England crush Wales to reach Euro 2025 quarterfinals

Reigning champions England defeated their neighbors Wales 6-1 to advance to the Women’s Euro 2025 quarter-finals on Sunday. They finished second in Group D and will face Sweden in the knockout stage.

 

Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead, and Aggie Beever-Jones all scored for England, who ended up in second after France, thanks to their 5-2 win over the Netherlands.

 

Sarina Wiegman’s team will take on Sweden, who won all three of their matches to secure the top spot in Group C, in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

 

 

“It is going to be a tough game. We watched Sweden the other night, and they were impressive. We need to bring our best game,” Toone said. “But we’re feeling confident; I think they should be worried.”

 

Finishing second might actually be beneficial. If England can get past Sweden, they could avoid facing world champions Spain in the semi-finals.

 

Stanway scored from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after a foul in the box. She calmly placed her shot into the far-left corner, past goalkeeper Olivia Clark, to start the scoring.

 

Toone added a second goal just eight minutes later. England took advantage of a careless clearance by Rhiannon Roberts. The ball reached Russo, who passed it to Toone, who scored on her second attempt.

 

Hemp headed in a third goal within 30 minutes after a clever pass from Lauren James to Toone near the byline. Toone crossed the ball deep to find Hemp at the far post for an easy header.

 

The rivalry between the two nations was highlighted, with Wales eager to spoil England's success. Thousands of vocal Welsh fans cheered and sang throughout the match, despite the score.

 

Wiegman’s team, World Cup finalists in 2023, demonstrated their significant experience against a Wales side that was making its major tournament debut.

 

“We played really well. It’s always tough against a team that defends deeply,” Toone said. “Getting an early goal in the first half was great, and we enjoyed the game.”

 

England has won 10 of their 11 encounters with Wales, with Wales' best result being a 0-0 draw in 2018.

 

“This is just the start of our journey,” Wales midfielder Jess Fishlock said. “We’ve faced three of the best teams in the world at this tournament and realized how big that gap is.”