Why England-Wales will reveal how far the Lionesses will go at Women’s Euro 2025 | OneFootball

If there was any question about how England would prepare for Sunday’s “derby” against Wales, Sarina Wiegman actually revealed it the moment the build-up started. The coach had been asked whether goal difference had been a consideration in the minutes after the 4-0 win over the Netherlands.

“No,” Wiegman responded. “We discussed how to play at our best.”

As classically simple as that sounds, and as different as this game is to the Dutch, it does illustrate the mentality running through the squad now.

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England are now playing every game at Euro 2025 ‘like a final’ (Getty Images)

England are now driven by a sense of focus, arguably aided by the opening 2-1 defeat to France. In the days after that, they held a group meeting, where the aim was to step back and remember what they did to get here. No more external noise. They’ve tried to shut themselves off from social media.

That is perhaps an admission that a certain overconfidence had previously overtaken the group. The theme of “egos” growing since Euro 2022 has been an undercurrent to this tournament’s build-up.

The France defeat was a jolt. It has sparked an intensity to training. Wiegman has since set an attitude where there is full commitment to everything they do. It is of course the way to try and win a tournament, but it might be particularly helpful for a fixture like this against Wales.

On Friday, Lauren Hemp gave Wales the credit of showing them full respect and she praised their historic qualification for this competition. “It’s going to be a really tough match,” the forward said.

But, it’s probably not true. Wales have already been beaten by three goals in both of their matches, and the 4-1 to France could have been worse. If all goes normally, England should really win this by four or more. That isn't "arrogance".

Except, these aren’t really normal games, either. The fact such a fixture falls in a final group game is illustration enough of that. It has that strange contradiction of serving as one of the most exacting games you’re supposed to face, and yet England are fully expected to win easily.

The great danger in such matches is that the superior team can start with the subconscious knowledge they are going to win, but aren’t urgent enough to actually make it happen. Then, the longer they go without scoring, the more a nervous tension infuses the occasion.

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Wales are all-but eliminated but they will be determined to spoil England’s tournament (Getty Images)

Wales’ own feelings towards their neighbours - as well as the aim of getting their first ever point in a tournament - adds another layer. This is going to be a team giving everything to stop England.

Within that, there’s an inherent danger to fixture. That’s why England want to ensure they fully commit to whatever the next requirement is.

Hemp insists it isn’t quite taking each game as it comes, though. “We're taking each game as like a final,” she said. “I think that shows the mentality of the group to be able to bounce back in the way that we did. Like we didn't just beat [Netherlands] 1-0, we beat them convincingly and we put in a great performance that this England want to show.”

Such words reveal something else about the squad, that is naturally only being said behind the scenes. As with the Dutch, they don’t just want to win. They want to offer something convincing, to “hit them hard”, to “lay down another marker”.

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England thrashed the Netherlands 4-0 in a ‘must-win’ game to save their campaign (The FA via Getty Images)

The irony to that is that it would almost certainly mean England finish second in the group. The only way they can go top is if the Netherlands beat France. Such a result would leave all three teams on six points each, taking it to a three-team mini-league to decide the top two where the results against Wales don’t count.

Of course, that is likely to be how the England squad might like it. It’s largely going to go unsaid, and one of those where everyone talks about the danger of thinking that way, but the reality is blunt: if you finish second, you won’t get Spain until the final. And, if you’re playing Spain, it is probably better to get them in a fixture where the tension is heightened. More things can go wrong. Anxiety can increase if things don’t start going your way. In other words, a much higher-scale version of what can happen in a match like England-Wales.

That does point to one other consequence of the victory over the Dutch, mind. The Netherlands were supposed to be one of the six top-level sides in this tournament, but they were dismal. England looked several classes above, and that is a team that had been beset by issues.

'Proper England': Lionesses thrash Netherlands in 4-0 Euros win

With France the only team outside Spain and England to put in such a display - and that of course by beating Wiegman’s side - it’s hard not to think a route has opened.

We wait to see how all of Norway, Sweden and Germany look once they proceed to the quarter-finals, but it’s already possible to envisage another England-Spain final

That much has changed in Wiegman’s camp. The manager, of course, won’t allow that kind of thinking. By now, the players won’t either. It’s about getting their next jobs done, starting with this Wales match. Do that, and more might well be possible.