Euro 2025: England needs to play without fear against the Netherlands to avoid historic early exit

ZURICH (AP) — England has never lost its first two matches at the Women’s European Championship. If that changes on Wednesday, the defending champion could very well be out of Euro 2025.

England endured a chastening 2-1 loss to France in their opener at the weekend and another defeat when it faces the Netherlands would almost certainly see the Lionesses eliminated — unless tournament debutant Wales manages an upset against France.

But forward Alessia Russo said Tuesday that it will be “massively” important to play without fear.

“That’s some of the conversations that we’ve had within the team,” Russo added. “We have so many great players and we want everyone to be as free as possible on that pitch tomorrow night and going forward.

“So I think making sure that everyone’s in a good headspace, going into that game tomorrow is important and that’s what we’ve been doing as a team.”

Against France, England became the first titleholder to lose its opening match at a women’s Euros.

The Lionesses could set another unwelcome first on Wednesday as no reigning champion has failed to progress to the knockouts since the group stage was introduced for the 1997 tournament.

“We don’t talk about consequence, we talk about our game plan,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman, who will be facing her home country.

It is an unusual position for Wiegman to be in after her flawless record at the Euros was brought to an end by France.

Wiegman had previously won 12 out of 12 matches across two tournaments as she steered first the Netherlands to the title and then England.

She has lost only two matches at the World Cup: the 2019 final against the United States when in charge of the Netherlands and the trophy match again four years later, with England against Spain.

The 55-year-old Wiegman has not felt this level of pressure so early on in a tournament.

“It’s a game, it’s a football game. And the outcome, of course, has consequences but that was the same at the final in the Euros and the final in the World Cup,” Wiegman said. “So then we bring it back to what do we have to do. And the focus is on what actions do we have to take to play our best. And that’s the conversations we have with the players. And how can we stick together then. In good moments it’s easier.”

Apart from the result against France, there was also the manner of the performance, with few positives to take from England’s display, save the opening 15 minutes and the finale.

Keira Walsh reduced the deficit late on, but her 87th-minute strike was England’s first on target.

“Ultimately, we were disappointed after that game,” Russo said. “Obviously, we came up against a great French side but we know that we can be better and we have really high standards as a team.

“We’ve had a good few days to switch off, reflect and now we’re ready to go again.”

In contrast to England, the Netherlands won its opening match comfortably, downing Wales 3-0 with a dominant performance that also saw it hit the woodwork three times.

Another victory on Wednesday would see the Dutch book their place in the quarterfinals, as long as Wales does not manage to beat France.

The Netherlands faces France in their final match on Sunday, when England plays neighbor Wales in what could prove to be a meaningless match.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer