England will face debutants Wales, France and the Netherlands at Euro 2025 in Switzerland as the Lionesses kick off the defence of their European crown in a tough group that is bursting with narrative.
The Lionesses open their tournament against France in Zurich on Saturday 5 July before Sarina Wiegman faces her native country and former team Netherlands on Wednesday 9 July.
England and first-time qualifiers Wales will then meet in a “Battle of Britain” clash in St Gallen on Sunday 12 July, which could well have a say in determining the outcome of a blockbuster Group D.
Rhian Wilkinson’s side secured their historic place at the tournament by beating the Republic of Ireland in a play-off and they will play their first match against 2017 winners Netherlands in Lucerne on 5 July.
Wiegman’s European champions will know they cannot afford a slow start to their tournament defence when they begin against France, with only the top two teams advancing to the quarter-finals.
It’s the third European Championship in a row in which England have faced another home nation, following a 5-0 victory over Northern Ireland at Euro 2022 and a 6-0 win over Scotland at Euro 2017, but Wales – ranked 26 places behind the Lionesses – will no doubt relish the opportunity of facing the holders.
“We are a dangerous team,” said Canadian coach Wilkinson. “Firstly, we have this underdog mantle, of course, as a first-time participant, but also how well the team is playing and how resilient they are. There’s every likelihood we’ll be surprising people at the tournament.”
The Lionesses have history against France and the Netherlands and have met both rivals more recently than neighbours Wales. The Lionesses were pipped to top spot in Euro 2025 qualifying by Les Bleues, who beat England 2-1 at St James’ Park in May before losing the return fixture by the same scoreline a few days later in Saint-Etienne.
Former Netherlands boss Wiegman also lost to her native country, who she led to Euros glory five years before lifting the title with England, in a Nations League clash in Utrecht in September 2023. The Lionesses claimed a 3-2 comeback victory at Wembley a few weeks later but finished behind the Dutch in their Nations League group.
Wiegman told the BBC: “I think we have a very interesting, exciting group. It’s a bit the same as the Nations League groups all the time. It’s very tough, very exciting and yes, for us July 5 it will start. Congratulations to Wales, they qualified for the first time in history which of course is amazing. There’s some rivalry, I think, in a nice way when we go out on the pitch and I’m looking forward to that game too.”
Recent defeats to both France and the Netherladns underline the difficulty of England’s draw, however, with the Lionesses also landing on the harder side of the tournament bracket. Should they progress to the quarter-finals, the holders would play a team from Group C that includes 2022 runners-up Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Poland.
Tournament favourites and world champions Spain are on the other side of the draw and will play Italy, Belgium and Portugal in Group B. Spain will be fancied to progress past their Group A opponent in the knockout stages should they emerge from their pool, with hosts Switzerland joined by Iceland, Norway and Finland.
In Group A, Switzerland will kick off against Norway in Basel on 2 July but the opening game of the tournament will come earlier that evening when Iceland face Finland in Thun.
Meanwhile, Euro 2025 will offer record prize money of €41m (£34m) as Uefa confirmed an increase of 156 per cent from Euro 2022, but there remains a significant gap of almost €300m between men’s and women’s European Championships.
The total prize money available to teams at Euro 2022 was €16m, with England taking just over €2m by winning the tournament at Wembley. The prize money on offer at Euro 2025 will be more than double what it was three years before, and the champions can win up to €5.1m when performance bonuses are added.
Uefa’s executive committee also said teams at Euro 2025 are guaranteed a participation fee of €1.8m – almost as much as England’s winning bonus from 2022 – with players taking a guaranteed cut of between 30 and 40 per cent in a move that mirrors the agreement made ahead of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
Euro 2025 group stage draw
Group A: Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland
Group B: Spain, Italy, Belgium, Portugal
Group C: Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Poland
Group D: France, England, Netherlands, Wales
