England, Sweden are different teams than in Euro 2022 semi-final, says Williamson
England play their familiar foe in the European championship quarter-finals in Zurich, and while they would love to sweep them aside again, Williamson said England have tremendous respect for their opponents.
"I think when you come up against a team, when you have had a previous fixture like that (2022 semi), then you're always probably going to remember it," Williamson said on Tuesday at England's base camp in Zurich. "But I think so much has happened since. It's different, two very different teams now compared to that night."
Sweden dismantled plenty of people's favourites Germany 4-1 to top Group C and Williamson said they had not been getting the respect they deserved in Switzerland.
"I do think they deserve more recognition. The history of Sweden's previous results in tournaments is incredible," she added. "They're relentless when it comes to tournament football.
"They're just a very organised team. They work hard. Obviously some familiar faces. We know their characteristics, so it will be tough."
Arsenal teammate and good friend Stina Blackstenius is one of those familiar faces. Blackstenius scored the late winner in Arsenal's stunning Champions League victory over Barcelona and continued her goal-scoring run at the Euros, striking in Sweden's wins over Poland and Germany.
"Stina is an incredibly powerful footballer, and I think she's very intelligent, she's a hard player to play against. I was celebrating her success at Arsenal – not so much now," Williamson said, laughing.
The 28-year-old Williamson is in esteemed company having lifted a major championship trophy as England captain, and would be in a class of her own were she to lift a second.
Asked if she was driven by the chance to make more history, Williamson said winning another major title definitely drove the team.
"To do it alongside the team in 2022 was special. I'll be forever proud to have been part of that squad," said Williamson, who admitted the 2022 players still had an active WhatsApp chat group.
"But we don't want it to be the only one. You always want to do more. And I'd like to say that on that day, I felt as happy as I'd ever felt, and that probably would have been enough for me.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
25 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
‘Beautiful craziness!' British media hails England victory in ‘ridiculous' Women's Euro 2025 shootout against Sweden
LONDON, July 18 — British media has hailed England's great escape in the quarter-finals of Women's Euro 2025 after the Lionesses battled from two goals down to beat Sweden in a surreal penalty shootout and keep their title defence alive. The Zurich shootout featured 14 penalties before England prevailed 3-2 with Lionesses goalkeeper Hannah Hampton emerging as the unlikely hero having been thrust into the spotlight in her first major tournament. 'Beautiful craziness!' trumpeted the Daily Mail, while The Sun led with 'Cats With Nine Lives' and The Times declared 'Hannah Hampton the England hero in ridiculous penalty shoot-out'. 'If this team was a cat, seven of nine lives would have been used up on this rollercoaster ride, but here they were: still standing, still fighting,' Dominic King wrote in the Daily Mail. The Times said it had looked like England were on their way out when they trailed 2-0 after 25 minutes before goals from Lucy Bronze and teenager Michelle Agyemang sent the game to extra time. 'Yes, England were abysmal for 70 minutes, but who cares?' Kit Shepard wrote. 'Once Sarina Wiegman finally made some substitutions in this epic quarter-final, they recovered from 2-0 down, held on heroically in extra time and prevailed in a ridiculous penalty shoot-out. The Lionesses' Euro 2025 hopes are, somehow, still alive.' England's valiant effort also drew praise in The Guardian. 'Even as an utterly shambolic England trail Sweden 2-0 and the obituaries for their Euro 2025 campaign are being scribbled, there is a little knot of refusal there, a team with an entirely unwarranted calmness at its core, a team that against all the available visual evidence still trusts that everything is going to work out eventually,' Jonathan Liew wrote. The Telegraph said Bronze's winning penalty would go down in English football folklore. 'It was a penalty hit with fury, a strike of pure mental and physical strength,' Luke Edwards wrote. 'Bronze roared, a scream into the night air, a scream that said England will not surrender, they will not go down without a fight while she had oxygen left in her lungs.' — Reuters
Malay Mail
25 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Wolves honour Diogo Jota with Hall of Fame tribute after fatal crash
LONDON, July 18 — Wolverhampton Wanderers have paid tribute to Portuguese forward Diogo Jota by inducting him into the club's Hall of Fame after he was killed in a car accident earlier this month. Jota helped Wolves gain promotion to the Premier League in 2018 before joining Liverpool in 2020. 'Diogo was not only a phenomenal footballer, but someone who carried himself with humility and kindness throughout his time at Wolves, and will be sorely missed by all of us,' Wolves' director of football administration Matt Wild said in a statement late on Thursday. Billy Wright, Derek Dougan and Steve Bull are among those already inducted in the club's Hall of Fame, which was established in 2008. — Reuters
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Cricket-Series on the line, India consider Bumrah gamble in Manchester
FILE PHOTO: Cricket - International Test Match Series - Third Test - England v India - Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Britain - July 10, 2025 India's Jasprit Bumrah reacts Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -Jasprit Bumrah is a weapon India must use sparingly but with the five-test series against England on the line, the tourists are considering playing their pace spearhead in the fourth test in Manchester next week. The team management has decided that Bumrah, whose workload has been carefully managed since he returned from a back surgery earlier this year, will play three of the five tests in England. A victory in Manchester would give England an unassailable 3-1 lead. To prevent that, India are considering playing Bumrah, who skipped the second test in Birmingham, in the next match rather than preserving him for the final test at the Oval. "We know we have got him for one of the last two tests," assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate told reporters after a training session on Thursday. "It's pretty obvious that the series is on the line now in Manchester, so there will be a leaning towards playing him." "But again, we have got to look at all the factors: how many days of cricket are we going to get up there, what do we feel is our best chance of winning that game, and then how that fits in together with the Oval." Arguably the best all-format bowler of his era, Bumrah registered five-wicket hauls in both the tests he played on this tour of England, though India lost both in Leeds and Lord's. India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who suffered a finger injury at Lord's, did not bat in Thursday's practice. Ten Doeschate was confident Pant will reprise his usual roles in front of the stumps with the bat and behind them with the keeper's gloves in Manchester. "Look, I don't think you're going to keep Rishabh out of the test no matter what," former Dutch international ten Doeschate said. "He batted with quite a lot of pain in the third test and it's only going to get easier and easier on his finger." (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
