England 6-1 Wales (Stanway pen 13′, Toone 21′, Hemp 30′, Russo 44′, Mead 72′, Beever-Jones 89′ | Cain 76′)
ST. GALLEN — They will always have the moments they never believed could happen, for two weeks Switzerland morphing into a fantasy land beyond the wildest Welsh dreams. They also long suspected that this was how it would end, England dishing out another thunderbolt performance to shake the continent to attention.
The Lionesses soared into the quarter-finals of Euro 2025 with a 6-1 victory to end a rollercoaster group stage. Wales promised to bring a fire borne of “blood and DNA”, but there is no genetically modifying your way out of a gulf quite this wide.
The script felt pre-written, the tournament’s lowest ranked side showing glimpses of pluckiness and pride, only for errors to destroy what little hope they had.
The foul on Georgia Stanway was arguable – and only marginally inside the box – but there was no question about the finish from the spot for England’s first.
So little has been consistent about the reigning champions’ Euros so far, except perhaps the selflessness of Alessia Russo. After her hat-trick of assists against the Netherlands, Russo wriggled through the back line again to create Ella Toone’s goal.
These are the moments when the split seconds show, the reaction times and instincts that have been drilled into England’s elite. Toone was quickest to Rhiannon Roberts’ clearance to finish the game before it had really become a contest.
Should you care to remember this far back, to the opening game of England’s title defence when they looked on the brink of crashing out, the question was whether Sarina Wiegman had been right to pick Lauren James over Toone. The answer, as is so often the case in England’s luxurious armoury of an attack, is to go with both.
First they came with cloak and dagger, James taking a faint touch to allow Toone to set up Lauren Hemp’s header with an inch-perfect cross. Then they got less subtle. James sent Toone haring into the box to set up Russo for a tap-in.
There are of course caveats, Wales effectively out before a ball was kicked. Yet it still felt like a night when something clicked, England’s travelling fans at their most animated and boisterous. This was the hour that they started to truly believe, albeit against the weakest side they have faced.
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One of the biggest doubts has been over squad depth. Beth Mead beating her marker to score from the bench, before a sixth from another substitute in Aggie Beever-Jones, was an emphatic answer to that criticism. Mead said before this Euros that she was playing for her mum, who passed away shortly after England’s Euro 2022 triumph; she celebrated her goal by pointing to the sky.
Nerves were reserved for the few who were frantically checking the Netherlands vs France score, who could finally rest assured that England would not top the group and thus avoid a trickier potential route to the final featuring Germany and Spain.
The Lionesses could only dictate what was in their control and on that front, they kept it entirely on their terms. Wiegman was determined that it should not descend into a scrap that would allow Wales’ emotional armour to supercharge their fortress. Instead, it was that passion and courage that aided their demise.
As a Canadian, head coach Rhian Wilkinson had joked that she knows what it is to have a noisy and sometimes intrusive neighbour. Painful though it was, however, by facing up to three of the best teams in the tournament her side have learned more than in any qualifier.
Wales bow out of an unforgettable tournament (Photo: Getty)They have belted out Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau in their thousands. With that tear-jerking moment against France, they can say they have seen Jess Fishlock score at a major tournament.
For the army of fans draped in dragon flags and red shirts, that alone would have been enough, even without the ecstasy of Hannah Cain’s consolation, powered past Hannah Hampton.
But even at 38, it is Fishlock who remains the heart and soul of this Welsh team. She made her international debut 19 years ago, three years after the FAW withdrew Wales from Euro 2005 qualifiers because they did not want to fund the trips and gave the money to the men’s team instead.
Perspective. Perhaps they have done enough fighting for now. This is a team that gave everything but found themselves up against the blueprint for their own future. For Wales, this can be their own summer of 2022, a tournament that has gripped and inspired a nation, if they are bold enough to believe it.
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