Wales 1-6 England: Rhian Wilkinson's side crash out of Euro 2025

ITV News

a day ago

The atmosphere as the teams entered the St Gallen Arena was raucous but for the first time in this tournament, it felt like an away game for Wales.
Aside from the wall of red behind Olivia Clark's goal, the stadium was bathed in white.
The game itself had started slowly but soon there was chaos. England were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Welsh box by referee Frida Klarlund after 12 minutes.
But then came an intervention from the Video Assistant Referee. It appeared the incident involving Carrie Jones took place in the area but replays appeared to show that she her foot stood on. But having already awarded a free-kick, VAR deemed it a penalty.
The Welsh bench could feel hard done by but Georgia Stanway stepped up to slot the penalty beyond Clark in the Welsh goal.
Moments after the game restarted, Ceri Holland required treatment after taking a shoulder to the jaw from England's Lauren James. The referee didn't award the free-kick but stopped the game for Holland to receive treatment.
Wales boss Rhian Wilkinson was unhappy with the decision and goalkeeping coach Diego Restrepo received a yellow card for his protests.
But on the 20 minute mark, things went from bad to worse. Again it was a disappointing Welsh error that gifted the opposition a goal. Rhiannon Roberts got her clearance horribly wrong and Alessia Russo pounced, scrambling the ball across goal to Ella Toone.
Lily Woodham scrambled the first effort off the line, but it went straight back to Toone's feet and this time she wouldn't be denied. Suddenly Wales had yet another mountain to climb.
As the half ticked on, Wales caused issues up the other end thanks to the pace of Ffion Morgan. She burst in behind and her cross found Jess Fishlock, who had the composure to settle in traffic before putting the ball into Angharad James' path. But the shot was well-saved by Hannah Hampton.
England went back on the attack though, and soon Toone worked space down the near side with ease. Her cross teased Clark, who was caught in two minds and hadn't made a decision before Lauren Hemp was heading into her net.
It was 3-0 after half hour and you feared for what might come.
Those fears were realised before the break. Toone again finding far too much space to roam into Wales' box. Gemma Evans couldn't stop the cutback and Russo could have taken three or four touches before slotting into an empty net.
Rachel Rowe fired over from distance and then Fishlock's left-footed effort from the edge of the box was weak following a mix-up in the England defence.
But Sarina Wiegman's side were in complete control at half time.
Beth Mead's strike in the 72nd minute continued to pile on the misery but then some reprieve.
Fishlock broke into the England half and had substitute Hannah Cain racing up on her left hand side. The pass was perfect and Cain smashed it into the roof of England's net, giving the Red Wall something to shout about.
England, though, would have the last laugh. One final attack found substitute Agnes Beever-Jones unmarked in the six yard box and she nodded it home, bringing some unwanted history. It was the 13th time the Welsh net had rippled in this tournament, breaking a record set by Italy in 2005 for the most goals conceded in a group stage at the Women's Euros.
But there was little else to speak of. This has been a groundbreaking experience for Welsh football but it has also been an eye-opening one.
The draw for Wales was as tough as it could have been but the gulf in quality has been stark. Whilst the tournament has been a fantastic experience for the fan base, it has come with a stark reality that is difficult to overlook.