England 4 Netherlands 0: James' magic moment, Stanway's stunner and Lionesses back on track

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4 days ago

England got the defence of their European Championship title back on track with a commanding 4-0 victory over the Netherlands, a result which means they have their fate in their own hands going into the final round of Group D games.
The Lionesses were below par against France in their opener, losing 2-1, and knew defeat against the Dutch in Zurich would likely mean they were eliminated later on Wednesday.
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But Sarina Wiegman's side were transformed from the one that struggled against the French. Lauren James scored a superb opener to settle the nerves and Georgia Stanway's excellent strike shortly before half-time was just reward for their first-half dominance.
Alessia Russo thought she had scored her team's third goal shortly after the break but her strike was ruled out for offside.
James did add a third around the hour mark, slotting in from close range. That seemed to bring with it an apparent acceptance from the Dutch that the game was up — but there was no let-up from the Lionesses, with Ella Toone making it 4-0 after smart approach play by Russo.
The scale of this victory means England know a win over Wales on Sunday will put them into the quarter-finals.
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Ali Rampling and Cerys Jones analyse the key talking points.
James' positional switch – and magic moment
James played as if she was personally rebuking every person who questioned Wiegman for including her in the England squad. The Chelsea forward had not played since April after picking up a hamstring injury and some called it a gamble to take her to Switzerland with little idea of the part she would be able to play.
Against France, James was one of her side's most promising attacking threats, setting up a disallowed goal in the first 15 minutes and creating consternation in the French back line. However, England's lack of midfield control meant that, in a central role, she struggled to get involved and was forced to drop much deeper to receive the ball, limiting her output.
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Moving James out wide, as happened against the Dutch, initially seems counter-intuitive in helping get her closer to the goal, but her two strikes made a mockery of that thinking.
She rotated seamlessly inside Russo to pick up the ball for her goal in the 22nd minute, a sublime left-footed strike into the top right corner. For her second, she positioned herself intelligently in the box to pick up a rebound from Toone's shot.
James was a menace in the box but also crucial to progressing the ball down England's right-hand side in combination with Toone, while also showing herself more than capable of cutting inside. She came off better in her duels and worked hard to stop the Netherlands breaking out down the right — important given the danger Esmee Brugts and Jill Roord can pose if given space.
She was not even in the squad when England won their European title in 2022, but right now James looks like she will be at the heart of its defence.
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How different was this from the France performance?
Like night and day. While against France England's midfield were overrun and sloppy, here they were confident, fluid and dominant.
Keira Walsh was back to her effortlessly-tidy self in possession and picked out Lauren Hemp on the England flank on multiple occasions with a series of cross-field passes. She combined well with Lucy Bronze and Ella Toone on the right too, leading to a delivery from which Hemp headed narrowly over shortly after the half-hour mark.
Central-midfield partner Stanway admitted she was 'disappointed' with her own performance against France this week, but marked a much-improved display with a low, sweetly-struck effort to double England's lead.
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Hemp — so uncharacteristically quiet against France — was at it from the off. She got the better of Manchester City team-mate Kerstin Casparij several times, sending her this way and that inside 10 minutes to stand up a cross for Russo at the back post, who failed to make clean contact.
And Wiegman's decision to switch Jess Carter from left-back to centre-back and Alex Greenwood vice-versa paid off. Greenwood started her senior career at left-back but now operates at centre-back for Manchester City, with this her first start in the role since a friendly draw with the United States in November.
Having been exploited down either flank by France, England were considerably more defensively solid on Wednesday — admittedly against a Netherlands side who did not ask nearly as many questions of them.
Were England back to their best or did the Netherlands disappoint?
Wiegman criticised England's decision-making and sloppiness in possession during the loss to France, and while they kept the ball with much greater efficiency against the Netherlands, their opponents allowed them to do so. England were afforded so much time on the ball in midfield — a luxury you cannot give Walsh and Stanway, with the pair gladly showing off their passing range.
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Full-backs Bronze and Carter both had tough evenings against France, but the Netherlands rarely threatened out wide. Chasity Grant got in behind Carter and Greenwood inside the opening five minutes and had the time and space to pick out Vivianne Miedema, but the Dutch captain's first touch was too heavy. It would be the last sight of goal Miedema would get all evening, and she was replaced by Danielle van de Donk after 66 minutes.
While France played with two out-and-out wingers in Delphine Cascarino and Sandy Baltimore — they love hugging the touchline, being direct and getting in behind — Jill Roord, typically a central midfielder or No 10, was deployed on the left for the Netherlands in a more inverted role, and Bronze had very little defending to do.
Outgoing Dutch head coach Andries Jonker — he will be replaced by England assistant Arjan Veurink after this tournament — took off much of his left-hand side at half-time, with Roord, left-back Brugts and left centre-back Veerle Buurman all replaced.
England were excellent but the Dutch were nowhere near their best.
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What does it mean for England's hopes of progressing?
England are now in an extremely strong position. If they beat Wales on Sunday, they will progress to the last eight.
If France win their games against Wales (later on Wednesday) and the Netherlands, they will finish on nine points. England would finish on six by beating Wales and progress in second place.
Even if the Netherlands were to beat France and match what would be six points each for France and England, the decision would go to head-to-head results between those three teams. They would all be tied on three points apiece, which would take it down to goal difference between the three. England's four-goal victory over the Dutch means they would at least finish in the top two on this metric and safely progress.
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What next for England?
Sunday, July 13: Wales, Group D, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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