Thursday's briefing: Lionesses roar back and PSG continue to look the real deal
The pass. The finish. 😍
A beautiful strike from Lauren James to give us the lead 🤌 pic.twitter.com/5J7esOthn1
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 9, 2025
Lauren James' double helped England secure a resounding 4-0 victory over the Netherlands in Zurich to keep their European Championship title defence alive.
Defeat to France in the tournament opener had all-but ensured the Lionesses would need three points to avoid crashing out at the group stage and, with Prince William in attendance at the Stadion Letzigrund, James got them off to a great start with a stunning 22nd-minute opener.
Alessia Russo earned the assist and added another when Georgia Stanway doubled England's lead in first-half stoppage time before James made it three on the hour.
Ella Toone, the lone fresh face in Sarina Wiegman's starting XI, got on the scoresheet seven minutes later with a fourth, ensuring England – who will finish the group stage against tournament newcomers Wales – are now in prime position to punch their ticket to the quarter-finals.
France are set to go through as group winners after a 4-1 win over Wales, who are on the verge of going home.
🏴 @ChelseaFC 🆚 @PSG_inside 🇫🇷🗓️ Sunday 13th July 2025🏟️ MetLife Stadium
— FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) July 9, 2025
European champions Paris St Germain produced a blistering performance to power into the Club World Cup final with a 4-0 rout of Real Madrid.
A one-sided semi-final in New York on Wednesday was effectively settled inside the opening 24 minutes as Fabian Ruiz struck twice either side of an Ousmane Dembele effort.
Spanish giants Real had no answer to the rampant Champions League winners, who added a fourth goal at the MetLife Stadium late on through Goncalo Ramos.
PSG – who will play Chelsea in Sunday's final – were every bit as hot as the temperature, which reached 32C during the game.
Lord Sebastian Coe has been given a leading role in delivering Manchester United's new stadium.
Lord Coe, who chaired London's 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid, has been appointed as chair-designate of the Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) for the Old Trafford Regeneration project.
The former International Olympic Committee president previously chaired a task force set up by United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to look at stadium options for United amid a wider regeneration of the surrounding area.
He will now play a key part in the development of the 100,000-seater stadium, which Ratcliffe wants to be the 'Wembley of the north'.
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti has been sentenced to a year in prison for tax evasion, Spanish news agency EFE has reported.
The 66-year-old Italian has also been fined 386,361.93 Euros – around £333,000 – for failing to pay tax on revenue raised from his image rights during his first spell as Real Madrid manager between 2013 and 2015.
However, it appears unlikely that Ancelotti will serve jail time as non-violent crimes committed by defendants who have no previous convictions are often met with suspended sentences.
Nous restons en Ligue 1 🔴🔵
L'Olympique Lyonnais se félicite de la décision, rendue ce jour par la DNCG, de maintenir le Club en Ligue 1.
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) July 9, 2025
Lyon have won their appeal against relegation to the French second division, a decision which puts Crystal Palace's participation in next season's Europa League in major doubt.
Palace thought they had secured a place in Europe's second-tier club competition thanks to their FA Cup final win over Manchester City in May but uncertainty quickly arose as to whether they would be allowed to enter due to UEFA's multi-club ownership rules.
Outgoing Palace shareholder John Textor has an interest in French club Lyon, who qualified for the same competition.
Lyon had reached a settlement with UEFA agreeing to be excluded from European competitions next season if their relegation was confirmed on appeal, a move which would almost certainly have meant Palace could play in the Europa League.
However, Lyon's success and higher league position means Palace are set to be moved down to the Conference League. Sources close to UEFA had previously indicated that Nottingham Forest would take the English spot in the Europa League vacated by Palace.
The group stages of Euro 2025 continues as Group A concludes with hosts Switzerland taking on Finland and Norway playing Iceland.
Elsewhere, the early qualifiers for the Europa League and Europa Conference League kick off, with St Patrick's Athletic and Northern Irish side Larne in action.
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Six different scorers provided the goods for the Lionesses as Hannah Cain grabbed a late consolation for Wales. With France having triumphed 5-2 against the Netherlands in Basel it means England finish Group D in second. Here are the five key takeaways from their victory over Wales… Fate decided The three points against Wales saw England confirm their place in the quarter-finals at Euro 2025 as they finish second in Group D. It means they also now know a potential route to the final with a last-eight tie against Sweden on Thursday in Zurich confirmed. With the Netherlands falling to 5-2 defeat against France, despite leading 2-1, England finished three points behind Les Bleues but three ahead of the Dutch. It sets up a rematch of their Euro 2022 semi-final victory when they won 4-0, including a standout backheeled goal by Alessia Russo. But the Group C winners look in brilliant form, having just defeated Germany 4-1 to top their group. Should England manage to overcome that challenge, they avoid Spain on their side of the draw and will face a semi-final against Norway or Italy. Toooooone Since Sarina Wiegman left Ella Toone on the bench for England's opening loss to France, the number 10 has made it a personal mission to ensure she never ends up back there. With two goals in two games and a 100% pass completion against Wales, she certainly has the stats to back up her selection. Her goal and two assists against Wales came in just one half of football. And that has been backed up with the performances to match. Toone has looked tenacious as a key cog in the English press, closing the ball down as soon as it enters the central pockets and creating turnovers high up the pitch. She has been equally as instructive in attack, putting the ball on a plate for both Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo to finish in the first half as well as grabbing a goal herself. While she might mistake the 'Toooone' shouts for boos, there is no doubting the travelling English support only have reason to celebrate her performances in Switzerland so far. England a step above At points in the first half in St. Gallen, it appeared Wales were giving goals away as though they were bottles of Prime in Waterloo Station. The reality was that the gulf in quality just proved too stark. England were faster and stronger as they pressed Wales high up the pitch, forcing them into errors early on. Ella Toone's goal highlighted the problem. As Leah Williamson pinged a ball out to Lauren Hemp on the left, the forward saw her cross cut out, but Georgia Stanway pounced as Wales failed to clear their lines fast enough. The ball squeezed through to Alessia Russo, who took the goalkeeper out of the equation before Toone was allowed two attempts at goal before finally hitting the back of the net. At each stage England were faster to react and their six-goal total proved they were simply too much to handle for Wales. It represents the biggest margin of victory at the tournament so far, while Wales' goal difference of minus-11 is the worst on record in the group stages of a women's Euros. But Wales have reason to be proud While the performance left much to be desired on Sunday evening and saw Wales heading home from Switzerland, they have plenty to be proud of from their stint at the tournament. The debutants not only scored their first-ever major tournament goal to equalise early on against France, they managed to repeat the feat against an England side in their stride. Jess Fishlock's pass through to Cain demonstrated the levels Wales can rise to as she played the former Leicester player in behind with a perfectly weighted pass. Cain's finish was equally brilliant as she fired past Hannah Hampton into the far top corner with aplomb. For a first major tournament with a significantly smaller player pool than their opponents, they have not disgraced themselves in the 'group of death' and have given the travelling fans plenty to celebrate. A big win to secure progression from Group D! 🔒🙌 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 13, 2025 The Red Wall stands strong Despite travelling to Switzerland with a strong possibility that their side may not even win a match, Wales have brought the numbers for their first appearance at a major tournament. Nowhere was that more evident than in St. Gallen where red shirts flooded the city during the day before piling into Kybunpark for what proved to be their final game at the tournament. In fact, despite the gulf in expectations, the Welsh fans brought a 2,400-strong contingent for their allocated section, with plenty more spread out in the neutral seats, compared to the 2,100 sold for England's end. The red, yellow and green bucket hats were in full force, and the Welsh were in customarily fine voice with a goosebump-raising rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. The loudest roar of the night came in the 76th minute when Hannah Cain brilliant strike earnt a late consolation for Wales and gave the wall of red reason enough to commence celebrations.
