England vs Netherlands Match Report

UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 — Group D

England 4–0 Netherlands

Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich, Switzerland

9 July 2025 – 5pm BST Kick-Off

Team News

England XI: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson ©, Greenwood, Carter; Stanway, Walsh; James, Toone, Hemp; Russo

A first start of the tournament for Ella Toone, who replaced Arsenal’s Beth Mead.

Netherlands XI: Van Domselaar; Casparij, Janssen, Buurman, Brugts; Groenen, Kaptein; Pelova, Roord, Grant; Miedema ©

Chastity Grant came in for Daniëlle van de Donk, who got 2 assists in the Netherlands’ opening match against Wales.

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, it was a battle between England's Lionesses and the Orange Lionesses of the Netherlands. For reigning-champions England, avoiding a loss was crucial to be in with a chance of progressing to the quarter finals. Meanwhile, the Netherlands started the match at the top of Group D after a convincing 3-0 win against Wales in their opening match.

First Half

There were warning signs for both sides within the opening minutes of the game. England started strong, with a misplaced backpass almost reaching Alessia Russo before the flag went up for offside. On the other end of the pitch, a heavy touch from Miedema stopped the Dutch from going ahead in the 5th minute.

As the game went on, England began to dominate. Hemp was relentless, running Casparij ragged as her crosses found Russo and James throughout the half. The onslaught continued, and in the 22nd minute it was Lauren James that put England 1-0 up with a beautifully curled strike. The move started with Hampton’s inch-perfect pass reaching Russo, who passed it on to James to work her magic.

England’s press hardly allowed the Netherlands any significant time on the ball, and on the stroke of half-time they doubled their lead. Georgia Stanway’s long-range strike was the perfect way for England to end the first half. The lead was well-deserved, with the Netherlands only having 15 passes in the final third compared to England’s 88. 

Second Half

For much of the second half, we saw the same pattern continue. It was only the offside flag that stopped England going 3-0 up early in the second half after Russo headed the ball into the back of the net, her second goal this tournament to be ruled out for offside. 

As the Netherlands worked to get a goal back, Pelova won the team their first corner of the game. Two more Dutch corners came in quick succession as they quietly grew into the game, but ultimately, it was England that got the next goal.

Some disastrous defending from the Dutch allowed James to complete her brace and extend the scoreline to 3-0. Just 7 minutes later, Russo and Toone combined to put England 4-0 up in a wonderfully worked goal. 

Though the Netherlands increased the pressure in the final 15 minutes of the game, the Lionesses fought to keep their clean sheet and dealt with the Dutch in a dominant display.

Full Time

England delivered under pressure with a resounding win, leaving Group D in an interesting position where there’s a chance of 3 teams ending the group phase on 6 points.