench for Chelsea and hopefully making an impact,” said Beever-Jones.

“Sarina is well aware of that and I respected the decision [not to play me against France]. She knows I’ll be ready no matter what, whenever the time comes.”

Beever-Jones has a knack for producing big moments.

She scored nine goals in 22 appearances for Chelsea this season, including a stoppage-time winner against Liverpool to send them to the Women’s FA Cup final.

Against the same opponent in May, she scored in the 91st minute to ensure the Women’s Super League champions finished their 22-game campaign unbeaten.

Four of her first five goals for Chelsea came off the bench, including her debut at Stamford Bridge against, you guessed it, Liverpool in 2023.

Her success brings more pressure but Beever-Jones has always remained calm, putting it down to “maturity” and independence since moving away from home.

“I learned about council tax and all that stuff that you never really think about. I just think I’ve grown up and I’m quite mature for my age,” she said.

“That reflects on the pitch now. I’m able to feel comfortable, look around and see world-class players.

“I feel extremely privileged to learn off them every day and equally show my own uniqueness that I bring to the team.”

Beever-Jones is clearly chomping at the bit to make her mark in Switzerland – and will be hoping for more minutes in Sunday’s final group game against Wales (20:00 BST kick-off), where a victory would confirm defending champions England’s place in the quarter-finals.

But it is still a learning curve to be involved in a major tournament.

“I was unfortunate in the sense that when I was growing up, we had Covid and we missed out on the Under-17s Euros and World Cups,” she added.

“I’ve never really experienced tournament football and being away from family. It’s just learning to deal with the ups and downs and setbacks.

“It was a crazy time in the world [during Covid]. That’s why I think it makes it a bit more special this time round.