Lionesses Diary - Day 7: England complete final preparations ahead of must-win Netherlands clash

England’s fixture against the Netherlands is nearly upon us and Sarina Wiegman and Alessia Russo have been talking to the press ahead of the must-win clash.

Defeat in their opening match against France has raised the stakes of the game against the Netherlands with the Lionesses participating in their final training session this morning, ahead of the encounter.

This is everything you need to know from day seven at Euro 2025.

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Today in camp

The Lionesses completed their final training session ahead of their second Group D match where they put finishing touches to their game plan to face the Dutch.

It will be one that perhaps requires a rethink after a below-par performance in their 2-1 defeat to France.

Throughout the week, players have openly admitted the display fell well below their own standards and are looking to make amends when they return to Stadion Letzigrund tomorrow.

Wiegman explained the Lionesses will have one more team meeting ahead of the game before all that is left is to put those lessons into action on the grass.

With press conferences late in the afternoon, the Lionesses had opted to train at their base at Sportanlage Au this morning.

But with the Dutch travelling further to participate in the encounter, they scheduled their training post-media duties in the evening on location at Stadion Letzigrund.

Team news

Wiegman confirmed that England came through their first match against France completely unscathed.

It means they have a fully fit squad to aid their chances against the Netherlands.

For the Netherlands, Andries Jonker refused to be drawn on whether Lineth Beerensteyn would be fit to start after missing the opening match against Wales.

Trending topics

It is hard to find a focus for the Lionesses beyond their impending match against the Netherlands which Lauren Hemp has claimed is ‘like a final’.

Talking on That Lionesses Podcast, Hemp did not understate the stakes of the clash against familiar foe as she acknowledged its status as a must-win fixture.

“Everyone is really excited. It’s such an important game, it’s basically like a final for us,” she said.

“We know that we need to win the next two games to progress through and we know what’s at stake.

“But this team performs so well under pressure so we’re all really excited for it.

What are the pundits saying?

Anita Asante believes that while England’s opening defeat does not render them out of the Euros, a loss to France was not surprising.

She cited her own experience of losing to Italy in the opening game of Euro 2009 - a tournament in which England went on to reach the final.

But she ultimately praised the performance of France on the day, suggesting that if England up their game against the Dutch, they are just as capable of earning three points.

“Everything seemed to click for France and they executed everything with quality - they were brilliant on the day. That was the difference. England just didn't execute things properly,” Asante said in her column for BBC Sport.

“It wasn't a shock result. France have rebuilt to try to win something and are one of the tournament favourites.

“England have been inconsistent for two years now, since reaching the Women's World Cup final. They didn't take control of the game at all.

“The level in Europe is getting stronger all the time. You have to be at your best in every game.

“Of course, England can still qualify for the quarter-finals. But they can't afford to not have learned from the France game.”

Quote of the day

“It is going to be an intense game. We knew this was going to be a hard group and what we are focusing on is our game plan and just executing that.

“Doing you task, having conversations with players, sticking together, talking to each other and that’s what we want to do in the game, too.

“So what we are occupied with is playing football and working really hard to do everything to win.” - Sarina Wiegman

Best of the rest

If it was not already abundantly clear, Spain have well and truly asserted themselves as the team to beat at Euro 2025.

The world champions opened their account in Switzerland with a 5-0 victory over Italy before cruising to another high-scoring three points with a 6-2 defeat of Belgium.

And not only did they get the job done to maximum effect, they also put on a show at the same time.

Claudia Pina’s goal was arguably the pick of a stellar set of goals as she curled her shot with pin-point precision from range into the top right corner.

Alexia Putellas will also have a shout for goal of the game as she capped off a brilliant Spain move with the deftest of touches to deflect the ball into the net to bag her brace in the 86th minute.

With just Italy left to face in Group B, Spain have already secured their progression and need just a draw from their final group game to ensure they make it through as group winners.

Wales also play in Group D tomorrow but have had their pre-match preparations disrupted as their team bus was involved in a traffic collision on its way to training in St Gallen.

Coach Rhian Wilkinson and captain Angharad James-Turner, who travelled separately, completed their media duties but were visibly shaken and revealed that training had been postponed.