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Here’s some reaction from a Dutch perspective, courtesy of Reuters:
The Dutch, champions in 2017, suffered their heaviest defeat in a major tournament as the Lionesses dominated at Stadion Letzigrund and neutralised the Netherlands’ all-time leading goalscorer Vivianne Miedema.
Jonker, however, remained confident ahead of a decisive final group-stage clash with France on Sunday. “We thought we could play toe-to-toe against England,” Jonker told a press conference. “We wanted to play for victory. We want to play to qualify for the quarter-finals. That this is the biggest defeat at a major finals? I don’t care.”
The Netherlands adopted an aggressive formation with Jill Roord and Chasity Grant joining Miedema in attack, but the strategy faltered. When asked whether a more defensive approach would have been prudent against the defending champions, Jonker defended his tactics.
“Potentially, we can be a part of the top [teams], but what is the definition of the top?” Jonker said. “Spain, in my view, is the top. They are the very best, the number one. Eight, nine to ten countries follow and we can be a part of those, but not today.” Reuters
There could be some pretty wild, jubilant scenes in Lancy tonight. Switzerland meet Finland and just need to avoid defeat to make it through to the knockouts in front of their own supporters. They had nervy moments against Iceland, taking 76 minutes to finally open the scoring through Géraldine Reuteler before Alayah Pilgrim sealed it at the death.
Cheers, UEFA. No need to get your pens out – they’ve got all the permutations here as we enter the final round of the group stage. Wales, despite two defeats, are not out just yet: they need a four-goal victory over England and France to beat the Netherlands.
This is a lovely interview with Jess Fishlock. She made her international debut 19 years ago but still gets to celebrate a first: Wales’ opening goalscorer in a major tournament. Louise Taylor was in St. Gallen to witness that little bit of history.
And here’s what Alessia Russo and co had to say:
Tom Garry dished out the marks:
Nick Ames explains what was on the line last night.
In their evolving iterations, the Lionesses have barely missed a beat at major tournaments in the past decade. For the first time during this sport’s boom years, misgivings were growing in volume. They knew that losing again could mean an early flight home, a first group-stage exit of any kind since 2013 and an unprecedented barrage of criticism.
Preamble
Tournament football takes you to all sorts of places. France weren’t bothered by England’s aura on Saturday, that defeat forcing Sarina Wiegman’s side to prematurely enter knockout mode. Then came last night: a couple of positional changes, the inclusion of Ella Toone, and a complete vibe shift. The defending champions have their strut back.
For Wales, there was a beautiful moment of release as Jess Fishlock scored their first goal in a major tournament – but France still ran out 4-1 winners. Laurent Bonadei’s remain on course to top the Group of Death.
This evening brings the conclusion of Group A, with Finland meeting Switzerland and Norway taking on Iceland (8pm BST kick-offs). The Norwegians are already through, while the hosts require just a point against Finland to advance to the knockouts of this competition for the very first time. Keep me company as we build up to the action.
