Key events
Norway have booked their place in the quarter-finals and secured top spot in Group A, although they are yet to really hit their stride. Another unconvincing 2-1 win, this time against Finland in Sion, was sealed courtesy of an own goal and a cross-cum-shot from Caroline Graham Hansen that bounced in off the back post. Sophie Downey was there for us:
Last night’s defeat in Bern has sealed the fate of Iceland, who become the first team to exit Euro 2025. It’s a disappointing outcome for a side who perhaps expected to reach the quarter-finals without much fuss – they are the highest team in the group (14th) in terms of world rankings (Norway 16th, Switzerland 23rd, Finland 26th).
And it’s a shame the knockouts won’t be graced by the presence of the very noisy travelling Icelandic contingent. At least they can earn some Nordic bragging rights against Norway on Thursday.
Iman Beney is fast becoming Euro 2025’s breakout star. The 18-year-old, who joined Manchester City from Young Boys last month, had her very own Raheem-Sterling-in-Manaus moment when her spectacular half-volley from distance hit the top corner of the side netting, making half the crowd think she’d scored an early contender for goal of the tournament
I think we can imagine Swiss commuters heading to work with a spring in their step this morning after the hosts sparked their tournament into life with a 2-0 win against Iceland in Bern. A fair amount of relief greeted Géraldine Reuteler’s breakthrough goal in the 76th minute but the celebrations could really start after Alayah Pilgrim’s late deflected strike gave them a cushion. Louise Taylor has the lowdown:
Saturday’s results put France and the Netherlands in charge in Group D. Les Bleues pulled off their statement win against England without their injured captain Griedge Mbock. Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore were on the scoresheet in an especially impressive first-half display but their manager, Laurent Bonadei, is keeping their feet on the ground:
We can do better every time. We have to improve in each department of the team, in defence, in midfield and offensively
The comfortable result against Wales will come to the relief of the Dutch manager, Andries Jonker, who got in a bit of a pickle before the tournament got under way. After it was announced that his contract would not be renewed after Euro 2025 in January, Jonker said last week that he had considered quitting anyway. Journalists accused him of creating a ‘puppet show’ in the buildup to their opening game. He was not impressed:
These women have given everything in 2025. Everything. And we have done that together. You people are all here today and this is thanks to us. To these women. The royal family will be there. And you have the guts to call it puppetry. If you think it’s a puppet show, than you’re entitled to your opinion. You are insulting the players. I have never seen you at training sessions and you’re asking the players if they will believe the puppet show
Saturday also saw Wales make history by taking to the field for the first time at a major tournament. Goals from Vivianne Miedema, Victoria Pelova and Esmee Brugts made it a tough afternoon for the Euro debutants but their manager, Rhian Wilkinson, remained proud of her team:
We’ve got two more games and we’ve got to show up. We’ve got to cut out the defensive lapses and create more but my players have put in a massive shift, they’ve run their socks off
First to England, who got off to a rocky start on Saturday night with their 2-1 defeat by France in Zurich. Sarina Wiegman’s squad remain bullish about their chances of progressing through what is surely the group of death. Their next group match against the Netherlands on Wednesday is now a must-win. Suzanne Wrack is in Zurich and has been hearing from Lauren Hemp:
I love playing in football matches where we need to win – they’re the games you want to be involved in
Preamble
Hello and welcome to day six of Euro 2025. We’ll be building up to the second round of fixtures in Group B later today, while also taking a look back at an emotional night for hosts Switzerland after their exploits against Iceland. We’ll also keep track of goings-on in the England camp before Wednesday’s crunch game against the Netherlands.
Many people’s tournament favourites, Spain, are in action at 5pm (BST) today against Belgium in Thun. Montse Tomé’s world champions got off to a flyer against Portugal in their curtain-raiser and, well, you don’t envy Belgium, who were thrashed 5-1 by today’s opponents in the Nations League at the end of May.
Portugal, on the end of the opening 5-0 trouncing by Spain, look to make amends when they face Italy at 8pm (BST) in Geneva. The two sides haven’t played each other in a competitive setting since a World Cup qualifier in 2018 that Italy won 3-0.
Do feel free to get in touch with your predictions for today’s matches, as well as your thoughts on the drama that unfurled in Group A on Sunday – did Caroline Graham Hansen mean that?
