England boss Wiegman expecting unpredictable encounter with Sweden | OneFootball

England head coach Sarina Wiegman says that this evening’s UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 quarter-final tie against Sweden is a game that’s hard to predict.

The Lionesses return to Zürich to take on the Group C winners in what promises to be an epic battle.

When speaking to the media in the pre-match press conference, England boss Wiegman admitted that Sweden’s excellent form in the group stage makes this evening’s encounter unpredictable.

“I expect a very competitive game where it’s very hard to predict the outcome,” Wiegman said. “Of course, they’ve had a great group stage with the three wins that they’ve had but I think we are in a really good place too. We are ready to go, so hopefully, we can show that.”

England’s substitutes made an impact against Wales in their final group game. Beth Mead and Aggie Beever-Jones both came off the bench to score in a 6-1 win. Wiegman said that having substitutes that can keep the playing standards high is hugely important.

She said “It’s very important because you can change in the game. There are players in the same position that have different attributes to the game, so you can change tactics and combinations a bit but still keep the levels up and try to harm your opponent. I think that’s key.

“It’s really important that they’re ready to come in and that’s what they are.”

Latest opponents Sweden have delivered the most crosses in the tournament so far and are a real danger in the box. Wiegman expects more of the same from the Swedes but wants her side to control possession of the ball.

She said “That’s what they want to do. We know that they have some qualities; they’re good in the air and they want to put in crosses, they have some speed upfront too. We are going to try to prevent that and of course, it helps when we have the ball a bit more than they have.

“We expect what you say [crosses into the box] and some more of that.”

England’s UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 quarter-final fixture against Sweden kicks-off at 8pm.