Key events
20 min: Sweden’s defence is so compact and high pressing that England have no space whatsoever when they do create an attacking chance. Andersson concedes a corner while marshalling James.
19 min: Sweden are running rings around England when they get on the front foot, it takes them no time at all to get the ball from one end to the other. Williamson the only England defender who looks confident right now.
17 min: Sweden have won their last 17 Euros matches when they have opened the scoring, an ominous stat for England. Sweden come forward again now with Rytting Kaneryd popping it into the area but Rolfo’s shot is blocked.
15 min: James is surrounded by Sweden players but she does so well to keep the play alive. It comes rattling into the area and Falk comes out to punch away, Hemp is caught in the crossfire but no foul committed. The Manchester City player is okay to continue.
14 min: Hampton showing how much England need some time to collect themselves, she picks it up and takes her time with a goal kick. England try to create something from it but Greenwood’s kick is ushered out for a goal kick up the other end.
12 min: England creeping up the pitch here with a few throw ins but then Stanway gives away a cheap foul, showing their frustrations in these early exchanges.
10 min: England will have to do something they haven’t done so far in this tournament to win this game, come from behind. In the France game they conceded first and lost 2-1. In their 4-0 and 6-1 wins against the Netherlands and Wales they scored first. Can they do it? Right now Sweden look like they are cruising.
9 min: On the replay Falk gets a touch to Hemp’s effort, a vital save from the goalkeeper. What an opening to this game, it has not let up at all with Sweden on the front foot once again.
7 min: England come forward for the first time in this match and they almost equalise. Hemp has a magical effort but it is off the bar. That may be exactly what they need to calm themselves.
6 min: Oh my word, Carter with a loose pass to Hampton and England are all over the place. Williamson excellently comes back to block. Sweden corner which is cleared.England need to get their heads in this game, Sweden look much the brighter team so far.
4 min: Carter with another loose pass that led to that, she will want this game to settle so she can recollect herself from that. A very similar start to that against France.
It’s another sloppy bit of defending from England and they gift Sweden the ball. In that position Asllani doesn’t miss, her 50th goal for her country. A great moment for her.
GOAL! Sweden 1-0 England (Asllani, 2)
That didn’t take long.
2 min: Why did I think a Euros was a good time to stop biting my nails? It will take all of the will power to keep my habit in check. Early on there is an error from Carter with a loose pass. Sweden try to piece together and attack but Asllani then has a rogue pass straight out of play.
Kick-off! Sweden 0-0 England
Can England replicate their famous win from three years ago? Or will Sweden get their revenge? All to come.
Tom Garry
Sarina Wiegman applauded her players onto the pitchstood just to the side of the Lionesses as they walked out. She’s smiling.
The players are out and the anthems will soon be in full flow. How are the nerves everyone? They will only get worse over the next 90 minutes and potentially more if they are level at full-time. The camera also just scanned the crowd and Denmark captain Pernille Harder is in the stadium, she is the partner of Sweden defender Magdalena Eriksson.
Peter Oh has emailed:
I just happened to be listening to INXS’s song Kick, off the album of the same name from 1987.
It’s not a football song but the lyric ‘Sometimes you kick, sometimes you get kicked’ is one every football player at any level can relate to.
I think we might see a few examples of this tonight …
Tom Garry
It’s another pristine blue sky in Zurich over this blockbuster quarter-final between two of the world’s best teams. The well-organised fan walks to the stadium, which have been one of the real off-pitch highlights of this tournament, were loud and colourful, full of vibrancy. Now we’ve got some ABBA blasting out of the speakers here inside the stadium. The winner will certainly take it all.
Also the Fifa president Gianni Infantino is expected to be here in the stadium tonight, amongst the VIPs …
Josh Reynolds has emailed:
I don’t know if this counts but I do sing it to myself a lot and I’m not from anywhere near Europe, much less Wales.
The graphics on this video leaves a lot to be desired but I can see why you sing it a lot, definitely an earworm.
Sarina Wiegman, England coach, has added:
It’s a very strong team. I think they always perform at tournaments, and they can play very physically but they also have pace up front, and they’re good in the air. But we also see some weaknesses, which we hope to expose.
Peter Gerhardsson, Sweden Coach, Has Said:
Both we and England are better now than we were in 2022 [when they met at the Women’s Euro]. I hope we can show it here because last time we couldn’t show our potential. I hope it’s a good game and I hope we win.
I would really like to hear from you about footballing songs. I’ve been listening to a fair few over the tournament and I’m wondering which are your favourites. They don’t necessarily have to relate to England or Sweden, just any that you enjoy. Personally I love when fans adapt Gala’s song ‘Freed from Desire’ to reflect a lyric like ‘Beth Mead’s on fire, your defence is terrified’. Email me and let me know.
Current Arsenal Boss Renee Slegers had been billed as BBC pundit for Euro 2025 but she is yet to feature and currently former manager Jonas Eidevall, who hadn’t been mentioned pre-tournament, is on the screen. Swapping and changing Gunners bosses.
And some Swedish stars include:
Here are some England stars to keep an eye on this evening:
Team news
The team news is in. For Sweden have made two changes to their starting XI with Hanna Lundkvist and Julia Zigiotti Olme coming in for Hanna Bennison and Smilla Holmberg.
Sweden: Falk; Lundvist, Bjorn, Eriksson, Andersson; Angeldahl, Asllani, Zikodiva Olme; Rushing Kaneryd, Blackstedius, Rolf
Subs: Holmgren, Enblom, Sembrant, Nildén, Janogy, Hurtig, Jakobsson, Ilestedt, Wangerheim, Bennison, Holmberg, Blomqvist
England, meanwhile, make no changes to the team who beat Wales last time out.
England: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Toone, Walsh, Stanway; James, Russo, Hemp
Subs: Keating, Moorhouse, Charles, Mead, Mead, Lessier, Clinton, Morgan, Agyemang, Kelly, Kelly, Bever-Jones, Park, Park, Park, Wubben-My
An excellentas always, piece from Jonathan Liew focused on this quarter-final is exactly the story to read before this match kicks off:
Did you wonder why Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead clicked their fingers in celebration of a goal against Wales? Arsenal’s Kelly explains all:
The Guardian columnist and USWNT manager Emma Hayes has previewed this quarter-final, you can read her analysis here:
Tom Garry
For a nation with a population of 10 millionwith a men’s national side that failed to quality for three of the past four World Cups, Sweden have a track record in women’s football that belongs to a sporting superpower.
Sweden finished third at three of the past four Women’s World Cups and are five-time World Cup semi-finalists. They also claimed the silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics. In Europe, their success is even more consistent and they stand one win from a 10th European semi-final when they meet England in Zurich on Thursday. Their men’s national side has not reached a world or European semi-final for more than 30 years.
England defender Lucy Bronze has said:
Every other team wants to replicate what England did in 2022, what the Netherlands did before us, and really boost women’s football and we know that success comes from that. We know that we’re very fortunate in England that when we have success it really does explode the game and I think it’s what we want all over Europe and all over the world.
More here:
One quarter-final has already been played and it saw Italy beat Norway to progress to the last four at a women’s major tournament for the first time since 1997. They will be the opponent for whoever wins tonight’s match and you can catch up on all the action from last night’s quarter-final here:
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Euro 2025 quarter-final between Sweden and defending champions England.
The Lionesses had a bumpy start to their campaign but finished the group stage strongly to reach the last eight, while Sweden have recorded three wins from three so far.
It is set to be a tight match with the nations among the favourites to win the entire tournament. The game is a repeat of the Euro 2022 semi-final where England beat Sweden 4-0 but the scoreline is not set to be as one-sided this time around.
Before the team news drops at around 6.45pm BST, we can take a look at what has been said in the build-up and big news from around the tournament. Let’s go.
About The Author
