Sweden v England LIVE: Result and reaction as Lionesses qualify for Euro 2025

The Lionesses captain said she was ‘devastated’ for the England men’s team after their 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final but looked for the silver lining that winning a trophy will feel ‘sweeter’ when they finally get over the line.

“Devastated for them, especially knowing some of them personally as well,” Williamson said, “I think what Gareth and his team have done over the last three or four years, reaching finals and giving us that…bringing that dream closer to reality.

“We are very lucky as fans of England, men’s and women’s, to be in that position that we’re in. We didn’t quite get over the line, to a fantastic Spanish team and I know they’ll be devastated about it.

“It will take them a while I think, to get over it. But us as a country, we’ve been blessed with incredible tournaments and when those wins come, which I do believe they will, then they will be even sweeter.”

Gareth Southgate has decided his future. It was described as 50-50 before the Euro 2024 final, but after losing to Spain, the mood was naturally much gloomier.

Part of that was the atmosphere, as much as the painful late defeat. Southgate decided to stay after the 2022 World Cup because he felt the team was in a good place and there was no real issue with a mere quarter-final elimination. England narrowly lost a 50-50 game against France, so the mood towards Southgate was positive.

After this Euros, it was anything but. Throughout the tournament he repeatedly made reference to the fan opprobrium and the beer cups being thrown at him. That will to castigate Southgate – his “professional capability… questioned beyond belief”, as he put it – has similarly sat alongside the wider punditry discussion around the team.

That went from one extreme to another over Euro 2024. Southgate is said to have been irritated by the extent of the criticism from pundits he knows personally.

The Lionesses have faced some criticism for their performances since losing the World Cup final as they have been unable to replicate the ruthless nature of their play that saw them triumph at Euro 2022.

Sarina Wiegman isn’t too concerned and spoke about the evolution her team is going through saying: “We know what we’re working on, we know what direction we want to go in.

“When things go really well we try to stay neutral because we know what we are doing and why we are doing it. And then when things don’t go that well we also stay neutral and keep working on the things it’s good to work on to improve.

“We never play a match to draw, we play the match to win. And if we win the game we might even win the group too. We’re approaching the game to win and we’ll see what happens.”

Despite only needing a draw to secure a place at Euro 2025, Sarina Wiegman says her team won’t be settling and will play to win the match tonight.

Here she is giving her thoughts on the game:

One of the key decisions for Sarina Wiegman tonight is who she picks in goal. Mary Earps has missed the last two matches through a hip injury but is fit to start while Hannah Hampton has proven herself between the sticks against both France and Ireland.

When asked about the goalkeepers, Wiegman siad: “There’s a lot of competitiveness going on in the goalkeeping group but also in the team. There’s a decision to be made for tomorrow and then we don’t see each other for three months so players will play for their clubs and we will see.”

England took one step closer to booking a place at Euro 2025 with a 2-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their Carrow Road qualifier.

Alessia Russo fired the defending European champions into the lead after just five minutes in front of a sold-out crowd in Norwich, undeterred by the soggy conditions and delighted to welcome the Lionesses back for the first time since the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup.

Georgia Stanway doubled England’s advantage with a second-half penalty but Julie-Ann Russell denied the hosts a clean sheet in the fourth and final minute of added time.

England captain Leah Williamson explained that it is ‘really important’ for the Lionesses to qualify for Euro 2025 automatically and avoid the playoffs.

The Lionesses need just one point to secure automatic qualification when they face Sweden on Tuesday evening. If Sweden were to win on Tuesday, the Lionesses would finish third in the group and enter the playoffs this year.

“Obviously we are reigning champions so we want to be at the tournament first and foremost,” said Williamson.

“Securing qualification means you have a year to prepare and know where you want to be. The later you leave it, the more it can have a detriment to your preparations.

“It’s really important to us and that’s why we’re fully focused.”

Friday night’s victory over Republic of Ireland was fairly regulation for England who took a controlled 2-0 lead before conceding late in the game.

It was the fifth goal they have conceded in five matches and captain Leah Williamson said the 2-1 scoreline sounded “a lot closer” than it needed to be.

“When you have not scored that many – in all the games we have played, we’ve had the opportunity to score more – it then makes those moments a bit nervy,” she said.

“That’s when sloppiness can come in or pressurised situations. I don’t think it’s a lack of concentration or trying on our part. It’s just the way the games have gone.

“We could have put the games to bed a lot earlier and Friday was another example of that. Whether that stops us conceding, who knows?”

The England boss spoke in yesterday’s pre-match press conference and touched on the game at Wembley which saw these two sides draw 1-1.

She said: “I think we definitely want to do better than we did at Wembley, we could have executed better than we did and we’ve been working on that and I hope we will improve.

“It’s a good team. Very structured team. Powerful with lots of experience. They can play direct and get behind the defence. We are aware of that and we have prepared. They have to win but that’s what we aim to do too.”

Gareth Southgate has stepped down as England manager after Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.

Southgate’s tenure comes to an end after nearly eight years in charge, guiding England to four major tournaments.

The 53-year-old oversaw 102 matches, winning 61 and losing just 17 during his time in charge, becoming the first manager to lead England’s men to two major tournament finals.