Here is Suzanne Wrack’s report:
Thanks for reading and emailing in! All eyes turn to Dublin next week. Good night.
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Wiegman has a chat: “It was a tough game, against a very good opponent. How they pressed we struggled a little bit. We could have done better with decision making on the ball … but they defended really well too … out of possession they did well too.
“I think the goal we conceded was really unnecessary … a good cross and they finished that one … sometimes those things happen. The moment after we were lucky [the Blackstenius miss].
“At the end we went close to scoring. That is how close this game was.”
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“Some excitement at the end, but a bit disappointing, overall,” emails Gordon.
“England dropped their tempo when they went 1-0 up, perhaps a bit complacent. They are now already in a bit of a hole for qualifying outright. Surprised Jess Park did not appear.”
Not sure I agree it was complacency: I would say England were outplayed this evening. James’s creativity cut Sweden open for the goal, but overall, they struggled to create opportunities. The visitors were far tidier on the break.
As stated, England’s next appointment is against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday.
After that it’s France (away), France (home), Ireland (home) and Sweden (away).
Tuesday is realistically a must-win game, then.
England’s goalscorer Russo speaks to ITV: “They’re a top side, and our group is so tough, but we’re a top side too.
“It was disappointing not to take all three points but we’ve come up against a really strong side.
“We will reflect and get ready to go again on Tuesday.
“As players we’ll own that, across the board, there were lower standards than we’re used to."
That was Russo’s first goal at Wembley, and she says: “It’s always nice to score at Wembley. I love playing for England and I love playing here.
“Dublin is massive, this group is really tough … we’ll get rested, get lots of recovery in, and then we’ll be ready to go.”
A bit of reaction coming up. And a match report. What more could you want?
Full time! England 1-1 Sweden
Not the result that Sarina Wiegman wanted as the team begin their Euro 2025 campaign … but the Lionesses have been fortunate to escape with a point. Sweden were very impressive throughout and got their tactics spot on. They defended doggedly and hit incisively on the break. Stina Blackstenius of Arsenal had a golden chance to win it soon after their equaliser, but directed her shot fractionally wide of the post.
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90 min + 3: Kelly shows utter determination to get not one but two balls in from the right. Sweden hold firm, and that will be that.
90 min + 2: Mead swings in a cross. Falk claims it. Wiegman is pictured on the sidelines. She doesn’t look very happy.
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90 min: Three minutes added.
89 min: Now a touch of quality from Walsh, who puts Mead in on goal. although it’s from an angle. Falk rushes out to save! Mead has another go on the follow up! It’s an England corner … Mead has yet another shot! Falk saves! Pressure from England.
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88 min: Kelly is again the main outlet for England in attack. She digs out another good cross. Sweden stand firm.
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87 min: Sweden’s Rolfo and Blackstenius go off. Anvegard and Janogy on. Blackstenius had the chance to win it for Sweden but sent a shot fractionally wide …
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84 min: Kelly is a livewire on the England right. She bends in a good-looking cross and Sweden struggle to get the ball clear. Good from Wiegman’s side … but at this point they are going to Ireland next week with a point.
82 min: Walsh crosses looking for Mead. It’s not a great ball but for once, the Sweden defending isn’t great either. Mead gets the ball and crosses for Hemp. Nothing doing, though.
81 min: Right, what is occurring out there on the Wembley turf? Well, Kelly was causing a few problems soon after coming on. But given the shape of his second half, you’d have to fancy that Wiegman would be happy to take a point at this stage.
80 min: “In football you do "give it back but there are some competitions - EG Ryder cup and the Ashes where being the holder means something - you indeed retain the cup/urn in the event of a tie.”
Good point. Also nice work from David Hilmy who emailed remembering the Declan Kidney quote.
77 min: The next 13 minutes plus stoppages smells dangerous for England. Kaneryd makes progress down the left for Sweden. England manage to stop her progress.
Now more changes from Wiegman. Russo and Charles off, for Chloe Kelly and Jessica Carter.
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74 min: Rubensson on for Angeldal, for Sweden.
A few moments ago they announced the attendance: 63,248. Decent.
74 min: Mead slides an excellent ball down the right for Toone into space behind the defence. Excellent pass but Toone seems to be undecided between crossing and shooting. She sends a weak ball towards the centre that is easily cleared.
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72 min: England can’t make any headway in attack, it feels like. Sweden have been well organised all night and it took a piece of brilliance by James, who has now been taken off, to cut their defence open.
Mead drills a long raking pass over for Hemp, who nearly gets on the end of it at the near post.
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71 min: Hemp came on for James a few minutes ago. This is tense now. Can England step up and find a winner? The visitors have been all over them for most of this second half …
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70 min: “I’m watching the game here in Sweden with my 8-year-old and her mum,” emails Julian.
”My daughter has a rather foolproof take on football allegiances … Dad’s English, mum’s Swedish. I can’t lose, and I get to stay up late’.”
Great work.
68 min: “Oh god, that goal,” Alys emails again. “That’s my fault for emailing you, isn’t it?”
I am pleased to inform you that it had no bearing on the matter. Not as far as I’m aware. There’s still time for an England winner. There’s still time for a Sweden winner too though.
67 min: “I’m aware of the irony of loving football so much you can’t bring yourself to watch it in case you jinx it,” emails Alys. “But, that’s where I find myself so you are therefore providing a vital service.”
67 min: Whoah! A good ball is fired through from midfield for Blackstenius. She is one on one with Earps and picks her spot … but passes the ball calmly just wide of the post! So close!
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That’s a brilliantly worked goal. Sweden have a throw in an advanced position on their right wing. It’s sent in to Blackstenius’s feet, who lays it off for Kafaji. The substitute who has just come on does brilliantly to fashion the space for a cross. She digs a brilliant ball out to the far post and Rolfo nods it in despite the best efforts of Earps to cover the post. Superb – and it had been coming.
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Goal! England 1-1 Sweden (Rolfo)
All square.
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62 min: Meanwhile, Beth Mead is getting ready to come on for England.
61 min: Two changes for Sweden: Rose Kafaji and Amanda Nilden are on for Asllani and Andersson respectively.
60 min: You would have to fancy Sweden to score at least once given the threat they have displayed. It follows that England need a two-goal cushion to be safe.
There is half a penalty shout against Hemp, who charges out to block a shot. It hits her shoulder.
Seb Hutchinson, the ITV commentator, tells us that Sweden have had five efforts on goal but none on target. It sort of feels like they’ve been more dangerous than that.
57 min: Wiegman shuffles her pack. Ella Toone on, Clinton off. A fine effort from Clinton on her Wembley debut.
55 min: Russo sprints beyond the Sweden back four but is caught offside.
What a goal this was, by the way.
53 min: Sweden are on the front foot again. Kaneryd has a shot. Meanwhile Ella Toone is getting ready to come on. Wiegman crouches behind her and issues some instructions for when she’s on the pitch. Toone nods purposefully.
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51 min: I should have said at half time, France are beating the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in the group’s other game, in Metz. Over in Group B4, Wales beat Croatia, 4-0.
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49 min: Sweden find themselves right up in England’s faces yet again. Rolfo and Blackstenius are in the thick of it. Rolfo tries a volley but fluffs it.
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46 min: I think Sweden have their tactics spot on for an away match against the European champions. They are sitting off for the most part, but attacking with precision when they do get the ball. Thus far England haven’t looked too sure of themselves, although again, they are actually winning, which is the main thing.
Second half kick off!
Allez!
There’s plenty of talk about England being the defending champions and trying to “retain” their trophy. I realise I’m always banging on about this quote, but as a wise sports coach once said: You never retain anything, you give it back, and try to win it again.
Who is that quote attributed to, though? Email me to win a prize*.
*There is no prize.
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If you are planning on taking in some top Premier League action this weekend, here are 10 thing to look out for:
Half time! England 1-0 Sweden
Alessia Russo’s goal – created by Lauren James – is the difference. But plenty of thinking to do for Sarina Wiegman. Sweden will consider themselves unfortunate to be behind after all they’ve created.
45 min + 2: James tries to drive in a cross from the right. It’s half-blocked and James thinks she can catch up with it down near the byline. Andersson of Sweden makes a good defensive run to cover, though.
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45 min: We’ll have three minutes added on, minimum, to conclude the first half.
44 min: Sweden construct another excellent counterattack. Hemp takes control for England, though, getting her foot in and stopping the move in its tracks.
42 min: Sweden have undoubtedly been the better side to this point. However, England are winning 1-0 and are now on the attack again, with Russo cutting it back for Clinton. She hits a shot, falling over as she does so, but Sweden’s defence is solid again and it’s blocked.
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41 min: England enjoy a bit of possession in the Sweden half. James tries to get something going again but miscues a pass with the outside of her boot. Sweden can clear.
39 min: The latest worry for England at the back is Kaneryd getting in behind, on the Sweden right, and cutting a ball back looking for a teammate to get on the end of it. Brilliant run but no one there to meet the cross.
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37 min: Sweden, in truth, are all over England now. Rolfo whips a low ball in from the left wing. Major panic in the England backline, but the ball is ushered out for a corner for the visitors.
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35 min: Angeldal – of Manchester City as well as Sweden – cracks a shot from distance. It’s travelling at a rate of knots but flies over.
Sweden counter almost immediately when England try to get something going and Asllani, the captain, wins a corner after trying a snap shot from around the edge of the box.
33 min: The game has opened up quite a bit. Sweden find space on the counter with Blackstenius again causing a nuisance. Now Bronze and Kaneryd have both gone down after challenging for an aerial ball in midfield. Thankfully it wasn’t a clash of heads and they’re OK.
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30 min: Rolfo slides a smart ball in for Asllani, who is one on one with Earps, albeit at a tight angle. The flag goes up for offside, but on replay, it’s pretty clearly level and it should have been play on. Lucky for England.
30 min: England’s opening goal, via the magic of X.
🅰️ James
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) April 5, 2024
⚽️ Russo
England have their first goal on the road to Euro 2025 🏴🙌#ENGSWE pic.twitter.com/K4xGAMWG4h
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That is typically stunning work by Lauren James to create the goal. She buys a yard or three of space with some neat footwork out on the England right. Then she chips a beautifully judged cross into the middle, where Russo stoops to conquer, and bravely heads the ball low past Falk in the Sweden goal. It has been a slightly shaky start by England but that will settle the nerves.
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24 min: Goal! England 1-0 Sweden (Russo)
It’s there! A quality diving header by Russo from a cross by James.
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23 min: England win their first corner. Wubben-Moy drives it into the mixer. But again Sweden are in shape.
Then, Greenwood clips a fine ball into the area for Charles. Lundkvist defends it well when it looks like Charles will have a shot.
21 min: Walsh gives the ball away in midfield and Sweden break with lightning speed. Rolfo has a sight of goal from an angle, and hits a low shot that rolls past the far post. It was a decent effort, but I reckon Earps got her angles right there and had it covered.
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20 min: Sweden are advertised as playing a 4-3-3, but it looks more like a front two from where I’m sitting. They are letting England stroke the ball around at the back.
18 min: Greenwood finds Clinton in space in midfield with an insightful pass. Clinton draws a foul. England have settled into this match, after being pushed back in the early skirmishes. But they have yet to cause a major problem for Sweden defensively.
16 min: James, who had not had a sniff before this, makes a good surging run through the middle. She holds the ball up and sprays a curling pass out to the right wing. Again though the visitors are in position to repel the danger.
14 min: England come alive, seemingly all of a sudden, and the crowd does too. Hemp storms down the right wing into space. The noise levels rise but Sweden, who look very well organised all over the pitch, snuff out the danger.
12 min: Clinton is involved again, taking a ball down tidily in an advanced area, turning away from trouble and laying the ball off promptly and accurately. She looks right at home, despite only having played two friendlies for England thus far, in February.
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11 min: Clinton is the latest England player to take a kick from a robust challenge. She’s OK though.
10 min: Peter Gerhardsson, the Sweden manager, was getting aerated with the amount of time it took for Russo to be directed off the pitch to continue her treatment. Anyway, no harm done.
8 min: Greenwood launches the cross into the middle. It’s half-cleared to the edge of the box, where Clinton tries a volley. It’s a half-decent contact but it’s always flying wide.
6 min: England’s Russo has gone down injured and needs a fairly lengthy spell of treatment.
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4 min: It’s been all Sweden so far. Also lining up in a 4-3-3, they are here to play a bit of footie. They’ve had a corner plus that early chance in the first minute. Defending to do for England.
1 min: Early danger for England from the visitors. A direct ball in behind from the Sweden right is squared by Angeldal for Blackstenius, who makes contact with an attempted shot around the near post, but it’s blocked by Wubben-Moy, and then ends up in the hands of Earps.
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First half kick-off!
The road to Basel. Here we go!
We’ve had the anthems. We’re ready for some association football.
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England’s Women, of course, met Sweden in the semi-final of Euro 2022. The Lionesses won 4-0.
If you Google “England Sweden MBM” you get this from 2012, and the men’s friendly that included that mad volley by Zlatan:
And then this:
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Kick-off is a mere eight minutes away. Wembley is packed. The pre-match light show, with music and pyrotechnics, has begun.
Wiegman was asked how England are going to stop Sweden.
“How are they going to stop us?” she asked. That’s the spirit.
England’s warm-up shirts include the players’ names in sign language.
Tonight's warm-up shirts include players’ names, spelt out in BSL, as a celebration of British Sign Language! 👏
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) April 5, 2024
Working together with @EE, the shirts are a reminder of how we can work to make football more accessible for all. pic.twitter.com/ySKHWm57QP
In a pre-recorded interview with ITV, Sarina Wiegman says that not making the Olympics means England can focus fully on the Euros.
With regards to signing a contract through until 2027, she says: “I really enjoy the job. I really enjoy working with my colleagues and the players, and I think we can grow more … I have dreams.”
According to the Uefa website, Stanway will be on the right of midfield for England, with Hemp on the right of the front three.
“Looking forward to a good match tonight,” emails Gordon.
“Re: qualifying setup, it may be complicated but it does away with teams of full-time pro players thrashing minnows, which was of interest to nobody.
“Re: England – Sweden, England team looks unbalanced – who will play on the right? – and Fridolina Rolfo could terrorise the Lionesses on that side.”
That is an excellent point about the structure of qualifying. Aleksander Čeferin, if you are reading this, I am sorry that I took the mickey out of it.
As Jess Park glided over the Etihad Stadium turf, taking centre stage for Manchester City in the derby last month, a captivated Sarina Wiegman watched on, the cameras occasionally panning to the delighted England manager in the stands.
It was hard not to be impressed as Park, a lifelong City fan, produced one of the performances of the season. With two goals and an assist, she was the catalyst for the hosts’ win in midfield with a commanding display on and off the ball.
Sarina Wiegman said this week that Leah Williamson would captain the side if she started tonight. But she’s on the bench, so Keira Walsh is captain.
The one change from England’s friendly win against Italy is Lauren James coming into the side, with Chloe Kelly dropping to the bench.
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As I stood in Stadium Australia in Sydney last August after the final whistle, pondering England’s World Cup final defeat, I couldn’t help but think that was our one chance to conquer the world and add that illustrious star to our shirt. “Don’t be too disheartened,” people told me, “there will be another chance in four years’ time”, and of course, in football, there is always another opportunity. The Lionesses have a world-class coach in Sarina Wiegman and an exciting blend of experience and youth. But as I watched Spain lift the trophy, I thought this was a side and elite system that could dominate world football for the next decade.
As I mentioned in the preamble, England are not getting ahead of themselves. That said, Lucy Bronze reckons winning back to back European Championships would be a “next-level” achievement:
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How does qualifying for Women’s Euro 2025 work?
Simply put, if your group starts with an “A”, then the top two places guarantee qualification. But if you’re one of the lucky ones in the four “A” groups, then even finishing third or fourth will pitch you into the playoffs.
In the “B” and “C” groups, there are no automatic spots, only playoff spots up for grabs. You can get into the nitty-gritty of how the playoffs work on the Uefa website if you wish – which I particularly recommend if you’re struggling to sleep.
Grace Clinton of Tottenham impressed when making her debut during England’s camp in February. And here she is, starting at Wembley.
She was born in Liverpool in 2003 and her career started at Everton – now she’s at Spurs via Manchester United.
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Teams
The captain, Leah Williamson, returns on the bench for England after a year-long absence due to an ACL injury. Grace Clinton starts.
England (4-3-3): Earps; Bronze, Wubben-Moy, Greenwood, Charles; Stanway, Walsh (capt.); Clinton; Hemp, Russo, James. Substitutes: Carter, Hampton, Toone, Williamson, Kelly, Mead, Kirby, Daly, Park, Rendell, Morgan, Turner.
Tonight's #Lionesses! 👊 pic.twitter.com/K1ASNVeeFJ
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) April 5, 2024
Sweden (4-3-3): Falk; Lundkvist, Sembrant, Eriksson, Andersson; Angeldal, Asllani (capt.), Olme; Kaneyrd, Blackstenius, Rolfo. Substitutes: Musovic, Enblom, Nilden, Janogy, Vinberg, Jakobsson, Kullberg, Kafaji, Anvegard, Bennison, Rybrink, Rubensson.
Referee: Ivana Projkovska
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐭 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝!
— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) April 5, 2024
🏴 - 🇸🇪 | EM-kvalpremiär
🏟️ Wembley
📺 21.00 i SVT1 / SVT Play
📱 Missa inte vår liverapportering och chansen att rösta på player of the match i appen Min Fotboll ⤵️
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Preamble
The good thing about losing in sport is there’s usually a chance to make up for it. Does it follow that the bad thing about winning is, annoyingly, there’s always something else to win?
Doubtless that is not the mentality of Sarina Wiegman’s Euro 2022 champions, who narrowly lost a World Cup final against Spain last summer and now turn their attentions to the defence of their European crown.
This evening’s opening Group A3 qualifier against Sweden begins a journey that will potentially end in Basel on 27 July next year, but Wiegman’s players will not be getting ahead of themselves. They are grouped with France and the Republic of Ireland along with the Swedes, with qualification far from a foregone conclusion, so the imminent return of the captain Leah Williamson is a welcome boost.
Could England do it all again? They will need to take one step at a time, and qualify first, beginning with Sweden. Kick-off: 8pm BST
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