‘It’s going to be intense’ – Wiegman insists England ready for Netherlands challenge with Euro 2025 progression at stake

England boss Sarina Wiegman says her team are ready to stand up the challenge of beating the Netherlands at Euro 2025.

The Lionesses are on the brink of elimination from the tournament and could become the first reigning champions to exit at the group stage.

Should Wiegman’s side lose to the Dutch and France beat Wales, there is no way forwards for the holders.

But despite the 2-1 loss to France in their opener, the England head coach is confident her players have regrouped and are ready to go again.

“It’s going to be an intense game,” she said in her pre-match press conference.

“We knew this was going to be a hard group. What we are focusing on is our game-plan and executing that, doing your task and having conversations with players together and talking together, and that is what we want to do in the game too.

“What we are occupied with is playing football, executing a task and sticking together, getting the right connections, working really hard, and doing everything to win the game.

We're LIVE with Sarina Wiegman and Alessia Russo as they preview tomorrow’s #WEURO2025 match against the Netherlands. 💪 https://t.co/veHacLg2y1

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 8, 2025

“We had some conversations with the team, we watched some clips. We finished the game really well but in between we didn’t do enough.

“We want to execute better, be less sloppy, and make better decisions. Tomorrow we will go.”

The game will see partners Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedama go head-to-head, but the pair have insisted there will be no friendships on the pitch.

Netherlands star Miedema said: “The golden rule tomorrow is we can talk about anything, just not football.

We will not be friends tomorrow. If it’s not a nice moment for Beth, it is not a problem for me. I will be very happy tomorrow [if Netherlands go through].

“Throughout the years we have played with each other a lot. At club and country level. May the best team win. No, I will not hold back.

“I don’t think she will speak to me for a bit [if England lose]. It’s tough, I know I’ve got Beth, but some of my best friends too. It’s football, it’s part of the game. I’ve been on the other end of it at other tournaments. I’ll be happy for us if we go through.”

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