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Sweden v England: Line-ups, stats and preview

Defending champions England take on Sweden in the quarter-finals of the Women's Euro 2025. Read our in-depth preview here...

Written by Jon Fisher
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Sweden v England: Line-ups, stats and preview

 

Preview for Sweden v England

England’s defence of their European Championship title faces another stiff examination tomorrow night when they take on in-form Sweden in Zurich.

Sarina Wiegman’s side overcame a sticky start to finish second in Group D and will now meet the Group C winners, who come into the game on the back of a 4-1 thrashing of Germany.

The Lionesses regained their mojo following a sub-standard performance and 2-1 defeat to France in their opening game in Switzerland with impressive back-to-back wins over the Netherlands (4-1) and Wales (6-1) to progress, but the Swedes are likely to pose bigger problems.

England midfielder Ella Toone raised the stakes further by declaring their last-eight opponents should be “scared”, comments that have raised eyebrows in the Sweden camp.

Defender Magdalena Eriksson said: “Absolutely not scared, but we have respect for the opponent.

“We always have and the fact that we respect and analyse all opponents in the same way is a big success factor for us. All opponents have top qualities but also weaknesses and we will analyse them.”

Eriksson hinted England were prone to over-confidence but believes the defeat to Les Bleues did them a favour.

She added: “They got a real lesson from France. It can be good when such matches come early in a tournament, that you understand that you have to come down to earth again and be a little humble and examine yourself. 

“It felt like they really did that before match two against the Netherlands. Then they go out and look like a new team. It can be an advantage for them that they have received that slap in the face early and have been able to learn from it and be a little more humble about it.”

Unlike Toone, England captain Leah Williamson appeared to have got the memo and the Arsenal defender was quick to talk up the Swedes.

She said: “Sweden’s previous results at tournaments are incredible. They are relentless when it comes to tournament football.

“I do think they deserve a little bit more recognition.

“When you have a team who work for each other like Sweden, then you don’t need to necessarily have a crazy standout threat because everyone plays their roles.

“They are hard to prepare for in that sense. The discipline for them all to complete their jobs on the pitch makes them a dangerous side.”

For England to progress to a meeting with either Norway or Italy in the semi-finals, Williamson will have to keep Sweden striker and Arsenal team-mate Stina Blackstenius quiet.

Blackstenius scored the only goal as the Gunners beat Barcelona in the Champions League final in May and the 29-year-old will spearhead the Swedish attack.

Williamson added: “Stina is an incredibly powerful footballer. She’s very intelligent with her runs. She’s a hard player to play against in that respect.

“We were celebrating her success at Arsenal – but not so much now! She’s a great player and she has been for many years now. Her experience speaks for itself.

“It’s different [to] playing each other in training with restrictions. It’s rare that I get to play against Stina in this setting. I enjoy it, and I like Stina.

“It’s tough to remove all of that. You don’t want to focus on it too much and there’s lots of things that come into play when you play against a team-mate, but I think I’ve known Stina long enough that I know who she is and it’s time to focus on us.”

Women’s Euros Free Bets – Best Betting Sites For Sweden vs England

Team News for Sweden v England

Fridolina Rolfo made her return against Germany and will likely keep her place in the Sweden attack.

Julia Zigotti Olme could return in midfield at the expense of Hanna Bennison.

Wiegman is almost certain to name an unchanged England side with Lauren James continuing to star on the right side of a forward three.

 

Predicted line-ups for Sweden v England

Sweden: Falk; Holmberg, Björn, Eriksson, Andersson; Angeldahl, Zigiotti Olme; Rytting Kaneryd, Asllani, Rolfö; Blackstenius

England: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Toone, Walsh, Stanway; James, Hemp, Russo

 

How to watch Sweden v England: TV and online streams

Sweden versus England kicks off at 8pm tomorrow night and can be watched live on BBC1 and streamed on the iPlayer.

 

Stats for Sweden v England

  • Sweden have won six of their past seven games in the competition with the only defeat a 4-0 hammering by England in the semi-finals of Euro 2022
  • The teams have met twice since then with both games ending as draws

 

Prediction for Sweden v England

For all Toone’s confidence, England will hold no fear for Sweden.

This could be extremely tight but it may be the Lionesses’ experience in major tournament games gives them the edge.

Prediction: Sweden 1-2 England

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