Women's Euro 2025: Last chance for England to qualify for the quarter-finals against Wales
by Thobelani Moyo | by Thobelani Moyo
England have dodged a bullet in the 2025 UEFA Women's Euro. Things could have gone from bad to worse if they had failed to beat the Netherlands in a one-sided 4-0 victory at Letzigrund on Wednesday. The Lionesses were already under pressure because of their opening defeat against France.
No words can explain how that win over the Netherlands was important. Under the radar for suffering a historic defeat in their opener as the defending champions, suffering a second group stage game could have added another unwanted record to their history books. This would have seen them become the first defending champions to be eliminated from the group stages.
Check out the latest standings in Group D:
| Team | Matches Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals Fired | Goals Against | Goal Differential | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. France | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 |
| 2. England | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 3 |
| 3. Netherlands | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| 4. Wales | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -5 | 0 |
Sarina Wiegman's tactics: From disaster to perfection
Head coach Sarina Wiegman was under scrutiny, with her tactics criticized after the opener against France. However, following the team's win against the Netherlands, nobody has stopped singing her praises.
Last time out, she deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation against France. There were some issues with that setup, such as Lauren James, who started for England after being out of action for more than three months, being seen in a deep-lying position. This left the midfield exposed, leading to many errors that eventually led to their demise.
This is one of the problems she had to address before things took a turn for the worse. The Dutch manager stuck with the same training in the hammering of the Netherlands.
In defense, Jesse Carter, who initially started as a left-back against France, was deployed in a central position against the Netherlands. This saw Alex Greenwood move to the left-back position.
Regarding the issues in midfield, Lauren James was removed from a deep-lying position to play out wide, where she was comfortable. This time, she was not liable for any mistakes. Ella Toone replaced Beth Mead in midfield. Toone proved to be a great addition to the team as she scored the last goal of the match against the Netherlands.
Wales are feeling the wrath of the group of death
Qualifying for the 2025 UEFA Women's Euro was a dream come true for Wales. This is their first-ever participation in a major tournament, and things have not been going their way.
Rhian Wilkinson and company are on the brink of suffering elimination from this tournament, not to mention finishing at the bottom of the table in Group D.
In their opener, they were thrashed 3-0 by the Netherlands and had no response in the second round against France as they succumbed to a 4-1 defeat. The latter result was a do-or-die situation to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive.
Going up against another high-profile nation, England, doesn't bode well for their chances of concluding the tournament on a high. Their overall record against this team does not bring inspiration but despair. the fact that they have failed to score in four consecutive matches, this points towards an unfavorable outcome.
There have been four meetings between them and England. They have yet to secure a win, recording three losses and a solitary draw. Can the Dragons record their first-ever win against England? Let's see what our Sportytrader betting experts have to say in our England vs Wales prediction.
Players to look out for
Lauren James (England) was the scapegoat in the opening match against France because of her deep-lying position that left the midfield exposed. After that defeat, her involvement with the team was questioned. However, she came out guns blazing against the Netherlands to prove the critics wrong and scored a brace to keep her nation's title defense hopes alive. With her playing out wide, she is a force of nature.
Alessia Russo (England) is considered to be a focal point of England's attack. The striker has yet to score a goal in this tournament, but his presence alone has been very influential. Russo's influence was evident in the recent match against the Netherlands by providing a hat-trick of assists. She also had 1.35 expected goals, created four chances, and had five shots inside the box.
