Wiegman backs England's passion ahead of crunch clash against Wales

Leader Live

12-07-2025

Sarina Wiegman insists England can match Wales' passion in their crunch clash on Sunday night - but wants her side to focus on themselves.
The Lionesses need a win from their final game in Group D to secure progression to the Euro 2025 quarter-finals.
It means rivals Wales could send England home from the tournament with a positive result on Sunday, as they remain in search of their first major tournament win.
But despite the fight that Wales will undoubtedly bring to St Gallen, Wiegman is confident England are just as enthused by the encounter despite not letting themselves get carried away with the narrative of rivalry.
"For them, it is a big game but for us it is too. We want to win and get through the group stage. There is passion but we have passion too,' she said.
'We want to be really focused and good on the ball. We have to be patient.
"I learned about the history and the rivalry but, again, we are focused on what we want to do and how we want to play.
"We have to move the ball quickly and be patient. We have also seen that Wales are compact and sometimes higher up the pitch too. We expect everything and we will try to break that down."
See you tomorrow for a big one, #Lionesses fans! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 pic.twitter.com/7LURVeoUpm — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 12, 2025
It is the second time England will face a must-win scenario, having needed all three points against the Netherlands to avoid an early exit after losing their opening game 2-1 to France.
While a draw would put them above the Oranje Leeuwinnen at present, they would need to bank on the Dutch failing to get a result against France for that to be sufficient to progress.
But Wiegman is unphased by the pressure such a scenario adds to her players, who stepped up to win 4-0 at Stadion Letzigrund against the Dutch.
"There is always pressure on England. We will try and play a good game and hopefully we can have the ball a lot and exploit spaces,' she explained.
"The tension is building up again because we play tomorrow. It was a must-win [against the Netherlands].
'The players are very together and are taking responsibility and then they have to perform again. That is what we are going to do tomorrow as well."
Wales will hold very different ideas of what they will allow England to do at Kybunpark.
Despite losing their opening game 3-0 to the Netherlands and looking completely overrun, they fought back to equalise against France in a gritty performance.
At 1-0 down, Jess Fishlock turned home at the back post to spark celebrations in the red wall and write a piece of Welsh history befitting the legacy of the 38-year-old scorer.
While they went on to lose 4-1, it is a fight they will undoubtedly show against England with a sense of last chance saloon for the Dragons.
But Wiegman is determined not to let the game follow a course that will benefit Wales as she hopes England will prove dominant in possession.
"I hope we will see a game where we have a lot of the ball and we play very well in possession, so we don't let it become a fighting game,' she said.
"I am not worried [that it will be a scrappy game]. Wales are very compact, they can fight and they are really together but also they can play direct.
'We are trying to prevent that, and the best way is to be on top of things yourself and exploit the spaces.
"We have our own preparation and we know what is on the line. We will do everything to win the game and get through.'