Women's Euro 2025: England v Netherlands, France v Wales buildup, news and more
Date: 2025-07-09T10:21:33.000Z
Title: You wonder how many changes Sarina Wiegman will make to her England side tonight.
Content: All the latest from Switzerland on a pivotal day
Player guide | David Squires' wallchart | Mail Dominic
Dominic Booth (now),
Emillia Hawkins and
Will Unwin (later)
Wed 9 Jul 2025 12.21 CEST
First published on Wed 9 Jul 2025 09.25 CEST
12.21pm CEST
12:21
There was some bafflement after Grace Clinton was left out of the midfield against France, with Georgia Stanway preferred despite having played very little football in recent months. Will Wiegman also be tempted to throw one of her exciting young forward, Michelle Agyemang or Aggie Beever-Jones, in from the start?
There's also the Lauren James dilemma. She produced some promising moments in the France game, but her inclusion means a different structure to the Lionesses side.
Lots of questions for Wiegman to answer.
11.59am CEST
11:59
It's 11am, so here are some of the best non-Euro 2025 football reads on the website right now:
11.49am CEST
11:49
Are Sweden one of the teams to watch out for in this tournament? With a minimum of fuss, they've won both their opening games without conceding a goal. And they were totally untroubled in last night's win over Poland, with all three goals coming via headers and Stina Blackstenius in ominous form.
11.38am CEST
11:38
Words from the England camp now, and striker Alessia Russo says there is a determination in the Lionesses squad to put things right after a disappointing opening defeat to France.
When you have a disappointing result in football, all you want to do is get back out on the pitch and play again, so luckily with tournaments it comes round a bit quicker than normal.
Four days is plenty for us to want to be back out on that pitch. We've had a few great days of training and getting back to it as a team, so yeah, I think everyone is ready and looking forward to [the game].
11.23am CEST
11:23
Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema is ready to put aside her relationship with former Arsenal teammate Beth Mead when her side face England tonight.
Now at Manchester City, Miedema has been in a relationship with Mead for the past three years, but she'll be trying to knock Mead and the Lionesses out of the tournament come 5pm tonight.
If it's not a nice moment for Beth, it's not a problem for me. For once we will not be friends. I will do everything I can to win tomorrow. If I have to do something that is not good for Beth, then I will do it.
I don't think she'll speak to me for a bit [if we win] but it's tough. I also have some of my best friends on that [England] team. It's part of football. It's part of the game. I've probably been on the other end of it [more]. I'll be happy for us if we get through.
We both know what we're going through. It's a very important tournament. Our golden rule is we do not discuss anything [pre-match]. I don't know whether she'll be starting tomorrow or whether she'll be on the bench. As a Dutch player I will do everything possible to win the game.
11.08am CEST
11:08
I'm afraid no summer of football can be dominated by an international tournament alone. Transfer tittle tattle now exists and is unlikely to ever go away. So here's your daily dose of rumours in the men's game.
Ferran Torres to Aston Villa? If you say so.
11.04am CEST
11:04
Dutch midfielder Sherida Spitse made her Netherlands debut against England in back in 2006 as a 16-year-old and now, at 35, is still going strong as Europe's top international appearance maker in the women's game.
She's no longer a regular starter but could add to her 245 caps (yes, really!) this evening, having been used in defence in recent times by her country.
'Her influence on the team is being a leader outside the pitch, but also on the pitch being able to lead the team, to coach the team,' Netherlands head coach Andries Jonker told BBC Sport.
'She is in great shape and as fit as the youngsters. This year, she has convinced everybody and nobody has any doubt about her position in the squad. It's a victory for her.
'She likes to laugh, to make fun, but on the other hand is also emotional, open, wears her heart on her sleeve, says what she feels or sees. Not the best player in the world, but she is a really special player.'
10.50am CEST
10:50
The prematch sparring between the English and Dutch press has begun in earnest.
England v Netherlands media match underway… pic.twitter.com/j9ByzBd218
10.39am CEST
10:39
Eesh … as this week's The Knowledge tells us, England are in serious danger become the first defending champions to go out at the group stage of the Women's World Cup, Women's Euros or the Copa América Femenina.
Avert your eyes, Lionesses.
10.27am CEST
10:27
Draws for England and Wales this evening would leave both teams in a perilous position in Group D, stranded on a point apiece with the Netherlands and France each on four points in that scenario.
That would leave both nations in with a chance of qualifying, with whoever winning the final group fixture between the Lionesses and the Dragons only going through if there was a winner between France and the Netherlands. Even so, England for example, would need France to win that game because they cannot surpass Les Bleus on head-to-head record having lost to them.
Head-to-head is the first tiebreaker for teams level on points in the group stage; then goal difference, then goals scored.
10.21am CEST
10:21
While we're on the subject of Wales, Louise Taylor has been in their camp in St Gallen and has written about a team who aren't quite ready to end their first major tournament adventure.
Can they spring a surprise against France to blow Group D wide open? Their players and coaches certainly think so.
10.04am CEST
10:04
Wales players were recovering from shock at their hotel in north‑east Switzerland on Tuesday night after their team bus was involved in an accident with a car en route to a planned training session in St Gallen.
Here's the full story:
9.54am CEST
09:54
Listen to the latest episode of Women's Football Weekly here. Perfect for your morning commute.
9.41am CEST
09:41
More from that game – which was Germany's seventh successive win in the Women's Euros group stages, conceding just two goals across those matches.
Christian Wück's side were denied twice by VAR early in the game, with the technology facing criticism for how long it took to reach those decisions. A Klara Buhl goal was chalked off and a penalty claim overturned as the Danish infringement was outside the box.
Wück said: 'I don't know if the decisions are right or wrong but the football system has to work out how to speed that up.'
9.33am CEST
09:33
There was some concern in Germany's win over Denmark surrounding Danish midfielder Emma Snerle who was lying on the ground during the scoring of the second German goal. Having taken a ball to the face from a teammate's clearance, Snerle was clearly in a dazed and distressed state – and was later helped off the pitch – but the referee Catarina Ferreira Campos failed to blow her whistle as Lea Schüller put the ball in the net.
'We need to make the rules clear,' Denmark manager Andrée Jeglertz said of the incident. 'If we have a player that has a serious head injury you need to blow the whistle and take responsibility as a referee.
'I don't understand why she doesn't stop the game. There was a similar incident in the first half when the referee didn't stop the game for a head injury and I question those decisions.'
9.25am CEST
09:25
It's a big day at Euro 2025, one that could see the home nations' chances obliterated or, conversely, boosted with Group D coming to life. For clarity, England play the Netherlands at 5pm (BST) with Wales meeting France at 8pm and there is little room for mistake or manoeuvre after both the Lionesses and the Dragons lost their openers.
What about last night? Well, Germany and Sweden took full control of Group C, the former coming from behind to secure a win over Denmark that wasn't without controversy, while Sweden sealed a stylish 3-0 triumph over a poor Poland side. That's Group C wrapped up, with Germany and Sweden simply competing for top spot when they play each other in the final round of group fixtures.
Let's get into the reaction from Tuesday's games, the breaking news and the buildup to tonight's fare. I do hope you'll stick with us throughout the day – it's arguably the biggest day of the tournament so far.
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