Key events
The beauty of being in the final group is that you know your quarter-final path – assuming you have one – as soon as the games finish. Group D’s winner faces Sweden and the runner-up will get Germany after their 4-1 tonking by Peter Gerhardsson’s side. So if – and it’s very much an *IF – results go as expected with England winning and France at least picking up a point etc, these would be the provisional last-eight games.
16 July: Norway v Italy
17 July: Sweden v England*
18 July: Spain v Switzerland
19 July: France* v Germany
Some tasty ties. Terrific that the hosts are facing the world champions, of course. Either you pull off an upset for the ages or you get to go out and against the best and no shame in that.
One of my favourite articles from Euro 2025 so far is by everybody’s favourite shredded Welsh comedian, Elis James, who attended a Wales game with his 10-year-old daughter. Magical stuff.
It had to be her. Wales’s debut at a European Championship has meant a group stage full of new experiences, but it felt fitting that a 38-year‑old Jess Fishlock, double Champions League winner and icon of the women’s game, would register the first Wales goal in a major tournament against France on Wednesday night.
Three years ago, it felt cosmically appropriate that it should be Gareth Bale who scored the only Wales goal of the 2022 World Cup, a Welsh legend ticking off another career ambition before retirement. But unlike the postmortems and recrimination prompted by such a disappointing performance from the men’s team in Qatar, this time there is no judgment from the Welsh support out in Switzerland, only pride. Wales face England on Sunday having lost their first two games of Group D, and yet there is no doubt back home that Rhian Wilkinson’s team are history makers.
Thanks John! So it’s a battle of Britain with England taking on Wales at 8pm (BST) and the fact that the Lionesses are favourites is borne out by the head-to-head record. It reads nine England wins with one draw in 10 matches; understandable given Wales have only had an officially sanctioned women’s team since 1993 and are clearly making progress, yes, but have a way to go. The one non-England victory, a 0-0 draw, came under the stewardship of Phil “I loosened it for Sarina, honest” Neville in April 2018.
Here’s a preview of that other match taking place this evening, via Sid Lowe.
Right, with that, the cudgels are passed over to Alex Reid for the moment.
Swing down, sweet chariot, stop and let me ride, Swansea have a new, familiar friend.
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Reaction to that Germany defeat via goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, via Reuters. Germany lost 4-1 to Sweden on Saturday.
“I’d rather take a blow now than in the quarter-finals, because then you can’t make a comeback anymore. Sometimes in football… it’s good to lose, to really know how it is to lose, a real pain, and that sometimes it’s just not enough to perform like that.”
“It’s an opportunity for us. We know how we can play football. Every team is a huge opponent for me. Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland or whatever. For me, the European Championship is one of the hardest tournaments and I just hang in there and that’s why, no matter who faces us, they have to fear us.”
Fifa announce player welfare measures
Fifa says it has reached an agreement with players’ representatives to prioritize player welfare. They’ve agreed on a mandatory 72-hour rest period between matches and a minimum 21-day holiday at the end of each season. The discussions took place in New York before the Club World Cup final.
Fifa emphasized that players’ health is a top priority amid growing concerns about injuries and burnout. Implementing the 72-hour rule could disrupt game schedules and TV deals, especially in leagues like the Bundesliga. Fifa also plans to consider travel demands and climate conditions in future competition planning. The Club World Cup has faced criticism for adding to an already packed calendar.
However, it is reported via The Independent that a storm is brewing as Fifa came to this decision without consulting Fifapro, the global players union, despite their representing 65,000 professional players worldwide.
Jonathan Wilson on Serie A’s new role as a veteran’s league.
That is probably the result of two factors. Physical conditioning has never been so good. Footballers live healthier lives. Their diets are more closely monitored and understanding of nutrition and recovery is better than ever before. There have never been fewer bad tackles; and even if that benefit is offset by the gruelling nature of today’s pressing game, modern sports medicine means broken legs and cruciate ruptures are no longer the career-ending injuries they once would have been.
Late news from last night. The Daggers is one London’s most remote outposts. My memory is of a funeral director being one of the main sponsors. Times seem to have changed.
As below, Wales’s chances are slim, but they can puncture the old enemy,
Who better than Emma Hayes to guide through the dos and don’ts of tournament mode? Our star columnist here.
What I’ve learnt over the years is that if you get a bit of time off while you’re away with the team for so long, you must take it. You need to know how to top your own tank up and, when your tank starts to empty, it’s your responsibility to keep it full. Nobody else is going to do that for you, you have to do that for yourself. If I get a morning off, I like to go shopping, or if I’m in a new town I like to go sightseeing. I want memorable experiences.
Sometimes I’ll go to a museum or get my nails done, but it always involves walking, I love walking. Or sometimes it’s about watching a film. Some others will simply want to go for a coffee or maybe they will want to spend their time with family if they can.
Alessia Russo is fighting back against the brickbats, reports Suzanne Wrack.
Russo does have a very good PR team. As people like to point out, her agent is her brother, Luca Russo, who is the vice-president of women’s football Europe, for the global sports, music and entertainment agency Wasserman. She is on mayonnaise bottles, the front cover of Women’s Health or Elle or GQ, she is on billboards wearing Oakley sunglasses and presenting awards at the Baftas because he is doing a good job.
About last night. A whoops moment for Germany may have opened up the tournament,
Preamble
Here we are for the Battle of Britain that will decide destinies. The Lionesses were so much improved against the Dutch, and a national sigh of relief was sounded. Wales have been full of the spirit expected in pre-tournament but lost both matches. And there’s another game being played at the same time. The permutations are complicated.
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France will progress as long as they don’t lose to the Netherlands by three goals or more, or if England lose to Wales.
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England progress if they match Netherlands’ result against France, as the Lionesses have the better head-to-head record. In order to win the group, they need to beat Wales and for France to lose to the Netherlands though not by more than seven goals)
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The Netherlands will progress if they beat France by more than three goals, or if England do not beat Wales. They will win the group if they beat France by more than seven goals, or with any win if Wales defeat England.
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Wales will only be able to reach the quarterfinals if they beat England by more than four goals, in conjunction with the Netherlands losing to France.
Got that? OK. All the buildup, all here, with football news all day, too. Join us.
