Sarina Wiegman spoke to ITV: “We played a good first half, we totally played in their half of the pitch and created chances. We just found spaces, overloads and pockets. In the second half we didn’t do that. They pressed a bit higher, but we were more sloppy and that was a harder half.”
“In February we go again. That [Lucy Bronze] was a moment where she was not on the list. There has been a mistake. We still wanted to bring her on the pitch, that was really frustrating. We couldn’t change it anymore.”
“Lots of things we have to improve. If you see how many players we played. We tried some tactics and everyone was onboard.”
Here’s Tom Garry’s report from Bramall Lane.
Some quotes via the BBC for the Wales coach, Rhian Wilkinson.
“This team found a way. They never broke for each other, they stayed strong. I’ve never been prouder of a team. This team stands on the shoulder of giants who came before, and now they’ve proven how good they are.
“They’re better than they think and they just have to see it and live it and experience it. Those boys and girls back home are seeing a generation of football that’s going to change everything.”
Peter gets in touch: “Great save from Hampton, but has she been told not to do her wonderful trademark long kick crosses, which have such accuracy, her three-quarter
length passes? I missed them today. Also, why does Sarina not play Kelly and Russo together much ? They seldom have ten minutes together. Kelly crossing into the box to Russo = goal.”
Sophie Downey was in Dublin to see Wales reach the Euros.
The goalscorer Grace Clinton spoke to ITV: “In international football it’s like that, very competitive. We kept them out and got the win. It’s always nice to get a goal for England. We should have had more, we had the chances but that’s a positive. We have plenty of players who can finish them off. It was amazing, the crowd were great and it was nice to play with some faces I played with when I was younger. It’s what dreams are made of.”
Final score: England 1-0 Switzerland
What a difference a half makes. England were all over it in the first half, and then Switzerland were much much better. That will ask plenty of questions for Sarina Wiegman.
Updated
90+3 min: Two Georgia Stanway misses close us out. To be fair, the second hit the post. That’s it at Bramall Lane.
90+2 min: The Swiss want to get Waeber on for her debut but nothing doing. She will have to wait until 2025.
90 min: Some late-stage attacking. Carter to Mead but England lose it and was Mead all over Andrade? VAR is checking for a penalty. It looked it. Seen them given…but no.
88 min: Lots of changes and the game has rather lost its lustre. Clinton tries to find Russo, who goes down. A foul? It may well have been but both were offside.
84 min: Millie Turner, Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aggie Beever-Jones all left the field, but no Bronze to come on. Sarina Wiegman not happy about that. Neither is Lucy Bronze.
Wales go through to Euro 2025
Euro 2025 update.
It finishes 1-2 in Dublin, and Ireland are out. Wales go through to their first ever finals. Scotland and Northern Ireland both fell short, as well as the Irish.
Updated
83 min: Lucy Bronze was going to come on but now isn’t. Reason being: she wasn’t on the team sheet. She’s had to sit back down.
81 min: England now doing all the chasing. Switzerland have been excellent this half. England look unfamiliar and disjointed, which is odd considering they looked so cohesive in the first.
79 min: Terchoun, after Switzerland force out the ball, has a dig from distance. That was a fine save from Hannah Hampton. She’s had a bit of workout this half.
Euro 2025 play-offs
Eight minutes added on in Dublin. Wales still leading.
76 min: Keira Walsh shows some control and poise when they might have gone quicker. There's danger in the Swiss now.
74 min: Bright steps up to find Mead. But Switzerland have tightened up since the time Grace Clinton was making hay.
72 min: Millie Bright is asked to make an intervention, as the Swiss pile it on. It takes a foul on Mead to clear danger. This is such a very different half.
Euro 2025 play-offs
Ireland have a goal in Dublin. They need to find another, as it’s 2-3 on aggregate. Anna Patten got it in the 86th minute.
69 min: England having to rest on the ball. Switzerland no longer offering them time.
66 min: Switzerland have meanwhile been playing well, England’s dominance a memory. Pia Sundhage, their coach, is hugely experienced and knows the game better than just about anyone. They are now pressing high and Hannah Hampton’s ball play is being put to the test.
Updated
Euro 2025 play-off update:
Final score: Belgium 2-1 Ukraine (agg 4-1)
63 min: Mace off, Walsh on. Gabby George off and Beth Mead is on. Big cheers for Keira Walsh and Beth Mead-o.
61 min: Real determination from Beever-Jones, who’s been excellent, in keeping the ball alive. That may be the last of her, as some subs are imminent.
60 min: England have picked it up again, and there’s a neat move that sees Russo and Beever-Jones interplay. Switzerland look good, and Beney forces another Hampton save.
58 min: From the corner, the ball drops to Clinton, who blams it wide.
57 min: England go close, with Russo setting up Beever-Jones and Blindkilde Brown exchange passes before Herzog makes a fine save.
55 min: Hannah Hampton was asked to make a save when Millie Turner and Millie Bright got tangled. Iman Beney had that effort.
Updated
Euro 2025 play-offs
Ireland 0-2 Wales (1-3 agg)
Belgium 1-1 Ukraine (3-1 agg)
Carrie Jones scored after 68 minutes and Wales look odds-on to be at the finals.
52 min: England have to respond to that impressive Swiss change.
50 min: Switzerland have done far more attacking in this half. They look more settled on the ball.
49 min: England attempt to resume that threat, Clinton to the fore once more. A good move sees Gabby George smash a fine cross and Russo head wide.
47 min: Switzerland start with some brio. Andrade eventually has the shot and whacks it someway down to Ecclesall Road.
46 min: There was almost a big mistake as Hannah Hampton made a mess of a back-pass. A grimace after it is cleared.
Back underway at Bramall Lane
One change for England. Off goes Jess Park for Alessia Russo. The Swiss have made three changes.
Latest scores in Euro 2025 playoffs:
Belgium 1-0 Ukraine (3-0 agg)
Ireland 0-1 Wales (1-2 agg)
That Wales goal came via a penalty from Hannah Cain. There’s 35 minutes left on the clock.
Updated
Final scores in Euro 2025 playoffs:
Sweden 6-0 Ukraine (8-0 agg)
Finland 2-0 Scotland (2-o agg)
Austria 0-1 Poland (0-2 agg)
Norway 3-0 Northern Ireland (7-0 agg)
Updated
Half-time: England 1-0 Switzerland
There’s only team in it, yet only one goal in it. Lots of positive signs from Sarina Wiegman’s team, perhaps a missing touch in front of goal. Lots of changes to come but Grace Clinton, Aggie Beever-Jones and Gabby George were the pick of the players, with Jess Park at the fulcrum.
45 min: No time added on in a half where England have totally dominated.
44 min: Millie Bright goes on a charge, and only the goalline gets in her way. Next, Le Tissier hangs up a cross that’s only just cleared.
43 min: An England free-kick from the left-hand side. George takes but Clinton falls over at the moment of truth.
41 min: Park and Beever-Jones almost create something. Lovely linking play, and Park is stopped by Switzerland’s Sow. They have had an awful lot of defending to do.
Updated
39 min: An attack from Switzerland, and work for Hannah Hampton, who saves well enough from Schertenleib.
In that Euro 2024 play-off it’s half-time in Dublin: Ireland 0-0 Wales.
37 min: Perhaps this is a Swiss masterclass of defending. Though England are taking turns. Beever-Jones turns and then Le Tissier shoots. Herzog saves. It’s been a fine display by her.
35 min: Blindkilde Brown, who has very lively too, wins a corner. From which Beever-Jones heads away Le Tissier’s kick. Another chance going begging,
33 min: The Swiss are five at the back, fully in a shell.
31 min: Snapshot from Park. The ball keeps running loose to England players. The only complaint is the quality of shooting.
30 min: Park, Le Tissier and Clinton fully enjoying themselves.
28 min: Beever-Jones escapes beyond the defence after some lovely passing around. George’s cross forces a save from Herzog. It’s all England.
25 min: Beever-Jones and Grace Clinton seem to have quite the understanding. Their link-up forces a corner that Le Tissier delivers to Bright, who can only head over.
23 min: Le Tissier goes back to do some defending but England’s players are all looking to go forward at any time.
21 min: England’s newbies are flying. Clinton seems to be pulled down. VAR – which we have tonight – says no foul. Somehow.
19 min: George now has a chance, Beever-Jones and Brown set her up but she can’t keep the ball down.
18 min: Great ball from the left flank from Gabby George. Maya Le Tissier has a great chance but gets her angles all wrong, smashing the ball wide.
16 min: Ruby Mace, steps back to break up an attack.
14 min: This time, the danger is cleared, and Switzerland make progress up the pitch. It takes a Millie Bright intervention to move the ball back up.
13 min: Clinton, who is absolutely everywhere, forces a corner.
11 min: England look to resume their dominance, with Beever-Jones at the start. Park and Clinton try to link up and Beever-Jones comes to the fore again. She is just denied by Swiss keeper Herzog. (Do her teammates call her Queen of the Desert? Or Heart Of Glass?)
9 min: A fine start for England, and Grace Clinton looks the business as a starter. So many options for Sarina Wiegman.
Goal! England 1-0 Switzerland (Clinton, 8)
Park’s ball in, and the header from Turner comes off the post and Clinton knocks in her third England goal.
Updated
6 min: Gabby George, in such fine form for United, just lets the ball run out. Up ahead, Clinton turns and is brought down. Free-kick in a dangerous position. Park will take.
4 min: Both Blindkilde Brown and Mace have had their first touches of their England careers. An early attack from Switzerland is swept up by Grace Clinton.
Updated
2 min: As expected, it’s all England on the ball but there’s not much speed, a lot of unfamiliarity.
Away we go at Bramall Lane...
1 min: Let’s see what this much-changed team can achieve. Lots of noise from the England band, some of whom come from Sheffield.
Here are the national anthems: no booing can be heard.
So, the last game of 2024 for the Lionesses sees the 2022 Euro winners take on the Euro 2025 hosts. Packed stands at Bramall Lane.
Ireland and Wales have kicked off in Dublin, it’s 1-1 after the first leg
Sarina Wiegman spoke to ITV ahead of the game. “From the team, we want a good performance and to execute the gameplan. They [the new arrivals] have done well during the whole week. They came into our environment well and they have done well. I want to see what they can do in their role tonight.”
[Gabby George] has had some setbacks. She has been out of our environment when she has done rehab. She has down well with Manchester United. I hope she can be a good defender and good playing forward.”
The Euros dream is over for Scotland, they couldn’t make a comeback against Finland and lost 2-0 on the night, 2-0 on aggregate.
Jess Park is the sole survivor, with Millie Bright called in to captain the team. senior debuts for Laura Blindkilde Brown and Ruby Mace, and a return for Gabby George, once of Everton, now of Manchester United after six years of absence.
The teams: Ten changes for England from Wembley
England: Hampton, Morgan, George, Mace, Turner, Bright, Park, Le Tissier, Beever-Jones, Clinton, Blindkilde Brown. Subs: Bronze, Earps, Stanway, Mead, Walsh, Naz, Carter, Russo, Williamson, Moorhouse, Greenwood, Wubben-Moy.
Switzerland starting XI: Herzog, Stierli, Marti, Maritz, Schertenleib, Crnogorcevic, Sow, Vallotto, Calligaris, Terchoun, Beney.
That bad news from Scotland and Northern Ireland’s play-offs.
Scotland are 2-0 down to Finland, 2-0 on aggregate. That’s got 10 minutes to play.
Northern Ireland lost 3-0 to Norway, 7-0 on aggregate.
Preamble
After that reunion with Emma Hayes and a 0-0 draw, it’s up the M1 to Sheffield and a friendly with Switzerland. And time for experimentation, according to Sarina Wiegman, with seven months and four friendlies to go: “It gives opportunities for us to try out things, to play many players … we want to get as much information as possible and develop our style of play, and experience where we’re at at the moment.”
This is England’s final friendly before six Nations League fixtures from February until June, so expect a mix of styles and personnel. Plenty is still undecided as the Lionesses seek to defend their crown. The hosts of Euro 2025 are the visitors to Bramall Lane.
Also: there will be updates from the playoffs, with Ireland and Wales playing off, and news of the failure of the Scots and Northern Irish to be in Switzerland next year.
Kick-off is at 7.45pm. Join me.
