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Preview for Sweden v England
England’s defence of their European Championship title faces one other stiff examination tomorrow evening once they tackle in-form Sweden in Zurich.
Sarina Wiegman’s aspect overcame a sticky begin to end second in Group D and can now meet the Group C winners, who come into the sport on the again of a 4-1 thrashing of Germany.
The Lionesses regained their mojo following a sub-standard efficiency and 2-1 defeat to France of their opening sport in Switzerland with spectacular back-to-back wins over the Netherlands (4-1) and Wales (6-1) to progress, however the Swedes are prone to pose greater issues.
England midfielder Ella Toone raised the stakes additional by declaring their last-eight opponents ought to be “scared”, feedback which have raised eyebrows within the Sweden camp.
Defender Magdalena Eriksson stated: “Absolutely not scared, however we have now respect for the opponent.
“We all the time have and the truth that we respect and analyse all opponents in the identical manner is an enormous success issue for us. All opponents have high qualities but additionally weaknesses and we’ll analyse them.”
Eriksson hinted England have been susceptible to over-confidence however believes the defeat to Les Bleues did them a favour.
She added: “They received an actual lesson from France. It may be good when such matches come early in a event, that you simply perceive that you need to come all the way down to earth once more and be slightly humble and look at your self.
“It felt like they actually did that earlier than match two in opposition to the Netherlands. Then they exit and appear to be a brand new group. It may be a bonus for them that they’ve acquired that slap within the face early and have been capable of be taught from it and be slightly extra humble about it.”
“I don’t know why we ought to be scared, hopefully we will present them” 👀
Jonna Andersson responds to Ella Toone’s feedback that Sweden ought to be ‘scared’ of England. pic.twitter.com/K7hijfEKgP
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 16, 2025
Unlike Toone, England captain Leah Williamson appeared to have gotten the memo and the Arsenal defender was fast to speak up the Swedes.
She stated: “Sweden’s earlier outcomes at tournaments are unbelievable. They are relentless in relation to event soccer.
“I do suppose they deserve slightly bit extra recognition.
“When you have got a group who work for one another like Sweden, you then don’t have to essentially have a loopy standout risk as a result of everybody performs their roles.
“They are laborious to arrange for in that sense. The self-discipline for all of them to finish their jobs on the pitch makes them a harmful aspect.”
For England to progress to a gathering with both Norway or Italy within the semi-finals, Williamson should hold Sweden striker and Arsenal team-mate Stina Blackstenius quiet.
Blackstenius scored the one purpose because the Gunners beat Barcelona within the Champions League remaining in May and the 29-year-old will spearhead the Swedish assault.
Williamson added: “Stina is an extremely highly effective footballer. She’s very clever together with her runs. She’s a tough participant to play in opposition to in that respect.
“We have been celebrating her success at Arsenal – however not a lot now! She’s a terrific participant and she or he has been for a few years now. Her expertise speaks for itself.
“It’s completely different [to] taking part in one another in coaching with restrictions. It’s uncommon that I get to play in opposition to Stina on this setting. I take pleasure in it, and I like Stina.
“It’s powerful to take away all of that. You don’t wish to give attention to it an excessive amount of and there’s a lot of issues that come into play once you play in opposition to a team-mate, however I believe I’ve recognized Stina lengthy sufficient that I do know who she is and it’s time to give attention to us.”
