England vs Sweden LIVE: Lionesses result and final score from Euro 2025 qualifier at Wembley
England 1-1 Sweden: Fridolina Rolfo’s header cancelled out Alessia Russo’s opening goal as the Lionesses were held at Wembley
England were held to a draw by Sweden in their opening game of the Euro 2025 qualifiers as the Lionesses began the defence of their European crown with a point at Wembley.
Alessia Russo’s opening goal, set up by wonderful play from Lauren James, was cancelled out in the second half by Fridolina Rolfo’s back-post header.
Both sides had chances to win the match, with Stina Blackstenius missing a one-on-one for the visitors before Lauren Hemp had an effort cleared off the line.
It means the Lionesses face an uphill battle to claim one of two automatic qualifying spots for next summer’s Euros. After a change to the qualifying format, the Lionesses will take on France, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland in Group A3.
England vs Sweden LIVE
We’re edging closer to kick-off in the first game of England’s Euro 2025 qualifying campaign. How important could three points be as England look for a smooth qualification campaign?
Of course, the last meeting between these two sides ended in a 4-0 thrashing, with England getting the win on their way to becoming European champions at Euro 2022.
That game became famous for – among other things – Alessia Russo’s back-heeled goal, which ended up being nominated for the prestigious Puskas Award. Fans will be hoping for a similarly enthralling game tonight.
A reminder of how Euro 2025 qualifying will work
England begin their European Championship defence as the Euro 2025qualifiers get underway - but the Lionesses face a ‘group of death’ on the road to Switzerland.
And changes to the European Qualifiers format means Sarina Wiegman’s side face a challenge to reach the Euro 2025 finals, at least in comparison to their run of one-sided victories in qualifying for the last World Cup.
England will play each other team in Group A3 twice, once at home and once away, across three international windows. In League A, the top two teams in each group will qualify automatically for the Euro 2025 finals, with the other two teams who finish third and fourth going through to the play-offs - even if they lose every game. It means at least one of France, England or Sweden, all semi-finalists at the last Euros, will be heading through to the play-offs.
Here’s how the Euro 2025 qualifying works...
How does Euro 2025 qualifying work? League format and play-off rounds explained
The Lionesses face Sweden, France and the Republic of Ireland in a tough qualifying group
Is England vs Sweden on TV? Channel, kick-off time and how to watch Lionesses tonight
Ahead of the coverage starting at 7:30pm, a reminder of how you can watch tonight’s game.
England have managed to land in the ‘group of death’ in qualifying and will compete for two automatic spots along with Sweden, France and the Republic of Ireland.
The match will kick off at 8pm BST at Wembley. It will be shown on ITV 1 and online on ITV X, with coverage starting at 7:30pm.
Is England vs Sweden on TV? Channel, kick-off time and how to watch Lionesses tonight
The Lionesses return to Wembley to begin the defence of their European crown as Euro 2025 qualifying gets underway
Team news
So England have made one change from the team that beat Italy 5-1.
Lauren James come back into the team, and she replaces Chloe Kelly. Grace Clinton retains her midfield spot after an impressive debut, while Leah Williamson is named in a match-day squad for the first time in a year.
ENGLAND SUBS: Carter, Hampton, Toone, Williamson, Kelly, Mead, Kirby, Daly, Park, Rendell, Morgan, Turner.
Sweden line-up
Here’s how the visitors line-up!
SWEDEN XI: Falk; Lundkvist, Sembrant, Eriksson, Andersson; Angeldahl, Asllani, Olme; Kaneryd, Blackstenius, Rolfo.
England vs Sweden team news
Leah Williamson is not fit enough to start as the captain returns to the bench, with Keira Walsh instead leading the side tonight.
Lotte Wubben-Moy partners Alex Greenwood in defence, while Grace Clinton makes her second England start in midfield.
The front three sees Alessia Russo start up front with Lauren Hemp and Lauren James on the wings.
And there’s lots of attacking firepower on the bench, with Beth Mead, Rachel Daly, Chloe Kelly, Fran Kirby, Ella Toone and Jess Park all options.
Team news! Leah Williamson on the bench
England XI: Earps; Bronze, Wubben-Moy, Greenwood, Charles; Walsh, Stanway, Clinton; Hemp, Russo, James
Lionesses arrive at Wembley
Head-to-head
England actually have a poor record against Sweden despite the recent high-profile wins.
The two sides have met 16 times throughout their histories, with Sweden winning a remarkable nine of these meetings.
Four have ended in a draw, with the other three, including their most recent, ending in an England win.
Sweden last beat the Lionesses in the third-place match at the Women’s World Cup in 2019.
How the teams are faring
England come into this game in fine form, having won four of their last five games, including convincing 7-2 and 6-0 wins against Austria and Scotland respectively. Their last loss came against Belgium in the UEFA Nations Women’s League – a shock 3-2 defeat that contributed to the team falling short of the competition’s knockout phases.
Sweden, on the other hand, start their qualifying campaign off the back of some mixed form. They recently beat Bosnia & Herzegovina 5-0 in back-to-back Nations League games, but before that lost 5-3 to Spain and 1-0 to Switzerland after a 1-1 draw with Italy in the same tournament.
Both teams have performed well in recent major tournaments too, with England losing the 2023 Women’s World Cup Final 1-0 to Spain and Sweden losing to the same opposition in the semi-finals. When the two sides met at Euro 2022, England triumphed 4-0 at the semi-final on their way to winning the trophy.
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