England are building up to their Euro 2025 “derby” against Wales as the Lionesses look to reach the quarter-finals with a victory over their neighbours in Switzerland.
The holders kept their tournament defence alive with a 4-0 win over the Netherlands and will be through to the knockout stages with a win against Wales, who are all-but out after defeats to France and the Netherlands.
Tournament debutants Wales are desperate to spoil England’s plans and ensure they do not come home empty handed, while England’s Lauren Hemp has vowed that the Lionesses won’t be complacent and Sarina Wiegman wants her team to avoid a scrap.
"I hope we will see a game where we have a lot of the ball and we play very good in possession, so we don't let it become into a fighting game,” Wiegman said. "For them it is a big game but for us it is too. There is passion but we have passion too.”
England’s possible quarter-finals opponents could have been revealed tonight after Sweden thrashed Germany 4-1 to finish top of Group C. Both teams were already through but Sweden would play England if they finish runners-up in Group D should the Lionesses beat Wales and France avoid defeat to the Netherlands.
Follow the latest from Euro 2025 below
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Women's Euro 2025: Latest news ahead of England v Wales
- England build-up to Wales 'derby' at Women's Euro 2025
- ‘We don’t want a fighting game’: Sarina Wiegman wants England to stay calm
- Rhian Wilkinson: 'Wales want to spoil the party against England'
- Lionesses will be through to quarter-finals with a win
- Wales are all-but eliminated after defeats to France and Netherlands
- Sweden thrash 10-player Germany 4-1 to finish Group C winners
How Sweden turned Germany’s biggest strength against them in the wildest 30 minutes of Euro 2025
Saturday 12 July 2025 22:16
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Jamie Braidwood
If given the choice, who out of Sweden or Germany would England prefer to play should the holders make it past Wales and into the Euro 2025 quarter-finals on Sunday night? After a frenetic opening 10 minutes in Zurich, where Germany were able to carve Sweden apart at will, the answer appeared obvious. A little over 20 minutes later, as Sweden counter-attacked their way to triggering a capitulation in the Germany defence, that answer had completely flipped again.
Why England v Wales will reveal how far the Lionesses will go at Women’s Euro 2025
Saturday 12 July 2025 21:05
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Miguel Delaney
If there was any question about how England would prepare for Sunday’s “derby” against Wales, Sarina Wiegman actually revealed it the moment the build-up started. The coach had been asked whether goal difference had been a consideration in the minutes after the 4-0 win over the Netherlands.
“No,” Wiegman responded. “We discussed how to play at our best.”
As classically simple as that sounds, and as different as this game is to the Dutch, it does illustrate the mentality running through the squad now.
England’s Alex Greenwood: Women’s Euro 2025 derby may mean more for Wales
Saturday 12 July 2025 20:05
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Jamie Braidwood
England defender Alex Greenwood admitted the big-rivalry billing for their final Euro 2025 group-stage encounter might hold more weight for their Welsh opponents than it does for her.
A win against their fellow home nation – the lowest-ranked team in the tournament – would be enough to book defending champions England a place in the quarter-finals, while newcomers Wales would require a victory of four goals or more, as well as France beating the Netherlands.
Greenwood’s cool demeanour and downplayed approach to the opposition was in direct contrast to Wales captain Angharad James, who, when sat at the same St Gallen table moments before and asked if she wanted to knock England out, said: “Of course you do. It’s in our blood. It’s in our DNA.”
But quizzed as to whether or not she felt the same sense of rivalry, Greenwood conceded: “Maybe not as much. I think, for me personally, it’s another game.
“It’s now the most important game that we’re going to play and I think that’s how I look at it, that’s how I treat it. I think for the fans and everybody around it, the rivalry is brilliant.
“I think the atmosphere tomorrow is going to be great and something we should all look forward to, but from a personal perspective, it’s another really important game.”
Rhian Wilkinson: 'Wales want to spoil the party against England'
Saturday 12 July 2025 19:05
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Jamie Braidwood
Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson not shying away from the chance to “spoil the party” ahead of facing England at Women’s Euro 2025,
“These women have fought for so long, many of them their whole careers, to have this opportunity and I will not allow us to feel like we’re just here to just participate. So we will continue to celebrate.
“England, of course there’s a storyline. Why wouldn’t we go towards a rivalry? This will only benefit the women’s game. We’re going to give them as much as possible, push them to the very end.
“And it is the very end. We’re in an incredibly close group. England will be forced to play a strong line-up because it is such a close group and there’s also a goal differential. So for my women, we get to show up and spoil the party and that’s a wonderful job.”
‘It’s in our blood’: Wales determined to knock England out of Women’s Euro 2025
Saturday 12 July 2025 19:03
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Jamie Braidwood
Wales captain Angharad James said the motivation to beat England and knock the holders out of Euro 2025 is “in our blood and DNA” as the rivals prepare to meet in the final round of the group stage.
Wales are the lowest-ranked nation at Euro 2025 and landed in the group of death at their major tournament debut, being drawn alongside the last two champions in England and the Netherlands as well as France.
Wales are all-but eliminated after a 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands was followed by a 4-1 defeat to France but James said her team-mates are focused on delivering a performance to be proud of.
'For them it is a big game but for us it is too' - Sarina Wiegman
Saturday 12 July 2025 18:14
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Jamie Braidwood
Sarina Wiegman speaking ahead of England’s game against Wales at Euro 2025.
"I hope we will see a game where we have a lot of the ball and we play very good in possession, so we don't let it become into a fighting game.
“I am not worried [it will become a fighting game]. I think Wales are very compact and they can fight and are really together but also when they have the ball they can play direct.
“We are trying to prevent that, and the best way is to be good on the ball yourself and move the ball quickly to exploit the spaces.
"For them it is a big game but for us it is too. We want to win and get through the group stage. There is passion but we have passion too. We want to be really focused and good on the ball. We have to be patient."
Sarina Wiegman wants England to stay calm against Wales passion
Saturday 12 July 2025 18:04
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Jamie Braidwood
Sarina Wiegman says England have to make sure their Euro 2025 derby against Wales does not become a “fighting game” and urged the Lionesses to focus on their own performance in order to reach the quarter-finals.
After beating the Netherlands 4-0 England can reach the quarter-finals with a win over rivals Wales, who are making their tournament debuts at the Euros and are the lowest-ranked side in the 16-team competition.
Wales are all-but out of the Euros and require a four-goal win in their final group game against England while also needing France to beat the Netherlands.
All 23 England players trained this morning
Saturday 12 July 2025 16:51
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Jamie Braidwood
All 23 players in the England squad trained this morning in Zurich before travelling to St Gallen for their Euro 2025 match against Wales tomorrow evening.
In terms of team news, England made some key changes for the Netherlands game and looked to have found a settled formula with Lauren James on the right wing, Ella Toone in midfield and Jess Carter at centre-back. Sarina Wiegman could name an unchanged team in order to build some momentum and consistency.
Possible England XI: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Walsh, Stanway, Toone; James, Russo, Hemp
Sweden reach quarter-finals while knocking two teams out of Women’s Euro 2025
Saturday 12 July 2025 16:31
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Jamie Braidwood
Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani scored one goal and made another as her side cruised into the knockout stages of the Euro 2025 with a 3-0 win over Poland on Tuesday that eliminated the Poles.
The win also guaranteed Germany's berth in the last eight after they beat Denmark earlier on Tuesday, with the Danes joining Poland in exiting the competition.
The Germans and Swedes occupy the top two spots in Group C on six points and meet in Zurich on Saturday to decide who will win the group after Sweden's aerial bombardment from the wings proved too much for the Polish defence.
Wales on the brink of Women’s Euro 2025 exit despite landmark goal
Saturday 12 July 2025 16:11
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Jamie Braidwood
Rhian Wilkinson’s side were put to the sword by Les Bleus in St Gallen, despite Jess Fishlock scoring her country’s first-ever goal at a major tournament.
Clara Mateo, Kadidiatou Diani, Amel Majri and Grace Geyoro bagged for France to leave Wales needing to beat England and manufacture a nine-goal swing in goal difference in Sunday’s final match.
Even if they can achieve that unlikely feat, they also need France to beat the Netherlands.
Lauren Hemp on what it means to be 'proper England'
Saturday 12 July 2025 15:51
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Jamie Braidwood
“I think off the back of that disappointing result, it was a bit more reinforced and sort of taking a step back and remembering why we're here and how we all got here, the journeys that we've been on, we've touched on that a lot, coming into all the prep camps, we've all spoken about our journeys and what it feels like to be here.
“Sort of us going back and remembering all that, especially after that first game, that disappointment, it's like, right, we're here to win, we want to do that and I think that just shows the mentality of the group to be able to bounce back in the way that we did .
“This England want to show and I think it's about like that fight in us.”
England forward Aggie Beever-Jones: It’s hard to block ‘outside noise’ at Euros
Saturday 12 July 2025 15:31
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Jamie Braidwood
Chelsea forward Aggie Beever-Jones admits it can be difficult to ignore the “outside noise” as one of England’s buzziest new faces at the Women’s European Championship.
The 21-year old memorably netted a 30-minute hat-trick on her first senior start for the Lionesses at Wembley in late May, and she was a favourite of former Blues-turned-United States boss Emma Hayes, who predicted Beever-Jones would be “a legend not just for Chelsea but for England”.
England manager Sarina Wiegman handed Beever-Jones her major tournament debut in the 84th minute of the defending champions’ 4-0 group-stage triumph over the Netherlands on Wednesday, though many had hoped she would have been introduced a game sooner, in their 2-1 defeat to France.
‘Special’ Lauren James among best players at Women’s Euro 2025, says Lucy Bronze
Saturday 12 July 2025 15:11
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Jamie Braidwood
England’s Lauren James is among the best players at Euro 2025 for creating “something special” and unlocking a game in a moment, team-mate Lucy Bronze has said.
James scored England’s opening goal in the 4-0 win over Netherlands with a powerful left-footed shot into the top corner and added a second after half-time as the Lionesses bounced back from their defeat to France.
The 23-year-old had been an injury doubt before the tournament due to a hamstring injury but was moved to the right wing against the Netherlands and sparked England’s big win with her opening goal.
England faced deserved criticism - then they responded in the perfect way
Saturday 12 July 2025 14:51
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Jamie Braidwood
In the aftermath of England’s opening defeat to France at Euro 2025, shell-shocked players were starting to realise the scale of the criticism that could come their way if they crashed out of the tournament after just two games. The criticism England received, and a lot of it came from within as well as from outside, meant there was nowhere to hide. “We finished the game against France and we got cameras and microphones shoved in our face telling us how bad we are,” said Lucy Bronze.
This is the new world the Lionesses have created, where their achievements in winning the Euros and reaching the World Cup final have rightly resulted in greater attention, but also greater scrutiny should they fall short of those standards. Even Sarina Wiegman admitted to feeling “tense” before facing the Netherlands, where defeat would have led to elimination.
The key England switch that sparked a turning point at Women’s Euro 2025
Saturday 12 July 2025 14:31
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Miguel Delaney
This was what Georgia Stanway meant by “proper England”. This is why the squad keep saying those two words, as even Sarina Wiegman revealed after the game.
It isn’t necessarily a description, or any kind of old-fashioned appeal to the past. It’s a mantra, a standard. It’s about high intensity, not letting levels drop, and making sure the opposition feel the burn right until the very end of a game.
That was certainly true of the Netherlands, in a 4-0 defeat that might indeed prove a proper turning point in this entire Euro 2025 campaign. The defending champions have finally arrived, securing the tournament’s biggest win in any match that doesn’t feature Spain. That it was against a team as fancied as the Dutch, and with all of the storylines that were supposed to give this fixture such an edge, makes it all the more admirable.
Women's Euro 2025 quarter-final line-up almost complete
Saturday 12 July 2025 14:10
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Jamie Braidwood
QF1: Norway (Group A winners) vs Italy (Group B runners-up)
QF2: Spain (Group B winners) vs Switzerland (Group A runners-up)
QF3: Sweden/Germany (Group C winners) vs France/England/Netherlands (Group D runners-up)
QF4: France/England/Netherlands (Group D winners) vs Sweden/Germany (Group C runners-up)
Hosts Switzerland reach Women’s Euro 2025 quarter-finals with last-gasp goal
Saturday 12 July 2025 13:50
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Jamie Braidwood
Switzerland's Riola Xhemaili scored a last-gasp goal to salvage a 1-1 draw with Finland that sent the joyous hosts through to the quarter-finals at Euro 2025, and sends heartbroken Finland home.
Finland looked to be heading for the knockout round after Natalia Kuikka scored from the penalty spot in the 79th minute, but the Swiss kept up the attack in the breathless dying minutes and Xhemaili scored with a tap-in in added time to blow the roof off at Stade de Geneve.
Switzerland, who needed only a draw to advance based on goal difference, finished second in Group A behind Norway after a game that for most of the night was far from a classic. It is the first time the Swiss women have advanced to a knockout round in a European championship.
Can anyone stop Spain? Even in defeat, Italy may have found an answer
Saturday 12 July 2025 13:31
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Miguel Delaney
Spain of course claimed the win, but it was Italy who claimed the night, and the second qualification place from Group B at Euro 2025. Their 3-1 defeat to the world champions was irrelevant, because previously eliminated Belgium beat Portugal 2-1. Italy had made it by a point, and no little grit.
