One thing was certain for England ahead of their must-win clash against the Netherlands. With the team one defeat away from near-certain elimination, it was adapt or die.
England were licking their wounds from an abject 2-1 defeat to France in their Euro 2025 opener last week following a disjointed display and chaos at the back. The objective was very simple for the Lionesses: They could not afford to reproduce the same performance against the Netherlands — and they didn’t.
Instead, England turned on the style when it mattered most against a talented Netherlands outfit that had just thumped Wales. They overwhelmed the Dutch, outplayed them and outfought them — peppering their box with shots and outrunning them in midfield.
It was the stars on the pitch that grabbed the headlines, led by Lauren James’ brace, with Georgia Stanway netting a brilliant strike and Ella Toone also on target. But it was manager Sarina Wiegman who was the real architect of this victory, which sets up what should be a rudimentary affair against rock-bottom Wales, after tweaking her system.
Former Lionesses star Anita Asante told the Daily Mirror: “I think a lot of credit has to go to Sarina as well, because I think she’s shown she does adapt and she can adapt.
“She has so much experience in these competitions. Putting Alex Greenwood as a left-back, Jess Carter in her normal centre-back role, even though Alex is really one of the best centre-backs in the country, recognising what the opposition give you and how you can gain advantages. That’s what she did.”
Wales are all but eliminated from Euro 2025 after their 4-1 thrashing by France, which means they have now let in seven goals in their first two games. They would need a miracle against England in the final match — needing to win by four goals and hope France beat the Netherlands in order to go through.
Betfair have given Wales incredibly long odds to overcome the Lionesses this weekend, while England are heavy favourites to beat their rivals — while they have been backed at 5/1 to win the whole tournament at this stage.
There was one positive from that defeat, however, with Jess Fishlock netting Wales’ first goal at a major tournament — a moment that was special at the time, but one that likely won’t be long remembered when the team are inevitably knocked out on Sunday night.
England have no injury worries ahead of the game and Wiegman could now opt to stick to her guns after making a tactical reshuffle against Netherlands that paid off, finding a system that works.
England vs Wales odds
Odds via Betfair
- England win: 1/12
- Draw: 17/10
- Wales win: 42/1
Time: Sunday, 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET)
Venue: Arena St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Prediction
England 3, Wales 0
This one is fairly easy to predict given England are on such a high and have hit their stride in this tournament, while Wales have received two hammerings and are coming up against Wiegman’s side at the worst possible time. Wales know that even if they were to win the game, it’s unlikely they will be able to rack up the big win they need just to keep their hopes alive — and that should deflate them. England need to win to go through and they should be focused on getting an early goal that will calm the nerves.
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(Photo of Lauren James: Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images)
