Classy England romp to 4-0 victory against the Netherlands in Zurich to kickstart Euros title defence
Following defeat against France in their opening match of Euro 2025, England bounced back with a sensational performance, with Sarina Weigman’s side emphatically beating the Dutch 4-0 in Zurich.
Wiegman’s team, looking to silence any doubters following their defeat to France, started the match with purpose and energy, dominating possession and looking to play on the front foot. When they did lose the ball, they showed great hunger and tenacity, hunting down the Netherlands players to quickly regain possession.
Alessia Russo went close to opening the scoring after 18 minutes, with Lauren Hemp twisting and turning down the left-hand side before swinging in a teasing cross. But Russo could only divert her header wide of the post.
Lauren James then fired England into a deserved lead with 22 minutes on the clock, receiving the ball from Russo on the right-hand side before cutting inside on her left foot and rifling an unstoppable effort past Daphne van Domselaar.
The Lionesses continued to push forward with intent, looking to capitalise on being on top of the Dutch in the match and on the stroke of half-time they doubled their lead. The ball fell to Georgia Stanway on the edge of the box, and she made no mistake, thumping a brilliant strike first time into the bottom corner.
Andries Jonker made a triple substitution at half-time in an attempt to shake things up for the Dutch and get them back into the match. Amd the Oranje did start the second period well, dominating the ball and managing to get into the final third more frequently.
Any chance of a comeback though was extinguished on the hour mark when James netted her second and England’s third of the evening. Ella Toone’s effort was blocked by Kerstin Casparij, but the ball then rebounded out to the classy James, who simply stroked her effort home into the bottom right-hand corner.
Just seven minutes later, England had a fourth goal. Russo latched onto a ball over the top, before holding it up well and laying it off to Toone, who smartly shrugged off a challenge before firing home.
It was a complete performance from England – four goals, a clean sheet and a display that was confident and fluid throughout. The Lionesses now turn their attention to their final Group D match against Wales on Sunday, knowing that a win will see them qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament.
