England Women will be looking to keep their European Championship hopes alive when they face the Netherlands Women in Wednesday’s fixture in Zurich.

As for the Netherlands, they are hoping to seal their place in the Women’s Euro 2025 quarter-finals with a game to spare.

Match preview

England are already facing the prospect of suffering an early exit in their defence of the European Championship after losing 2-1 to France in their first group game.

Alessia Russo saw an effort ruled out for offside, before Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore scored in the space of three minutes to put France in a strong position at the half-time interval.

Chelsea midfielder Keira Walsh pulled a goal back for England in the 87th minute, but the late strike failed to paper over the cracks of a disappointing performance in Zurich. 

As a result of the defeat, the Lionesses became the first titleholders to lose the opening game of their Women’s European Championship defence.

For Sarina Wiegman, she experienced the first Women’s Euros loss of her managerial career, after she had led the Netherlands and England to glory at the past two tournaments without overseeing a single defeat.

The reigning champions know that their hopes of retaining the title will come to an end if they lose to the Netherlands and France win or draw against Wales.

England may be able to draw inspiration from the fact that they have won three of their previous four meetings with the Netherlands, including a narrow 3-2 Nations League victory in their most recent clash in December 2023.

The Netherlands are dreaming of replicating their success of 2017, when they went all the way in their home tournament to win their maiden European Championship.

Their quest to win the prestigious trophy started with a dominant 3-0 victory over tournament debutants Wales in Lucerne. 

Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal in first-half stoppage time, before Victoria Pelova and Esmee Brugts grabbed a goal apiece in the opening stages of the second period. 

The result represented their fifth victory in seven internationals and their first clean sheet since they thrashed Indonesia 15-0 in October 2024.

Andries Jonker’s side will secure a quarter-final spot if they beat England, and France avoids defeat against Wales.

The Netherlands can take confidence from the fact that they have won their last two European Championship games on matchday two, after picking up a 1-0 win over Denmark in 2017 and a 3-2 victory against Portugal in 2022.

They also enjoyed success in their most recent Women’s Euros encounter with England in 2017, when they cruised to a 3-0 semi-final victory under Wiegman's watch.

England Women Women's European Championship form:

England Women form (all competitions):

Netherlands Women Women's European Championship form:

Netherlands Women form (all competitions):

Team News

Wiegman will surely be tempted to make at least a few changes to the side that failed to deliver in Saturday’s opener against France. 

Niamh Charles is pushing to replace Jess Carter at left-back, while Grace Clinton could be in contention to start in midfield.

Chloe Kelly is an option to freshen up England’s forward line, which could result in Beth Mead dropping down to the bench.

As for the Netherlands, Jonker could decide to name an unchanged lineup after he saw his side breeze past Wales on matchday one.

Goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar will be targeting back-to-back clean sheets when she faces several of her Arsenal teammates, including England striker Russo.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Miedema will be aiming to score in a third consecutive game after netting three goals in her last two international appearances.

England Women possible starting lineup:

Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Greenwood, Charles; James, Walsh, Clinton; Mead, Hemp, Russo

Netherlands Women possible starting lineup:

Van Domselaar; Casparij, Janssen, Buurman, Brugts; Groenen, Van de Donk, Kaptein; Pelova, Roord, Miedema

We say: England Women 2-1 Netherlands Women

England will be determined to right the wrongs of Saturday's defeat, and considering they have won the game that has directly followed their last two defeats, we think they will showcase that resilience to keep their knockout round hopes alive with a narrow victory.

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