Key occasions
Only a reminder that kick-off tonight is at 8pm BST. Sarah Rendell will probably be on-line from 6pm to information you thru the match.
Let me take a second to level you within the route of this large information to all 368 gamers who’ve appeared at Euro 2025 this month.
Lucy Bronze was requested about her ‘why’ throughout yesterday’s press convention. She mentioned: “I’m somebody who is predicated on exhausting work and having fun with it. My why was that I simply cherished working exhausting and that I simply cherished the sport, it’s so simple as that. I began enjoying soccer as a result of I find it irresistible, that’s actually it. After I cherished it I needed to work exhausting.
“I had an image of myself up from, it was really towards Sweden in 2019, being completely exhausted on the finish of that sport as a result of I’ll give something and I’ll give every little thing after I play in an England shirt and I need the ladies to know that. That’s my why, is to present every little thing for this group as a result of I simply love enjoying for England a lot.”
Throughout her press convention on Tuesday, Leah Williamson mentioned her friendship with Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius forward of the match.
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England followers are out and about in Zurich forward of tonight’s match.
Within the males’s sport, Manchester United have improved their bid for Bryan Mbeumo. The Pink Devils have tabled a suggestion value £70million in whole – £65m assured with £5m in add-ons.
Euro 2025 knockout schedule:
Throughout yesterday’s pre-match press convention, England right-back Lucy Bronze mentioned: “Coming off the again of the France sport and having a number of speaking factors really introduced the group nearer collectively. You noticed that within the two performances that got here from that. We’re not focussed an excessive amount of on the noises round different groups or ourselves. We’re solely focussed on what we do on the coaching pitch, what we do in video games, how we get well, how we carry out and the way we carry one another up.”
The most recent version of our Soccer Day by day e-newsletter has simply dropped. You’ll want to give it a learn.
A enjoyable truth about Olivia Smith that I realized right now – her dad and mom used to organize Marta highlights for her to look at within the automotive on their method to video games.
Now THAT is dedication!
In case you missed it, Arsenal introduced the world-record £1million signing of Canadian ahead Olivia Smith this morning. The 20-year-old has penned a four-year deal.
Spain prime the Euro 2025 energy rankings following the group stage…
As we proceed the countdown to kick-off, I need to hear from you! You’ll want to e mail me with any rating predictions or ideas on tonight’s match. Who will progress to the semi-finals? Which group ought to Sarina Wiegman go for? Ought to the England supervisor change something? Let me know!
Zach Neeley has messaged in to say:
“My household is visiting London subsequent week, getting there simply earlier than the semis. So I would like England to win, would like to be on the town with the environment. I promise to purchase my ladies group shirts in the event that they beat Sweden!”
At the moment’s match officers:
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Referee: Marta Huerta De Aza
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Assistant referees: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso, Eliana Fernández González
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Fourth official: Frida Klarlund
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VAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez
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Assistant VAR: Dennis Higler, Christian Dingert
Former England star Demi Stokes, who received the European Championship with the Lionesses in 2022, has arrived on the fan zone in Zurich.
Talking forward of tonight’s match, Sweden supervisor Peter Gerhardsson mentioned: “Each we and England are higher now than we have been in 2022. I hope we are able to present it right here as a result of final time we couldn’t present our potential. I hope it’s a superb sport and I hope we win.”
England right-back Lucy Bronze additionally gave an evidence about what the time period ‘Correct England’ means to her and her team-mates: “We’ve by no means negated the ways or the rest that comes with the sport with the time period ‘Correct England’ – I feel it’s extra the truth that we’re a brand new England and a brand new group.
“What was meant by that’s that we’ve obtained a number of youthful gamers and new gamers who’ve very totally different experiences of enjoying for England in comparison with the likes of myself the place England needed to dig deep on a regular basis. 2015 was the primary 12 months we beat Germany which is insane to think about proper now, however England previously, you needed to dig out performances, you have been the underdogs, you weren’t the favourites.
“Whereas this England group has developed, soccer has modified. Clearly we’re a really proficient group, a number of technical capacity, ways, all that comes within the sport, however we don’t need to ever overlook, we’re England, we’re correct England and if push involves shove we are able to win a sport in any means potential.”
Switzerland face Spain tomorrow night time in Bern. Whatever the consequence, girls’s soccer has already skilled main development all through the host nation.
Throughout her press convention yesterday, England supervisor Sarina Wiegman mentioned: “I anticipate a really aggressive sport the place it’s very exhausting to foretell the end result. After all, they’d an excellent group stage with the three wins they’d. However I feel we’re in an excellent place too and we’re able to go so hopefully we are able to present that tomorrow.”
Discussing her tackle what ‘Correct England’ means, she added: “It’s who we’re and what we need to present, and, after all, it’s obtained to do with our ways and the way we need to play. But in addition our behaviours, how we need to help one another collectively, work actually exhausting and play to our strengths too. Once we try this the prospect of successful is the best.”
Thanks John. Proper, lets hear from Sarina Wiegman?
John Brewin
With that, I cross again to Emillia.
England and Sweden’s previous three conferences, by Nasra Abdi
England v Sweden: previous three conferences
England 4-0 Sweden, 26 July 2022, Sheffield
“Probably the greatest targets you’ll ever see,” the previous England defender Stephen Warnock mentioned – and few disagreed. Alessia Russo’s audacious backheel nutmeg sealed England’s third in model, a aim of the match winner from the bench. The Euro 2022 semi-final towards Sweden performed out like a dream: Beth Mead opened the scoring, Lucy Bronze powered in a header, and Fran Kirby’s intelligent lob capped it off. 4 targets, 4 statements. The Lionesses have been ruthless. Sweden merely had no reply.
England 1-1 Sweden, 5 April 2024, London
Sweden regarded nothing just like the aspect torn aside at Euro 2022. In a intently contested qualifier, they held agency towards an England group dominant in possession however quick on probabilities. Alessia Russo, as soon as once more in imperious type, broke by means of with a striker’s dream – a one-on-one calmly slotted dwelling. Each side grew bolder as the sport wore on. A second’s lapse from the Lionesses and Fridolina Rolfö punished them with an electrical equaliser – well-earned.
Sweden 0-0 England, 16 July 2024, Gothenburg
It might have ended goalless however England obtained what they got here for. A attract Gothenburg sealed their place at Euro 2025. “Retaining it to 0-0, qualifying from a really exhausting group – I’m very relieved,” the pinnacle coach, Sarina Wiegman, mentioned. The Lionesses impressed early however light, counting on the goalkeeper Hannah Hampton to maintain their clear sheet. Georgia Stanway got here closest to scoring with a strike from distance. Sweden, backed by a energetic dwelling crowd, did not capitalise on the excitement.
The lads’s sport: honest to say the Ekitike state of affairs is a “switch tug of warfare”. He’s already a well-travelled younger man.
Some response to Norway’s extremely dramatic exit on Wednesday, a sport the place Italy rode their luck however took benefit of their opponents’ shortcomings.
Coach Gemma Grainger spoke to Reuters: “I need them (the gamers) to recollect what we did right here – we’re clearly very upset proper now, however this group of gamers confirmed that we’re collectively.
“We needed to return right here and have a profitable match, and that meant, as a gaggle of gamers and employees, that we confirmed everybody who we’re, and I imagine we did that. We’re getting higher, we’re enhancing, and now we have to take a while to have a look at what we have to get higher at, after which now we have to deal with the qualification for the World Cup.”
Goalkeeper Cecilie Fiskerstrand: “Taking part in a contest like this for Norway is an excessive privilege, and I’m actually joyful and grateful and proud to be part of this group. We have now labored actually exhausting, and now we have given it our all in each sport, so actually grateful and proud to be part of it, and we needed extra right now, however that’s how soccer is typically.”
Proper, I’m off for a break now so the fantastic John Brewin will probably be protecting you firm for the following hour.
You’ll be able to maintain updated with the race for the Euro 2025 Golden Boot right here:
Kosovare Asllani additionally mentioned: “The English group has a number of expertise and we respect them lots however we even have a game-plan that now we have been working in the direction of. An important factor is to be humble and analyse them and hopefully we are able to get our game-plan by means of tomorrow.”
Forward of right now’s match, Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani mentioned: “England have a approach of enjoying that we’re used to as a result of we’ve performed towards one another twice previously few years.
“They’ve a lot of extremely expert gamers that we have to regulate. We’ve analysed them completely and as soon as the sport begins we will probably be prepared.”
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Lucy Bronze believes each participant on the European Championship feels a better strain to carry out due to the enhance girls’s soccer receives because of success.
You’ll want to click here to recap all the Euro 2025 outcomes thus far, in addition to the ultimate group standings.
“For a nation with a inhabitants of 10 million, with a males’s nationwide aspect that did not high quality for 3 of the previous 4 World Cups, Sweden have a observe file in girls’s soccer that belongs to a sporting superpower…”
If you happen to haven’t already, be sure you subscribe to our Moving the Goalposts newsletter for normal updates on girls’s soccer. You’ll obtain tales, options and interviews straight to your inbox twice every week. If there’s any time to enroll, it’s now!
As we put together for this night’s match, I assumed it might be good to shortly look again on the Euro 2022 semi-final assembly between Sweden and England, the place Alessia Russo scored THAT aim.
England are anticipated to have a full squad obtainable tonight. Jess Park missed coaching yesterday because of a migraine however Sarina Wiegman insisted that she will probably be positive to function this night.
We’re fortunate sufficient to have Emma Hayes on board as a columnist this month. Here’s what she needed to say about tonight’s quarter-final conflict between Sweden and England in her newest column…
Chloe Kelly additionally revealed the that means behind the ‘clicking’ celebration utilized by Aggie Beever-Jones and Beth Mead throughout England’s 6-1 win over Wales on Sunday. Each forwards, together with Kelly, have been seen operating over to the bench whereas clicking their fingers after scoring.
Kelly defined: “t’s nice. We have now a bit of group of us, the finishers, the optimistic clique [pronounced click by Kelly] we name it. We mentioned if one among us comes on to attain then we must always try this as our celebration.
“We work actually exhausting on the coaching pitch, within the gymnasium, ensuring we’re ready once we go on to the pitch and now we have an incredible group of women so it’s about having fun with the entire expertise as a gaggle.”
England stars Chloe Kelly and Leah Williamson previewed tonight’s assembly with Sweden earlier this week.
Kelly mentioned: “They’re a group we undoubtedly respect as England. They’re perhaps a group that does go underneath the radar however the consistency they’ve proven is spectacular. They’ve a lot expertise. We have now accomplished our homework.”
In the meantime, captain Williamson mentioned: “When you may have a group who work for one another like Sweden, then you definitely don’t have to essentially have a loopy standout risk as a result of everybody performs their roles. They’re exhausting to organize for in that sense. The self-discipline for all of them to finish their jobs on the pitch makes them a harmful aspect.”
Jonathan Liew
“Sweden’s reliability has made them a match group to be revered. However by the identical token England’s unpredictability has made them a match group to be feared. In 2022 and once more in 2023, they exhibited an professional capacity to focus their efforts the place they’d be most wanted, the flexibility to just do sufficient to win. There are targets coming from all areas of the pitch. This may occasionally simply be the worst time to play them…”
As I briefly talked about earlier, Italy will face the winner of tonight’s match between Sweden and England subsequent Tuesday.
On that be aware, let’s stay up for the 8pm BST kick-off…
It might most likely be honest to say that final night time was one other missed alternative for Norway, a group with a lot potential and, on paper, some of the spectacular squads at Euro 2025.
Norway by no means actually regarded convincing within the group stage, regardless of racking up a most 9 factors. They received every match by a one-goal margin and with performances that didn’t match as much as the usual you’d anticipate from a group with the likes of Caroline Graham Hansen, Guro Reiten, Ada Hegerberg and Frida Maanum.
In case you missed it, Italy shocked Norway final night time to succeed in their first main girls’s match semi-final in 28 years. The Italians took the lead by means of Cristiana Girelli simply 5 minutes into the second half. Ada Hegerberg then missed a penalty for Norway, blasting her effort vast. Nonetheless, she shortly bounced again to equalise.
Because the clock approached the 90-minute mark, the match regarded as if further time can be wanted. Nonetheless, Girelli struck once more, this time with a headed effort on the again publish from a Sofia Cantore cross.
Euro 2025 quarter-finals:
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Norway 1-2 Italy
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Sweden v England
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Spain v Switzerland
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France v Germany
Extra on Olivia Smith’s transfer to Arsenal:
Upon her arrival at Arsenal, Olivia Smith mentioned: “It’s a privilege and an honour to signal for Arsenal. It’s my dream to compete for the largest titles right here in England and in Europe and I’m excited to get began and contribute to doing that right here with Arsenal. The environment the supporters create at Emirates Stadium is unimaginable and I can’t wait to have that behind me now.”
Head coach Renée Slegers mentioned: “Olivia is an thrilling younger participant and we imagine she will be able to make an enormous contribution right here at Arsenal. We’ve been impressed by her mentality and character, excelling in two European leagues at such a younger age. I do know she has a stage of ambition that matches our personal and we’re trying ahead to working together with her as she continues to develop on the membership.”
Smith will put on the No15 shirt for the Gunners.
Arsenal signal Olivia Smith for world-record price
Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Olivia Smith for a world-record £1million price. The 20-year-old has penned a four-year take care of the European champions.
Preamble
Whats up, good morning and welcome to a different Euro 2025 Matchday reside! Italy mentioned ‘ciao’ to Norway final night time after reserving a spot within the semi-finals with a 2-1 win. They’ll face both Sweden or England within the closing 4 subsequent Tuesday.
Talking of, these two groups go head-to-head tonight in what is about to be a intently contested conflict. I’ll be counting all the way down to kick-off all day, bringing you the newest information from Switzerland.
Be a part of me!
