Women’s Euro 2025 live: England handed key advantage after thrashing Wales to reach quarter-finals | OneFootball

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England thrash Wales before an unspoken boost ignites Euro 2025 hopes

England ran riot against Wales in their final Euro 2025 group stage match to ensure the Lionesses cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-1 win.

The holders will play Sweden in a tough quarter-final next, but have landed on the kinder side of the draw by finishing the group stage as runners-up and they will avoid playing Spain until at least the final.

England were prepared for a “derby” against the tournament debutants Wales, who are the lowest-ranked team at the Euros, but Sarina Wiegman’s produced a professional performance to ease past their opponents with all of Beth Mead, Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp, Ella Toone, Georgia Stanway and Aggie Beever-Jones grabbing goals.

It capped an excellent recovery from the Lionesses after losing their opening game of the tournament to France, with a 4-0 win over the Netherlands and a 6-1 destruction of Wales setting up another push for the title.

“It probably was the best thing that could have happened to us as a team,” forward Mead said. “I think it motivated us. We're now in a position where we're building quite nicely and hopefully we can continue that momentum now into the quarterfinals.”

Follow all the reaction and analysis from England vs Wales at Women's Euro 2025 below:

Beth Mead explains England’s ‘snapping’ celebration at Women’s Euro 2025

England’s Beth Mead and Aggie Beever-Jones celebrated their goals against Wales by snapping their fingers in a show of appreciation towards those players who were left on the substitutes bench.

Mead and Beever-Jones came off the bench in the second half to score England’s fifth and sixth of the night against Wales and both celebrated by running towards the sidelines and clicking their fingers.

Afterwards Mead revealed that those left out of Sarina Wiegman’s starting line-up were “snapping” in an attempt to motivate each other before promising to celebrate that way if they came off the bench to score.

Beth Mead explains England’s ‘snapping’ celebration at Women’s Euro 2025

The celebration was described as an ‘inside joke’ among the substitutes to maintain motivation and energy among the squad

Jamie Braidwood14 July 2025 23:02

Sarina Wiegman pleased to 'keep the momentum' in win over Wales

Sarina Wiegman: “Of course, [I’m pleased] that we won, that we scored six goals, and big parts of the game we dominated.

“And it was very clear we were going to win the game but of course, you need to keep the momentum but it was a very good game.

“We knew ahead of this tournament we knew this group was really hard, and then when you lose the first game of course there is a massive urgency to win the other two.

“Now, with the score between France and the Netherlands, that wasn’t that urgent but you want to keep it on your own hands.

“So it gave us a lot of learnings again with the team and it brought us together after that first loss, so I think that is pretty good.”

(Getty Images)

Euro 2025 quarter-finals: France v Germany

Saturday July 19, 8pm, Basel

France have never won a major tournament and their head coach Laurent Bonadei attracted plenty of attention when he dropped captain Wendie Renard and all-time top scorer Eugenie Le Sommer before the tournament in search of “different results”. Well, a bold approach has so far paid off and France look like tournament contenders.Their level shocked England in the opening game of Group D and France’s margin of victory should have been greater than 2-1.

This is another rematch of a Euro 2022 semi-final and the next step for France, who won all three of their group games and came from behind to defeat the Netherlands 5-2 and top Group D, is beating a team with the tournament history of Germany in the knockout stages.

Germany have looked dangerous in attack but lack the defensive solidity of the side that reached the Euros final three years ago, given the amount of change in their back four. There is also a selected headache at right back after captain Guilia Gwinn was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury and her replacement Carlotta Wamser was sent off for handling the ball on the line in the defeat to Sweden.

It will require a reshuffle but head coach Christian Wuck said his team will remain committed to their attacking style of play and won’t set up to restrict France. “I think it would be wrong now to react and destruct [the plan],” Wuck said after his team’s 4-1 defeat to Sweden. “We are not a team that only wants to keep their box clean. That’s not what we’re going to do.”

Prediction: France’s exploit Germany’s defence to reach semi-finals

(Getty Images)