
Miedema completes century in Netherlands' thumping of Wales at Women's Euro 2025
Manchester City striker Miedema opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time in Lucerne with a beautiful curling strike, completing her century of goals for her country.
Victoria Pelova and Esmee Brugts netted the other goals after the break to give Wales a rude awakening in their major tournament debut.
Andries Jonker's team are provisionally top of Group D ahead of holders England's clash with France in Zurich, while Wales already have their work cut out to qualify from possibly the toughest group in the tournament.
Rhian Wilkinson's side could easily have been behind before Miedema, who was a doubt for the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury in April, struck, Jill Roord crashing a rocket of a shot off the post in the 35th minute.
Pelova doubled the Oranje's lead two minutes after the break when she rifled home from Danielle van de Donk's pass, and the Arsenal midfielder set up Brugts to make absolutely sure of the points in the 57th minute with a perfect deep cross.
Sarina Wiegman, who led the Dutch to European glory in 2017, has picked Lauren James to start against France despite the Chelsea star only making a substitute appearance against Jamaica last weekend since suffering a hamstring injury in April.
Wiegman had hinted that James could make England's starting XI when speaking to reporters on Friday. — AFP

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Straits Times
7 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Fluminense aim to beat Chelsea to continue Club World Cup fairytale
BERLIN: Brazilian team Fluminense, which six months ago was fighting to avoid relegation to the second division and is now a surprise Club World Cup semifinalist, will face Chelsea as they aim to write a fairytale in the United States (US), reported German Press Agency (dpa). The club from Rio de Janeiro is the only non-European club to reach this stage of the revamped tournament. "God has blessed us and made it possible for us to overcome that moment," veteran captain Thiago Silva said ahead of the clash against Chelsea on Tuesday. The 40-year-old defender was a key player in helping Fluminense avoid relegation and now reaching the Club World Cup semifinals. A win against Chelsea would see them face either Real Madrid or Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. Fluminense are something of an "ugly duckling" in this elite circle, coach Renato Portaluppi joked. But in sporting terms, the underdog team earned this prestigious game on the big football stage. "Many people didn't believe in us, and now we're in the semifinals. Fluminense are now one of the four best teams in the world," Portaluppi said. "I always tell the guys, 'Don't put off until tomorrow what you can achieve today.' Who knows when another chance like this will come along?" For Thiago Silva, it's also a reunion with his past. He played for Chelsea between 2020 and 2024, winning the Champions League and the old format of the Club World Cup in 2021 under coach Thomas Tuchel. Silva also played in Europe for AC Milan and PSG, among other teams. But last year, he returned to his hometown club, Fluminense. "He's a phenomenon. He has enormous experience and is an extension of the coach on the pitch," Portaluppi said.


The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-England itching to get back on pitch at Euro 2025, Stanway says
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Women's Nations League - League A - England v Portugal - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - May 30, 2025 England's Georgia Stanway celebrates after the match REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) -England midfielder Georgia Stanway said the time for talking was over and their game against the Netherlands on Wednesday could not come soon enough for the defending European champions. England face the Dutch in a must-win game at the Women's Euros after their shock 2-1 loss to France on Saturday, and the 26-year-old said she and her teammates were itching to get back on the pitch to put things right. "We want to stop talking. Hence why I didn't want to do the press conference today, because I'm fed up with talking now, it's time that we focus and we want to put things on the grass," Stanway said at a press conference at England's base camp on Monday. "We want to make sure that we put things right on the pitch, we want to create action from what happened on Saturday, and the only way to do that is in the game on Wednesday. And yeah, I think we're all just dying for the game to come around as fast as possible." If England lose on Wednesday, their only chance of reaching the knockout round is if France lose to Wales. One thing they have taken from all the talking since Saturday is that they need to get back to being "proper England". "We want to go back to what we're good at, traditional style of football in terms of total tackles, getting back down to the roots and remembering why we're here, remembering playing for the little girl that wanted to be here," Stanway said. England's midfield was one of their weaknesses against France, and the Bayern Munich midfielder was particularly disappointed with her own performance on Saturday. A friend put it in perspective. "I had a message from somebody, and it was: 'It's just like a bad night out, and you want to forget it as much as possible,'" she said, to laughter from journalists. Stanway had knee surgery in January and there were questions about whether she would be fit for the Euros, but she sees the enforced break from playing as a blessing in disguise. "It was the first time I'd missed games for 10 years, it's my first injury in 10 years," she said. "I've done many rehab sessions, many sessions to get fitter, faster, stronger. "That's the time when you're able to work on things in the gym that you haven't had time to work on before. I've got test results now that I've not seen in the last two years, because they've never been that good before." Lauren Hemp, Alex Greenwood and Lauren James also recently returned to the squad after lengthy injury layoffs. (Reporting by Lori Ewing in Zurich; editing by Clare Fallon)

Malay Mail
11 hours ago
- Malay Mail
No silverware, just Lego: British GP winners given brick-built trophies as Formula One targets new generation of fans
SILVERSTONE (England), July 7 — The top three finishers in Sunday's British Formula One Grand Prix were rewarded for their efforts with trophies made of Lego toy bricks, a novelty appreciated by some more than others. The trophies are part of a multi-year partnership between Lego and Formula One that has already put drivers in a fleet of 10 brick-built cars for a pre-race parade at the Miami Grand Prix, a moment that went viral. 'How does it feel after 15 years of F1 to get a podium (trophy) that's made out of Lego that you can just pull apart?,' McLaren's runner-up Oscar Piastri asked Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, on the podium for the first time after 239 starts. 'It's just made out of Lego that you can pull apart and probably buy next week,' explained the Australian teasingly. 'I love Lego. It's good. My daughter can play with it too. You've always got to see the bright side,' replied the German. 'But, you know, a bit of silver or gold would have been nice too, but I won't complain.' Sunday's race marked 75 years of the championship at the Silverstone circuit where it started in 1950 and the winner's gold-adorned Lego trophy, modelled on the real RAC golden trophy, is made of 2,717 bricks. It weighs more than 2kg and is more than 59cm high and, contrary to Piastri's assertion, cannot be bought as a kit. The second and third-placed trophies were white with red and blue detailing respectively, while the constructors' was dark blue and gold. 'We wanted to create something very special because it's the 75th anniversary,' Lego's chief product and marketing officer Julia Goldin said. The blocks are stuck together with glue, and took seven builders 210 hours to create in Denmark. New audiences Formula One is reaching out to a new demographic, and particularly a younger audience, with considerable success and has found partners in previously untapped areas. That includes deals with Mattel's Hot Wheels toy cars, a 2026 collaboration with Disney's Mickey & Friends and Lego announced last year. Emily Prazer, Formula One's chief commercial officer, rejected any suggestion of the sport 'dumbing down' and said the strategy was to make brands more accessible and reach out to those who may never go to a race. 'Lego puts us in nearly every shopping mall in the world,' she said. 'Disney helps us appeal to the next generation of fans. Hot Wheels and Mattel allow for kids to actually play with the cars at home.' Goldin said Lego also appealed to more and more adults and had products that were intriguing to people with all kinds of interests. 'The same is happening with F1 and there is a real benefit of how the sport is able to engage different people with different interests and different elements of the sport,' she said. 'We are not just trying to turn the sport into a toy but actually trying to help the fans to experience the best.' — Reuters