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An increasingly formidable-looking England swept Wales aside to reach the Euro 2025 quarter-finals and send the tournament debutants home without any points, as the Lionesses booked a last-eight meeting with Sweden.
The Lionesses finished as the runners-up in Group D after France’s victory over the Netherlands in Basel, but they will head into the knockout stages with a strong feeling of positivity and optimism after notching up six goals in St Gallen, while Wales gave their loyal supporters a moment to savour when Hannah Cain netted a second-half consolation in front of their red wall.
The result condemned Wales to elimination, although only the most naively hopeful of Wales fans could have genuinely believed they would win this contest by the four-goal margin that was required for them to have any chance of staying in the competition after their losses to the Netherlands and France.
It would be wrong to be too critical of Wales’s results, though, as the draw for the tournament had pitted them against surely the three toughest opponents that any single nation has faced in the group stages throughout the history of this competition.
They have performed with pride in Switzerland but the gulf in quality and major tournament experience has been undeniable. The latter was evident on Sunday as England demonstrated their superior speed of passing, movement and close control in a very one-sided affair.
Having started the match in relatively untidy fashion with a few wayward passes for the first 10 minutes, England were handed a priceless opportunity to break the deadlock when the video assistant referee controversially awarded them a penalty.
The referee Frida Klarlund originally gave England a free-kick on the edge of the box after Carrie Jones tangled with Georgia Stanway, but replays showed that the contact – however minimal it appeared to be – had taken place inside the area. Wales were baffled. England were grateful. Stanway confidently dispatched the penalty low to her left, and from thereon the Lionesses never looked back.
After the game, Stanway told reporters: “It was just about being patient, making sure that we can tire them out, making them run, find the pockets, and it allowed us to get the early goal, which allowed us to set up [take control].”
There was suddenly more of a zip to England’s passing and the goals were soon flowing. After Wales failed to clear their lines, Alessia Russo pounced and slipped the ball into the path of Ella Toone, who saw her first effort blocked on the line but followed up on the rebound to double the defending champions’ lead.
Suddenly Sarina Wiegman’s side were brimming with confidence. Keira Walsh fired narrowly wide and Russo missed a headed chance from a Lauren James cross.
Consecutive England attacks came down their right flank and James was toying with her markers, at one stage simply trapping the ball dead before finding Toone’s overlapping run, and the Manchester United midfielder’s nicely weighted cross was nodded in at the far post by Lauren Hemp.
More neat combinations between James and Toone led to Russo slotting in her first goal of the tournament as the Lionesses coasted towards a 4-0 half-time lead.
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Wales had their moments, Angharad James forcing Hannah Hampton into a low save to the goalkeeper’s left, before Jess Fishlock rolled a shot wide, but by this stage, the result was already beyond doubt.
The nature of the rules for how group positions are ordered if any teams are level of points – which prioritises head-to-head records – meant that goal difference in this match was not going to be a factor in the Group D final standings if England won. So by the midway point, it become somewhat irrelevant whether they won narrowly or by a hatful.
Try telling that to the players on both teams, though. And try telling that to both sets of fans, who had decorated the historic old town centre in St Gallen with their respective white and red flags, banter-themed songs and a good-natured rivalry, bringing a real sense of atmosphere to this pretty, ancient city in north-eastern Switzerland.
Sensing her side were through, Wiegman began to ring the changes, and substitute Beth Mead added the fifth, twisting inside the penalty area before slotting in with her left foot and rushing to celebrate with the rest of the bench.
Fishlock slipped a good ball through to Cain, whose clinical finish temporarily reduced the deficit, but soon the Chelsea striker Aggie Beever-Jones headed in her own first major tournament goal as Wiegman’s team demonstrated their strength in depth as well as their unrelenting determination to continue scoring.
Wiegman was delighted to see her players enjoying themselves, adding: “Six goals and they dictated the game. That is really good to see. The most important thing is that we’re through. We’re out of this very hard group and now we look forward to Sweden.”
