Women’s Euro 2025 live: England hope to avoid scrap as Wales out to ‘spoil the party’

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
• Tonight Sweden and Germany face off to take top spot in Group C

Rhian Wilkinson: 'Wales want to spoil the party against England'

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.”

Rhian Wilkinson wants Wales to ‘spoil the party’ (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Wire)

‘It’s in our blood’: Wales determined to knock England out of Women’s Euro 2025

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

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."

(Getty Images)

Sarina Wiegman wants England to stay calm against Wales passion

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

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

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

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'

“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.”

(REUTERS)

England forward Aggie Beever-Jones: It’s hard to block ‘outside noise’ at Euros

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Alessia Russo confident of Women’s Euro 2025 chances after England rediscover ‘DNA’

Alessia Russo feels “the sky’s the limit” for England after the Lionesses rediscovered their “DNA” in an emphatic 4-0 group-stage victory over the Netherlands which kept alive their Women’s European Championship title defence.

“After the France game, we looked at ourselves a lot as individuals and how we can all be better and obviously within the team,” said player-of-the-match Russo, who contributed three assists.

“I think that going into this game we wanted to start with that, setting our own standards high on and off the ball and we definitely did that.

“I think when that’s our standard as a team.”

The three changes Sarina Wiegman made to rescue England’s Women’s Euro 2025 campaign

England thrashed the Netherlands to keep their Euro 2025 campaign alive as the holders responded to the threat of elimination with a superb performance.

The Lionesses could have become the first European champions to be eliminated from the group stage had they followed their 2-1 loss to France with another defeat.

But Sarina Wiegman’s side thrived under the pressure of a knockout game, with two goals from Lauren James firing England to a huge win over a strong Dutch team.

Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone scored the other goals, which puts England in a great position to reach the quarter-finals if they beat Wales on Sunday.

What do England need to qualify? Women’s Euro 2025 group permutations explained

The business end of the Euro 2025 group stage has quickly rolled around with many teams already at the risk of elimination and others close to booking their place in the quarter-finals.

Holders England were one of those teams facing early jeopardy after the Lionesses fell to a 2-1 defeat to France in Group D and their clash against Netherlands on Wednesday was described as “must-win”.

The Lionesses could have become the first European champions to be eliminated from the group stage of the Women’s Euro but they instead thrashed the Netherlands to keep their title defence alive.

It puts the defending champions in a great position to reach the quarter-finals if they beat Wales, who have lost both matches to Netherlands and France so far.

'It's a derby and we want to win, end of'

Lauren Hemp promised “fight” and “character” from England and said the Lionesses are aware of how much this upcoming match means for Wales as they prepare for what is likely to be their final match at the Euros.

“It's gonna be a really tough match, obviously we've got so much respect for Wales,” Hemp said. “They've done really well in the competition so far, but we're very desperate to win and we know what it's going take to win. You never know what you're going to get from this team, but what you will get is a lot of fight and a lot of character.

“Wales have done so well to get here and we have got so much respect for them as an England team. We know the rivalry is huge, so we want to win as much as possible.

“It’s important that we all want to improve the women’s game as far as we can. It’s a great rivalry and these are the games you want to be involved in. We’re all very excited about it and we don’t need to explain the rivalry. It’s a derby, we want to win, end of.”

Lauren Hemp was happy as England raised their level against the Netherlands (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Wire)

Lauren Hemp vows England won’t be complacent in Women’s Euro 2025 ‘rivalry’ against Wales

Lauren Hemp has vowed England won’t be complacent against Wales and said the Lionesses are treating the Euro 2025 clash as a “derby” as the holders look to advance to the quarter-finals.

“We definitely won't go into the game complacent,” Hemp said. “Wales have done well this tournament, they deserve to be here and we've got so much respect for them. They've got a lot of great players who I have experienced playing week in week out in the WSL, so they've got a good team.”

When is England v Wales? Women’s Euro 2025 kick-off time and TV channel

Holders England could have been out if they lost to the Netherlands on Wednesday but produced an excellent performance to win 4-0 and spark their tournament into life.

The Lionesses are guaranteed to reach the quarter-finals with a win of any kind while Wales need to win against England and hope other results go their way.

Wales, who have lost both of their games, need to win and for France to beat the Netherlands but the tournament debuts also require a huge goal swing to advance.

Here’s everything you need to know

Why England v Wales will reveal how far the Lionesses will go at Women’s Euro 2025

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.