Five things we learned as England booked place in Euros quarter-finals

South Wales Guardian

3 days ago

Six different scorers provided the goods for the Lionesses as Hannah Cain grabbed a late consolation for Wales.
With France having triumphed 5-2 against the Netherlands in Basel it means England finish Group D in second. Here are the five key takeaways from their victory over Wales…
Fate decided
The three points against Wales saw England confirm their place in the quarter-finals at Euro 2025 as they finish second in Group D.
It means they also now know a potential route to the final with a last-eight tie against Sweden on Thursday in Zurich confirmed.
With the Netherlands falling to 5-2 defeat against France, despite leading 2-1, England finished three points behind Les Bleues but three ahead of the Dutch.
It sets up a rematch of their Euro 2022 semi-final victory when they won 4-0, including a standout backheeled goal by Alessia Russo.
But the Group C winners look in brilliant form, having just defeated Germany 4-1 to top their group.
Should England manage to overcome that challenge, they avoid Spain on their side of the draw and will face a semi-final against Norway or Italy.
A fine display all round 🌟#Lionesses | @chase_uk pic.twitter.com/q0nye1yG60
Toooooone
Since Sarina Wiegman left Ella Toone on the bench for England's opening loss to France, the number 10 has made it a personal mission to ensure she never ends up back there.
With two goals in two games and a 100% pass completion against Wales, she certainly has the stats to back up her selection. Her goal and two assists against Wales came in just one half of football.
And that has been backed up with the performances to match. Toone has looked tenacious as a key cog in the English press, closing the ball down as soon as it enters the central pockets and creating turnovers high up the pitch.
She has been equally as instructive in attack, putting the ball on a plate for both Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo to finish in the first half as well as grabbing a goal herself.
While she might mistake the 'Toooone' shouts for boos, there is no doubting the travelling English support only have reason to celebrate her performances in Switzerland so far.
England a step above
At points in the first half in St. Gallen, it appeared Wales were giving goals away as though they were bottles of Prime in Waterloo Station.
The reality was that the gulf in quality just proved too stark. England were faster and stronger as they pressed Wales high up the pitch, forcing them into errors early on.
Ella Toone's goal highlighted the problem. As Leah Williamson pinged a ball out to Lauren Hemp on the left, the forward saw her cross cut out, but Georgia Stanway pounced as Wales failed to clear their lines fast enough.
The ball squeezed through to Alessia Russo, who took the goalkeeper out of the equation before Toone was allowed two attempts at goal before finally hitting the back of the net.
At each stage England were faster to react and their six-goal total proved they were simply too much to handle for Wales.
It represents the biggest margin of victory at the tournament so far, while Wales' goal difference of minus-11 is the worst on record in the group stages of a women's Euros.
But Wales have reason to be proud
While the performance left much to be desired on Sunday evening and saw Wales heading home from Switzerland, they have plenty to be proud of from their stint at the tournament.
The debutants not only scored their first-ever major tournament goal to equalise early on against France, they managed to repeat the feat against an England side in their stride.
Jess Fishlock's pass through to Cain demonstrated the levels Wales can rise to as she played the former Leicester player in behind with a perfectly weighted pass.
Cain's finish was equally brilliant as she fired past Hannah Hampton into the far top corner with aplomb.
For a first major tournament with a significantly smaller player pool than their opponents, they have not disgraced themselves in the 'group of death' and have given the travelling fans plenty to celebrate.
A big win to secure progression from Group D! 🔒🙌 pic.twitter.com/HdBcoK9nVl
The Red Wall stands strong
Despite travelling to Switzerland with a strong possibility that their side may not even win a match, Wales have brought the numbers for their first appearance at a major tournament.
Nowhere was that more evident than in St. Gallen where red shirts flooded the city during the day before piling into Kybunpark for what proved to be their final game at the tournament.
In fact, despite the gulf in expectations, the Welsh fans brought a 2,400-strong contingent for their allocated section, with plenty more spread out in the neutral seats, compared to the 2,100 sold for England's end.
The red, yellow and green bucket hats were in full force, and the Welsh were in customarily fine voice with a goosebump-raising rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
The loudest roar of the night came in the 76th minute when Hannah Cain brilliant strike earnt a late consolation for Wales and gave the wall of red reason enough to commence celebrations.