
Rampant England and France reach Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals
Georgia Stanway started England on its way from the penalty spot in the 13th minute, and further goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead and Aggie Beever-Jones made sure of passage to the last eight.
England will face Sweden in Zurich on Thursday, a repeat of the semifinal at the last Euros three years ago that the Lionesses won 4-0.
But the Swedes look a tough proposition after topping Group C with a perfect nine points and swatting aside Germany on Saturday.
France meanwhile will take on Germany in Basel in the last quarterfinal on Saturday, and are on the same side of the knockout draw as world champion Spain, which faces host Switzerland on Friday.
The French finished the group stage three points ahead of England after making it three wins from three in the group thanks to Delphine Cascarino's decisive double.
San Diego Wave forward Cascarino has been excellent in Switzerland, and she made sure that France would top the group with the key goals in a superb comeback from a goal down.
France, which opened the scoring through Sandie Toletti in the 22nd minute, trailed at the break to a Victoria Pelova strike and Selma Bacha's clumsy own goal.
But Marie-Antoinette Katoto leveled for France just after the hour, and the match was done six minutes later thanks to Cascarino's fine finishes.
First, Cascarino lashed France back ahead with a sumptuous, dipping long-range strike, before rolling in the fourth after Sandy Baltimore watched her shot ricochet off both posts.
Sakina Karchaoui completed the scoring from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
In St. Gallen, England knew a win would be enough to seal a spot in the next round regardless of what happened in Basel, and once Stanway slotted home her penalty after being brought down by Carrie Jones, there was no way back for Wales.
Eight minutes later Toone doubled England's lead after Wales failed to clear and the Manchester United forward tapped home after her initial effort was blocked on the line by Lily Woodham.
Toone then turned provider on the half-hour with a perfect searching cross for Hemp, before Russo rolled home from close range just before halftime to get off the mark for the tournament.
Mead drilled home England's fifth in the 72nd minute, but Hannah Cain gave Wales fans something to cheer about by lashing a fine consolation goal past Hannah Hampton.
And Beever-Jones completed the rout one minute from the end to send England through on a high.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Thymen Arensman gives Ineos something to cheer about at Tour as doping cloud hangs
Thymen Arensman gave Ineos-Grenadiers something to cheer about, despite a doping cloud hanging over the team, as he won the 14th stage of the Tour de France following a superb solo ride in the 182.6-km mountain trek between Pau and Superbagneres on Saturday. Slovenian Tadej Pogacar retained the overall leader's yellow jersey as he took second place by beating chief rival Jonas Vingegaard in a two-man sprint finish, one minute 12 seconds behind Arensman, the first rider from the British outfit to win on the Tour in two years. Ineos-Grenadiers have been facing questions about one of their team carers, who is at the center of allegations involving alleged message exchanges in 2012 with a doctor connected to the notorious Operation Aderlass doping scandal, which rocked the sporting world in 2019. Bradley Wiggins won the Tour in 2012 with the team, which was then known as Team Sky, before Chris Froome went on to win another four for the squad. The team carer was seen at the beginning of the Tour in Lille but has not been sighted in recent days. "I have no idea about this, you have to ask the management about this. I'm just focused on my job, doing my own thing," Arensman told reporters. Although no formal charges have been brought, the development has cast a shadow over the team's Tour campaign. "Ineos Grenadiers Cycling Team is aware of recent media allegations relating to the 2012 season and a member of its staff. These allegations have not to date been presented to the team by any appropriate authority," the team said in a statement. The team added that it had formally requested information from the International Testing Agency and reaffirmed its zero-tolerance policy regarding doping violations. The agency said it would not further comment on the matter. Operation Aderlass, which began with a raid during the 2019 Nordic World Ski Championships in Austria, implicated athletes and medical personnel across several sports, including cycling. The doctor at the center of the case, Mark Schmidt, was later convicted and sentenced to prison time for administering illegal blood transfusions. On the Tour, defending champion Pogacar extended his lead over Vingegaard in the general classification by six seconds to 4:13 at the end of a stage which saw Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who had started the day in third place overall, abandon the race. The day belonged to Arensman, however, as the Dutchman went solo from the day's breakaway in the penultimate climb to the Col de Peyresourde (7.1 kilometers at a 7.8% gradient) before his team car hit and knocked down a spectator amid the usual roadside chaos on the Tour. Arensman never looked back and held firm on his way up to Superbagneres (12.4 km at 7.3%) as Vingegaard attacked several times in an attempt to drop Pogacar. But the world champion did not flinch and easily beat his rival in the final meters to further cement his dominance. "I can't really believe it," Arensman said. "I got sick after the Giro, but I had a good preparation going into my first Tour. I had to be patient and wait for the mountains to try my luck. This is unbelievable, the way I did it today." "I had amazing legs and I'm in the shape of my life. I thought with Tadej and Jonas in the favorites group three minutes behind, I was not sure I had enough, but I held them off." The peloton, controlled by Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG, reduced the gap with the breakaway from four to just over two minutes, giving the sense that the Slovenian would go for the win. But Arensman had other ideas and he went on his own in the Col de Peyresourde and never looked back.


Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
France's Euro 2025 run ended by familiar foe Germany
Heartbroken France was left lamenting another European exit at the hands of Germany on Saturday in a stunning 6-5 penalty shootout loss in the Euro 2025 quarterfinals, leaving Les Bleues still searching for their first major tournament title. The loss came despite having a player advantage for most of the game, after Germany's Kathrin Hendrich was sent off for a tug on the hair of Griege Mbock Bathy in the box in the 13th minute. Grace Geyoro's ensuing penalty kick was France's only goal in a bruising match that was tied 1-1 at the end of extra time. "It's very cruel, it's very difficult," Geyoro said. "We don't realize it yet, and there's a lot of disappointment and frustration at going out like that tonight. We're wondering when it's going to be smiling for us at last. It's difficult, frankly it's hard, that's football. I'm disappointed." The loss conjured memories of Euro 2022, when Germany dispatched France 2-1 in the semifinals before losing to England in the final. Despite the woman advantage, France seemed to wither as the minutes wore on against the eight-time European champion. "We're sorry because when you're 11 against 10, you know that your set pieces, numerical superiority do not exist anymore, so we had to avoid giving them those situations," France coach Laurent Bonadei said. "We didn't manage to find the back of the net except for two goals that were flagged offside. It's a shame, we didn't need much. Especially after what we'd done in the group phase, I thought we were getting stronger." France indeed had its chances, with goals by Delphine Cascarino and Geyoro chalked off for offside in each half. Melvine Malard clanged a rocket off the crossbar in the dying seconds of extra time. "I'm obviously disappointed," France goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin said. "They were down to 10 against 11, so even more disappointed. Finishing on penalties and going out like that is always the worst way to go. "It was a complicated game, they were behind for almost 90 minutes and they were sending warheads up front. "We're a bit down, we've just taken a blow to the back of the head." France's Amel Majri and Alice Sombath had their penalties saved in the shootout, with Sombath's spelling the end of France's tournament, as the heartbroken players collapsed on the pitch. "There's obviously a lot of disappointment," Geyoro said. "We really wanted to go all the way, but unfortunately we stop at the quarterfinals. Leaving the tournament just before the semifinals is a real blow."


Japan Today
8 hours ago
- Japan Today
All Blacks score late try to secure 29-19 win over France in the 3rd test
New Zealand's Will Jordan scores a try against France during their rugby union test match in Hamilton, New Zealand on Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Brett Phibbs/Photosport via AP) rugby union Replacement hooker Brodie McAlister scored a 76th-minute try on test debut to seal New Zealand's 29-19 win over France, completing a series sweep 3-0. The All Blacks rallied from 19-8 down in the first half, taking the lead for the first time in the 59th minute and holding on with 12 unanswered points in the second spell. A try to center Anton Lienert-Brown three minutes after the halftime siren was crucial to the All Blacks' comeback win, allowing them to go to halftime only two points behind at 19-17. The All Blacks then played mostly in France's territory in the last quarter to close out the match by adding 12 unanswered points. Scrumhalf Nolann Le Garrec scored a try among 16 points as France established its 19-8 lead by the 36th minute. He converted his own try and kicked a penalty for France to lead 10-0 after 19 minutes. He then added two more penalties while France's only other points came from a dropped goal by flyhalf Antoine Hastoy. New Zealand scored a 22nd minute try through winger Will Jordan to stay in the match, then crucially scored again in the dying moments of the first half to set up a thrilling second spell. Hastoy missed a dropped goal and Le Garrec a penalty attempt early in the second half before New Zealand gained its first lead with a try to backrower Du'Plessis Kirifi to start the last quarter. Winger Emilien Gailleton was forced out in the corner in Jordie Barrett's tackle in the 61st minute, preventing France immediately regaining the lead. McAlister's try made the game safe. Center Barrett broke through the French line with a fend and McAlister was at his hip to take the ball, dive and slide over the line. The try denied a brave French team that tested New Zealand to its limits. France named its strongest lineout of the series while New Zealand made 10 changes to its starting lineup from the second test. 'The French really turned up tonight,' All Blacks captain Ardie Savea said. 'I'm proud of the boys really sticking it out in the first half and in the second half we really brought it home.' The All Blacks looked good in the short periods in the first half in which they were able to lift the tempo of the match and they created opportunities from kicks into an unguarded French backfield, one of which led to Jordan's try. But France was able to disrupt New Zealand at the breakdown and won numerous turnovers from the All Blacks lineout. France's goalline defense was superb and New Zealand players were held up over the line on four occasions. The French were also outstanding in the collision area, causing frequent handling errors which disrupted the All Blacks' continuity. A fan released a cockerel, the symbol of French rugby, onto the field during the second half as a tribute to the touring team. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.