Women’s Euro 2025 Talk | Sweden thrash Germany and Poland end their tournament on a high
Sweden manage the heaviest ever defeat at a Euros for Germany to top Group C, while Poland win their first ever Euros match.
Goals reigned down on Group C’s games last night as Sweden scored four in a big win over Germany, which was a surprise more due to the manner of the victory rather than the team who won it, especially with Sweden’s Euros record against them. Elsewhere, Poland brought about a terrible end to the Andrèe Jeglertz era at Denmark as they made history in a 3-2 win.
All eyes go onto the last group stage matches overall, and Group D’s encounters tonight absolutely could deliver plenty of drama as all four them do have a chance of qualifying. Some way more than others, but it’s not over till it’s over.
Let’s start with the analysis of last night’s action before previewing tonight’s permutations…
Sweden put four past Germany
What a showing it was for Sweden as they overcame an early setback to then thrash Germany in a 4-1 victory in Zurich. The Stadion Letzigrund has seen some of the more entertaining matches at these European Championships, and this one delivered in that same vein too.
Jule Brand had opened the scoring for Germany after what looked like a very positive start from Christian Wück’s team. However, from there it was quite a collapse that then played out in the first half, beginning with Sweden’s equaliser a few minutes after going behind. Stina Blackstenius scored her second goal of the tournament. Then around 13 minutes later, a slightly fortunate goal from 18-year-old full-back Smilla Holmberg put the Swedes ahead.
Germany were in need of a quick response, but instead things got much worse, and it was the kind of bad moment which not only affected them in the match, but also might just affect them for their quarter-final and beyond if they go further. Carlotta Wamser, who was already standing in for the injured Giulia Gwinn, was sent off after a handball on the goal line. It was a crazy spur-of-the-moment thing that she did and as a result, Fridolina Rolfö scored the penalty to make it 3-1.
The rest of the match seemed to play out fairly calmly with a couple of chances here and there, but the teams were kind of riding things out before Lina Hurtig was off the bench to once again score at these Euros. It’s her second goal of the tournament as well as she proves to be a solid goal-scoring option for later in matches. 4-1 to Sweden was how it ended, which is the largest defeat a German side has ever had inflicted on them at a Women’s European Championship tournament.
Before talking about how good Sweden were, I have to analyse Germany because this was a shocker of a performance in the end. Defensively, it was a fragile state of affairs and it looked like they could concede from most chances going against them in that first half. Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger had a tough night which comes after a few good performances for Germany, yet yesterday saw her make a few loose passes and be quite slow to react when needing to make saves.
This performance makes me wonder how much losing Gwinn has impacted them, and now as we know because of Wamser’s suspension, their defensive options are slim on that right side. It’s going to be a big test now to see how their depth handles these knockout stages, and I wonder if Christian Wück will have to think about a change of shape to best suit what they have now. If they don’t go for a change like that, then it’s likely a centre-back will be made to play out wide as a full-back.
Peter Gerhardsson’s Sweden had a lot of standout moments in this game and much of it was from down that right side. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd was very good for them again as she had involvement in creating chances, and also the key moment which led to the penalty incident, and an assist for the fourth goal. Also, the young right-back Smilla Holmberg deserves some praise as well. It was a good night as well for Fridolina Rolfö on the opposite side as she scored on her 100th Sweden cap.
So Sweden finished top of Group C because of this result and it means they will play in Zurich again when they face the runners of Group D, who we’ll know by the end of tonight who that ends up being. Germany takes second place and await the Group D winners.
"I'm feeling great, earning 100 caps for my national team and also winning and being number one in the group, I could not be happier right now.“
Sweden’s Fridolina Rolfö speaking after the game
"After the red card, we couldn’t get back into the game. At 3-1 down with one fewer player, it was clear we could not come back. In the second half, changing the system, I imagined we could get another chance or two but with the quality of the Sweden team it was impossible. We wanted to finish first in the group, so now we have to analyse that with the players, but don’t forget we were outnumbered for 60 minutes. Of course we are down at the moment but we will shake it off and we will be happy to play the quarter-finals no matter who the opponents are – England, France, or whoever."
Germany coach Christian Wück speaking after the game
Poland’s first major tournament victory
Their European Championships might be over, but Poland will leave Switzerland on an almighty high following their first-ever win at a senior-level major tournament. They beat Denmark 3-2 in Lucerne to end their run in the best way possible, and for Denmark it ends there’s in poor circumstances, especially for exiting coach Andrèe Jeglertz.
Poland even had a bit more of an attacking approach to their game in this one, and it paid off very well as they took the lead in the 13th minute. Emilia Szymczak started the move after intercepting the ball and tried to find Ewa Pajor at the near post. Instead, the ball came to Natalia Padilla-Bidas who fired home her country’s first goal at a major tournament.
The big moments kept coming as Ewa Pajor finally got on the scoresheet when doubling Poland’s lead. Denmark were getting forced into errors and the Barcelona forward made the most of it as she headed in a cross by Natalia Padilla-Bidas past the Denmark goalkeeper Maja Bay Østergaard.
It was a poor first half by Denmark as they barely threatened Poland’s back line, but they did find a way into it in the second half, creating more chances and forcing Poland’s keeper Kinga Szemik into some big saves. One slipped through as Janni Thomson got things rolling from a long-range effort to make it 2-1. Denmark almost had the equaliser, and it was close to being a big moment for Nadia Nadim on what is expected to be her last tournament appearance for Denmark. VAR stepped in and the automated offside system overturned the goal.
It began to look like Poland would lose their chance of victory, but then came a third goal for them as substitute Martyna Wiankowska scored from close range. Padilla-Bidas also assisted on that one as well. It got nervy by the end again however as Signe Bruun made it 3-2, but Poland held on and created some history with their first tournament win.
It’s the first time Denmark have lost all three of their group games at a Women’s European Championship, so it really does signal the time for some fresh ideas I think in this team. There weren’t many positive vibes about them to begin with before this tournament, and it’s fair to say they did not impress. It was an unfortunate end for Pernille Harder as well with no goals at these Euros, and she went off after 25 minutes due to an injury.
Poland meanwhile are exiting with at least some note of positivity. There were some glaring weaknesses which cost them at this tournament, but they will have learned a lot from this experience of being at Euro 2025 and played some top sides as well. They have to take what they’ve learnt now and apply it into qualifying for their first World Cup in two years’ time.
"It was a fantastic match. We waited a long time for it. We wanted to score that one goal, and we scored three. Today I am so proud of my girls and just so, so happy. Those emotions are still with me, and will probably stay with me for the rest of my life."
Poland coach Nina Patalon speaking after the game
"It was not good enough from us, in the first half especially. In the second half we tried to push for goals. It was close, but we are disappointed. We have to get back on track and get some confidence into the team."
Denmark’s Pernille Harder speaking after the game
Group D Games Preview
It is all to play for in Group D with no team completely assured of a place in the quarter-finals heading into today’s games. France are currently the better-placed side, leading the way with two wins, and they take on the Netherlands, with England facing Wales in the other tie.
It’s a more simpler job for France, as a point will be enough for them to go through and also finish as the Group D winners. A defeat however could leave them a bit nervy as Netherlands go level on points with them, meaning it would come down to goal difference, which is currently a five-goal swing that is required in a scenario where France are eliminated.
It is England who are in second place before kick-off because of a better goal difference than the Dutch. Both England and Netherlands have to win to properly assure their place in the quarter-finals, and on paper it is the Lionesses who may have the easier task. But if there is a team that will want to cause an upset and knock them out, it’s Wales because of the rivalry that exists between the two nations.
Wales themselves can technically still qualify for the tournament. However, it would require a huge scoreline win against England, and if we’re being realistic, there’s not really much of a chance of it happening. England are on a high after they revived their knockout stages hopes in the 4-0 win over the Netherlands last time out, but pressure will still be on them to get the job done with their fate in their own hands.
There are no major injury concerns in terms of squad regulars for either England or Wales, however one of Wales’s goalkeeping options Poppy Soper suffered an injury in training, which has meant she has been replaced by 18-year-old Soffia Kelly, who is currently at WSL side Aston Villa.
In the other game Netherlands vs France, how each team could line up will be pretty interesting considering Andries Jonker may want to tweak a few things for the Netherlands after the bad loss in the last game. Also, France’s starting XI could see a few changes after a few players who shone against England in the opener were given a rest for the Wales game. Both of their two goal scorers from the England win Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore were involved from the bench against Wales, so we could see them return into the starting XI for this one.
Who do we think are the two teams that will make it through Group D? You can let us know in the comments below!