Euro 2025: Defending champions England to kick off their campaign against France

ITV News

a day ago

England will kick off their Euro 2025 campaign against France on Saturday as Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses look to defend their 2022 title.
The side will play their first match of the tournament, which is being held across eight stadiums in Zurich, Switzerland, at 8pm UK time.
The Lionesses will be looking to defend their European title, before taking on Wales next Wednesday for their second match of the group stage.
Wales enter the competition as debutants after securing qualification for the first time.
They are in the same group as England - Group D - and also kick off their campaign on Saturday, taking on the Netherlands at 5pm UK time.
A total of 16 sides were drawn into four groups of four teams, with the top two in each group progressing to the knockout stages.
What are the groups for Euro 2025?
Group A: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Finland
Group B: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy
Group C: Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden
Group D: France, England, Wales, Netherlands
The tournament began on July 2 at the Arena Thun stadium, and the final will be held on July 27 at the St Jakob-Park Stadium, not far from where the Eurovision final was held.
Leah Williamson, who was forced to miss England's first run to a Women's World Cup final two summers ago in Australia after suffering an injury, said she has held some "anxiety" up until this moment when asked if her absence had given her a new appreciation for this opportunity.
Speaking ahead of England's opener, the Lionesses captain said: "Just because I wanted to be here and I wanted to be with the team, I wanted to be here with the team, I wanted to experience another tournament for England, and being away from home is special.
"When you come to another country to represent your country and just take everything in. It's a bit different to England in 2022, so I'm just taking everything in. I'm very excited. Obviously so much has changed, so I'm intrigued to come back and enjoy that tournament football."
Wiegman and her team have embraced the mantra of this being a 'new England', with seven fresh faces in this 23-player squad featuring in their first major tournament and many of her returnees from the 2022 triumph playing much bigger roles.
'It's a new territory, and we're not necessarily looking at it as a defence, but a new challenge and an opportunity to do something new,' added Williamson.
Wiegman said that while the team will 'never forget' the 'lifetime experience' of lifting the trophy at Wembley: 'You have to move on, and you have to be on top of it. Things are changing very quickly, so we have to do it too."
While few expect Wales to progress from a daunting group, head coach Rhian Wilkinson – the 181-times capped Canadian international of Welsh heritage – says the game has changed in the country forever.'This is a wonderful team, great people, fantastic footballers, and we're going to be tested against some of the best in the world,' Wilkinson said at her pre-match press conference.
'That's what we've been wanting. To showcase Wales as a country, this team and their talent.
'This is the first generation of Welsh player that is completely professionalised.
'That is something that changes the game at home in Wales, and that's what I'm excited about. This team gets to be the face of a watershed moment back home.
'To be able to stand next to them when they do that is one of the honours of my career. This team is ready, fit and excited.'
Where to watch the games
Matches can be watched on a number of services in the UK, including ITV, STV, S4C, and the BBC throughout the tournament.
The final on July 27 will be available on both ITV and the BBC.