Euro 2025 Preview Part 2: England's perfect warm-up, Wales prepare for history, and our final predictions!

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1:23Welcome to Upfront, I'm Chloe Morgan. And I'm Rachel O'Sullivan. One more sleep left, everybody. It's finally arrived. Welcome to part two of our Year Race preview. And today we're discussing the Lionesses, the rest of Group D, and giving our final, very final tournament predictions. So let's get stuck in.

1:45That sounded very Les Mis. You know, like, one more day. another day another destiny there's never any road to calorie that is 100 percent one more day well it is it's so dramatic we're a mere 24 hours away from the competition that we've all been talking about for the past year finally happening so yeah i just feel like i'm like on the edge of my seat it's like the the evening before christmas type vibes and it's It's so weird because the first game is Iceland-Finland. Sorry, that's the second game played first. And then the second game is the first game is game one, where Switzerland opened to Norway.

2:29And I just feel like the vibes in that game two, which is the first game, is going to be so anticlimactic because everyone's going to be like, we don't want to celebrate yet until it's Switzerland-Norway. It's going to be so weird. So well done. I know you want the host nation to kind of be the opening game, but it's just so funny when two becomes one. God, this is a real sing-songy episode. I wasn't expecting it. Oh, is this how it's going to go down? We've not had one of those in a while and there's a good reason for it. Yeah, I just think it's... I mean, there's obviously a weird way to do it.

3:00I think... I don't know why they've done it. Maybe Switzerland's chosen to have a later game because it works out better for them in terms of the heat and the crowds and the atmosphere, so totally understandable. They did it as well in the World Cup, I think. Well, actually, they had co-hosts, didn't they? So the Australia game, I think, was deemed game one, but it was the second game played. And it's been like the quarterfinals. I got so thrown off with our predictions because the second quarterfinal, like played on the second quarterfinal day, is quarterfinal three. So when I was doing my permutations, it completely threw me because I assumed that the second quarterfinal was quarterfinal two, but it's not.

3:37So, guys, if you're doing permutations or any of that kind of stuff, sweepstakes, just go back and have a quick re-look at it because Q2 and Q3 are not where you think they are. Don't throw into it. You always make it really complicated with the, if this happens, this happens, and this happens, and this happens. I just don't want to, I just want to enjoy the tournament and see what happens. No, no, no, this is not what's going to happen at all because the Lionesses are in absolutely fighting form. So I'm currently sat in Leicester and I've got to give a massive shout out to my girlfriend's family who have put me up for the last few days.

4:12I was going to say, your background is lovely. I did wonder where you were. Yes, thank you. This is Jo and John Slattery's study. Good, strong Irish name, Dash. Yes, John is in fact Irish. Shocking. Yeah, I'm sat in the study at the moment. just yeah having obviously been up here just watching the Lionesses game take place at the King Power Tell me Chloe have you tried out any of the Irish I've been teaching you? No I just don't think that's the right time Give it a try Before you leave you could say Slán or you could say Gura Maha Gutt either of them would impress I don't think it would be impressive the way that I was able to say it though I think it would be quite embarrassing Florence would end things so yeah i think you know you'd be saying so long to Florence yeah i don't want that so yeah um moving so much for that race really appreciate that um let's get back to the lionesses they battered Jamaica 7-0 on Sunday I was there King Power you know I was in the fan zone beforehand couple of cheeky little beers the fan zone was absolutely packed beautiful atmosphere saw Basil on the little roundabout just beside the burger van outside King Power giving it beans there was a long queue of people who wanted to get their photographs and autographs with with basil which was lovely to see they had a DJ on they yeah honestly like he has become like a mainstream like women's football fan celebrity and so he so you bloody well should um but it was really lovely to see sort of like how many people kiss it out and I think they managed to get I think it was like 28 ,000 25 ,000 in the stadium I can't remember the exact number but it was the stadium felt very much sort of like 80 90 percent at capacity it was beautiful day and it was the start that everyone kind of wanted you know the lionesses on the front foot I mean it was I know sort of in the lead up to the game everyone was kind of thinking you know this is what we're gonna this is Serena's kind of final determination of who's going to be in that starting 11 massive talk about Lauren James being able to make her return off the bench but Ella Toon who I'm sorry Chloe, this is my hand stuck up in the air.

6:23I called it last pod. We were talking about starting 11 and I had so many people drop into the DMs and say, are you well, Chloe? Those choices around Neve Charles and Ella Toon, are you feeling all right? Listen, we get that all the time. It doesn't matter who you pick. I mean, I said Jess Carter and everyone told me why that was a terrible idea. Why? Thank you. I mean, Rach, first half, it was a completely dominant performance, I felt, from the Lionesses. They came in confident. They came in strong. it didn't feel like they allowed Jamaica any time on the ball Jamaica I mean I'd love to see the possession stats but the first kind of 30 40 minutes or so Jamaica barely had and any 19 % was it I mean didn't really see Jamaica being able to pick up the ball at all and I think you know there was maybe that unfortunate situation I think it was about 20-25 minutes in where Jamaica did score a goal and I think that was a little bit nervy but at the same time there wasn't there was no panic there was no okay well they've got one back and therefore we should all think this is going sideways and actually the confidence that we had at the first bit of the game is misplaced.

7:25It very much felt self-assured, confident, calm and exactly the kind of performance that we wanted to see a few days before the Euro starts. Do you know what that goal did though? It helpfully highlighted a problem that England have had before and need to be aware of and that is when they feel confident and that they're dominating the game that they can switch off and that is an example of how you cannot do that even if you end up winning a game 7-0 you are fully capable of conceding a goal if you switch off and I think England have done that in the past at times now the difference is I think is that they're not going to face I don't think a situation like that in the group stages I don't think any team I don't think they're going to dominate any of the teams in the way that they did Jamaica and so I would like to think that that switching off won't happen.

8:17But I do think, you know, it's an area that England have needed to work on and continue to still need to work on is defending set pieces. And that was an awkward one. To be fair, it was low, it was flat, went through someone's legs and then the shot went through about three people before it got to Hampton. And, you know, it was awkward, but it is just an area that England need to tighten up on and switch on a little bit in terms of areas of concern. Otherwise, though, fully agree. free-flowing, confident, really nice creative passes, lovely link-up plays between different players. Lauren Hemp is just wonderful.

8:55She is just so fun to watch when she's in full flow and confident. It's incredible how quickly she's come back. There doesn't seem to be any hesitance or rustiness. She's just, I'm back on the pitch, I'm back to 100%. I think it was for the Lucy bronze goal where the ball was going out and she slid along the ground to keep the ball in and just got up and carried on and it just exemplified hemp and her ability on the ball her commitment to running down every ball keeping every ball in and so yeah I was really impressed with pretty much everybody on the pitch I thought had a good game and I thought Alessia Ruzsa was going to have one of those games where she hit everywhere but the bloody goal 100 % she nearly broke the crossbar at one point like I felt I really felt for her by half time I was like she should be you know have three goals by now and sometimes with her maybe if she'd scored a little bit earlier I feel like she would have gotten more but she definitely deserved to get her goal as well I thought Beth Mead played really well you know I really like how she gets back and defends when necessary and she deserved her goal as well there was that moment where she went down and we all held our collective breath especially when it was holding her knee and everyone was just like, huh?

10:10So yeah, I think for me, in any friendly, I remember it was the same during the World Cup watching some pre-tournament friendlies. I think, I can't remember who it was that played each other. It might have been Spain and France or someone like that and was it Salma Bashar someone that went down clutching her knee and we were all like, oh my God, no, like not now. We're like four or five days out from the tournament, like don't. We all thought, she'd done her knee, she came back, she was fine. But it doesn't really matter even if it's England, whoever it is, you just don't want people picking up those injuries in the pre-tournament friendlies.

10:40It's the absolute worst time. So, yeah, there was a couple of moments any time a player went down for more than two seconds that it was like, eee! But thankfully, they all came out unscathed. No, definitely. And I think, I mean, it was definitely one that I think the crowd really like grew into. I think, I mean, there was this like gorgeous moment where they had the fireworks going. There was the sort of fanfare at the start of the game, all the players walking out. There was like, and then there was like sea of like a white and red checkered flag like behind the players and like everyone had like a flag on their seat like there was a massive atmosphere around it and I think what was really nice I think to see England was that it was like very cool and composed performance I mean obviously when you look at the scoreline you're thinking 7-0 god that was an absolute battering and it was it was very much one-way traffic but there wasn't uh there was no rushing to get the next goal it was very much build up play right passes linking up with players kind of creating that movement and like when you look at the cadence of the goals you've got the first one in the 10th minute then you've got 30 second minute that is the cadence beautiful wow isn't it so you've got 10 32 uh 50 45 plus 4 59 71 85 and then 90 plus 6 each one of those goals has made at least there's about like what about eight seven eight six minutes in between each one of those goals happening and it that's how it felt it was just like you knew that the next one was coming but there was a patience and a kind of build-up to the next goal taking place and I think yeah bar that Jamaica goal that was ruled um offside it just felt like it was exactly the kind of performance that everyone needed to kind of have that reassurance and I know Jamaica are not the level of competition that you that England are going to be facing in the Euros but it definitely would have but you know what the headlines would have been had that been a close call or had it been a Jamaica loss it would have been absolutely catastrophic so they did what they needed to do in that game so I've seen interesting comments on social media about this game and to be fair I think if they played a top 10 team people would be saying the opposite because there always just seems to be this desire to be like well here's something negative to say and it was one was I can't believe Serena didn't give more minutes to more players and do more rotation and before a major tournament your final game before your major tournament you're playing your starting 11 that is the whole objective of that game is the confidence is the minutes particularly with key players not having loads of minutes in their legs they needed to be getting those minutes secondly you can argue it one of two ways yes you could play a team that's going to cause you much more of a challenge but by and that that can help you that can help you work things out or equally if you play a team that isn't going to pose the same challenge it allows you to build confidence buying goals in you know both both types of games can provide key momentum before a major tournament.

13:32Secondly, it's very difficult at this stage, particularly with, you know, you can't be facing a team you're going to face, etc. It can be quite difficult to find a team that is in and around. And to be fair, England have played, they've played Spain recently, they have in the last kind of year or so, they have played Germany, They've played the Netherlands a little while ago. So it can be tricky to then try and find those big teams at that exact moment. So I think both types of games, whether one is more challenging or one is a bit easier, they both provide you with benefits going into a major tournament.

14:10No, I mean, it's weird to see that there was so much criticism around the sort of use of squad rotation. This wasn't a game. This wasn't a training pitch game. This wasn't a kind of a game that meant absolutely nothing. and Serena was just there to give people caps. This isn't the time or the place for that. And I think even on the rotation point itself, I mean, she used up six subs. You saw Lauren James coming on, you saw Grace Clinton, you saw Esme Morgan, Chloe Kelly, Agatha Biva-Jones, Niamh Charles come on. She still wanted those players to get minutes because obviously it's important that they do to prepare themselves for whatever might happen, every eventuality that might happen in the tournament.

14:44But she used those subs in a way that felt logical and that made sense with what was happening in the game rather than it just being like, oh, OK, well, at halftime, we'll just change out a shed ton of players just to get them a runabout. Like, that's not the right approach. So I think it was a really well managed game. I think everything like, you know, tactics wise made sense for me. And at the end of the day, 7-0 was exactly the kind of confidence boost that you want going into a tournament, regardless of the opposition. But let's talk then about the opposition that England will be facing in the tournament's group of death.

15:15um Wales Netherlands and France England face France Netherlands and then Wales in their final game on the 13th of July first game on the 5th of July against France middle game against Netherlands on the 9th um we're trying to work out sort of where to be where it would be better for England to be placed not that there's any sense that we'd want you know the lionesses to not go full throttle and go full throttle on certain games to kind of try and navigate and make sure they're in the best place for it um but second or first place we were kind of having this little debate so second means england would likely face germany in the last eight first means they could face spain in the semis um yeah rachel what do we feel about those matchups and which one would you rather us face if you could choose i think yeah if you could choose i think second is probably better or preferred i wouldn't say better they're all going to be hard you know england are going to go into this to want to top the group there's no two ways about it um you know but equally coming second is a very real probability not getting out of the group is a probability because as we discussed this is the group of death so it's an added weight and added pressure going into this um having not one but two um top teams and then a derby a game against wales always difficult at their first major tournament and for Wales it'll be their last game of the tournament it could mean something it could mean if they get points something could happen or for them they might already be out and it's even they've still got that potential to take on England and have an impact on who goes where in the group so there's no easy game in this group and I think it's a different approach and a different mentality compared to say Euro 2022 again not that they were necessarily easy games but a very different profile of team, I would say.

17:13You know, France always scare me ahead of every major tournament because they are such a talented squad. And I think you always expect that this could be their tournament. You're never sure. To think that they've never won a major tournament seems crazy. I think perhaps it's more of a mentality thing with France and they've gone through a lot off the pitch. You know, I think there's a bit more calmness now with Bonaday in the team. But still, you never know with France. You never know if they'll self-implode or if they're just going to have some unbelievable tournament. And having them in the group stage isn't ideal.

17:50The Netherlands, another team who've had a bit of an inconsistent, rocky kind of year, 18 months. I think that 4-0 loss to Germany was really bruising, especially ahead of a major tournament. They've missed key players. They've had Pallova out. They've had Jill Roard out. They've had Vivian Miedema out. I think the fact that they've managed to get her back fit is key because she is an integral part to that team. Lyneth Bierenstein has kind of stepped up in her absence. She's becoming much more effective in front of goal, which is a concern for England. Didn't she score twice when England played in that 3-2 win over the Netherlands a while ago?

18:29You know, they have players in that team who can score goals. And now Vivian Miedema is back. It just adds another level. You know, she came back in her, they're friendly ahead of the tournament, scored two goals in 60 minutes, you know, and that should be a concern for England fans that not only is Miedem a back, but she's backfiring. So, you know, that's a concern. And then, of course, Wales, as I touched on, it's a derby. They're going to want to cause as many problems as possible for every team in this group, but especially England. let's refocus our attentions just for now and then i'll let you run absolutely riot on the green d where we think everything's going to go and of course we've got our predictions coming up um we've got a really good question in for um from even for millie bright who has asked us on instagram who do you think will score the most goals in england during um during the tournament rage like who do you think is going to be the biggest threat um i want to say it's almost like Yeah, I was going to say, it's almost like two questions.

19:29I think Russo should and could be the one racking up all the goals for England. I think England have got a lot of goals in them across the team, as we saw last night. But what player is going to be giving other teams headaches? Russo, even when she's not scoring, she's causing problems. and you saw that last night, her running, her press. My God, her press is so good. There were times where, you know, on the rare foray forward and the ball for Jamaica and then the ball was launched back up. You think, OK, the defenders, the goalkeepers, they have time to play around the back. No, Russo's there putting pressure on the goalkeeper, forcing her to make a decision quickly.

20:04You know, she is going to be causing lots of defences problems and she can score goals. And I think if she gets a goal in the first game, that will do her the world of good in terms of that confidence because she is one of those players that once she gets one, I feel like the floodgates open, the shackles are off a little bit. So her, I think for definite, we can see that goals can come from midfield, from defence. So I actually think the goals could be spread out across the England team. But I would also say I'm not expecting them to score quite as many as they did in the group stages in the last Euros, that's for sure.

20:42No, 100%. That was going to be my point about Russo, is that I think it just takes that one to kind of then make sure, like you said, I couldn't have put it any better that the floodgates open, because I think we saw a little bit of that creep into the game against Jamaica, where it just felt like she was going to score, she was in the right places, she was a toe away, she was centimetres away, she hit the post, she hit the bar, and it was like everything but confer. And I think then it starts to get in your head that you're not going to score those chances. And I think that was a really nice thing to see about the Jamaica game, like six completely different scorers.

21:11and at the same time I mean got to give massive credit and flowers to Jess Carter who nearly got herself on the on the score sheet like early doors in the first like five or ten minutes or so but and I think the goals were coming also from every different section of the pitch you had one from Lucy Brown you had Stanway you had Tune you had Russo sort of every single player is getting involved in those attacking threats that sort of teams have to then deal with and they manage in a completely different way so yeah I do think I think if you're going to put me to the wire in terms of who was going to probably give them score the most goals in the competition out of the England squad yeah 100 % you'd be expecting that it was going to be Alessio Russo Tooney I think given based on her performance with Jamaica I think would be up there but yeah it's going to be I don't know there's a there's a lot of threat I think in that and that attacking line I'm super excited to see that all come together um obviously the weight of the world is kind of on their shoulders they're expected to progress they're expected obviously to get out the group stages but they're expected to go far into the tournament if not win it again like that you can't shy away from that kind of expectation there do we think that's going to be a bit of a hindrance do we think actually it's gonna you know galvanize them to do something that no one's you know that they've never done before i i don't think that's as big of a thought in camp as it might be for the rest of us um you know i think particularly for those of us reporting on the game i would like to think, recognise the context around this Euros, recognise how much the game has grown since the last Euros, recognise the journey that England have been on for the last kind of two years since the World Cup.

22:48I mean, the fact that they got to, won the Euros and then got to a World Cup final is incredible. They've had key players out over kind of that period. There's been a bit of ups and downs in terms of form and a lot of that is down to the growth of the game across the board, which we saw at the World Cup. So I don't think for them, like they want to go and win it for sure. But I don't think they're sitting there thinking, oh my God, like we're defending champions. Everyone's expecting us to win it again. Because realistically, I don't think everyone is expecting them to win it again. Because there's so many teams now who legitimately could win this tournament.

23:21Spain, the favourites. France could do it. Germany could do it. Sweden could finally break that mould and actually win a major tournament for the first time in a very long time. given the players they have. And they've got players who are coming to the latter stage of their careers. It's probably their last major tournament. It's going to give them that extra impetus. There are teams that can cause upsets along the way. So I think they know in camp how difficult this is going to be. This is entirely different to the last Euros when they were the home host nation. They definitely had an easier group, for sure.

23:56The momentum they gained because of that group kind of influenced the quarterfinals, the semi-finals and it's a just a different beast this time around because but then equally if they get out of the group they'll look back and say we just got out of the group of death and that could be the momentum they need so I don't think that's necessarily a focus for them and I think they'll be very good at managing expectations in camp and I think in terms of galvanizing I imagine the kind of discourse around the team over the last few weeks with players out and that kind of stuff will hopefully be the galvanizing effect that they need.

24:33No, definitely. And I think you also have to take into effect that, you know, a lot of the teams kind of going into these tournaments will have a big support network around them. They know what kind of goes into, you know, going into a major international tournament and now going into it as the sort of reigning champions. Like they do a lot of work and preparation and mental preparation around sort of dealing with highly pressurized environments and dealing with, you know, pressure from the fans. We've seen, you know, obviously a number of the players want to take a step away from social media and there is that imposed kind of embargo on, you know, players putting out content and things, kind of take themselves away from, you know, the external noise and just to focus on every day and every single game in the competition.

25:08So, yeah, I have to agree with you that, you know, obviously there is, there's always going to be internalised pressure because you want to perform to the best of your abilities, especially for some of these younger players going into the competition. It's their first chance on the world stage. You know, we've seen competitions make names out of young players. So, you know, there's going to be a bit of an expectation on them too. you know people like aggie beaver jones grace clinton like people are really looking forward to seeing what these people can do on you know on a big stage like when they've got sort of like the whole world watching them so yeah it's gonna be an exciting one but i've got to agree i mean you've already achieved history to do it again second time round is would be absolutely unbelievable but we do have a really really big question to kind of finish this session on vache and i really want to set it up because you know really think about this carefully and you know put in the consideration that it deserves um awesome question from libby she said who do you think has brought the most luggage to switzerland i think ella toon rache give your thoughts i think lauren hemp i reckon her bag is full of lego lego that's your that's your answer yeah lauren hemp and her bags of lego um i've i've had to carry lego home for my brother for christmas and i was like you know what I'll just take it out of the box it'll be fine like you know it was a big friggin Chewbacca lego and there was about 37 individual bags so I ended up having to my entire backpack and every little nook crevice cranny and pocket were just filled with all these little lego bags I can't imagine what it looked like going through security so it does take up quite a lot of space.

26:38No I think that's a really fair there's a lot of rationale behind that I appreciate that I would have gone with either Lauren James or Leah Williamson I think just from a fashion perspective I'm expecting them to absolutely nail the outfits. Where are they going to be wearing them? Yeah, but you do have some downtime, depending on the gaps, obviously getting out of the group stages in between the quarterfinals and the semifinals, they will be allowed some time out of the camp. And especially if they win the tournament, want to stay out there for a little bit, want to go off to another holiday to kind of take some time away.

27:07They don't have long before the WSL starts. It's hard, isn't it? Do you go and pack for four weeks or do you pack for two weeks and then go, Oh, crap. I need to do a wash. Jinxed it. Okay, well, Libby, let us know why you think it would be Ella too, because she kind of, I don't know, she feels like a fairly light packer to me, but I want to understand your rationale behind that. And also, audience members, definitely let us know if you have any other thoughts on who you think could be the biggest packers. We did have a chat with the players at the media day, and one of my questions was what the key thing in the suitcase case is going to be for um for players and ella toon said that she has a pillow with a picture of her dad's face on it and that's going to be coming with her and that's going to be um the thing that gets her through so i thought that was really sweet oh don't mate that's actually quite emotional i love that coming up after this we discuss wellsie's chance and check in with the french and the dutch

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28:58You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. And you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash start now. That's growtherapy.com slash start now. growtherapy.com slash start now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

29:47England's first opponents, France, are hot on a bit of a run of form at the moment. Won all of their six matches this year and conceded just two goals. They're obviously the opposition that we faced first off. on the 5th of July. As we discussed a few weeks ago, the France manager has made some huge calls, absolutely monumental calls, dropping some very big names. But they do have huge attacking talent. I mean, we've seen Sandy Baltimore with Chelsea this season run absolute riot up the pitch. PSG's Grace Guiaro on England. We know it's a very great nation and we are prepared for that, but we must look them straight in the eye so that we do not lower our heads.

30:28I mean, yeah, obviously. Yeah, it's very poetic and very, yeah, very profound. Guys, just don't overthink it. It's fine. I don't think it needs to be that deep. That deep, do you know what I mean? It's not battle, it's football. You've got to be able to see the ball as well, you know, which is down at your feet, like, you know, so. Shall not look down at any time. Play the ball on the ground, guys. You'll be grand. What are you expecting from France, Rach? what do you think are the kind of things that England should be most looking out for? Because, I mean, like we said there, the run of form from France has been fierce.

31:05It kind of feels like they're in a period of transition, but in a good way, kind of, you know, changing of the guard, essentially, sort of, you know, not getting rid of the older names, but bringing in sort of like fresher, younger talent and kind of, I don't know, rejuvenating the France squad. I think like time and time again, we see France sort of underperforming in major international tournaments. You know, we've seen them, you know, develop tactics that are very samey, kind of going out all guns blazing in the first half, dropping off a little bit. I mean, everyone kind of knows what to expect, I suppose, from your Wendy Raynards.

31:34And now, you know, you're kind of there's a new wave, a new energy in the France squad. Do we think that poses a bit more of a threat? Yeah, it can do. It can be a little bit of an unknown with a new manager, a new captain, you know, some key players missing that you feel were important to the way that they played. you know even just from a set piece perspective not having wendy reynard and and this quote that he's come out with about you know the definition of insanity or whatever is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results and he could have nailed it he could be absolutely right he could make these changes and this could be the thing that wins france their first ever major tournament um i think they you're right they come out fast they are a very fast team you know they just beat Brazil 3-2 in a pre-tournament friendly you've got your Melvin Mallards your Kelly Gago your Dianney your Toto Sandy Baltimore you know all in flying form and very scary up front but equally we've seen France not turn up in big moments I think back to that Nations League final against Spain you know so it is about the mentality it is about how they turn up it is just as it's a difficult group for England is a very difficult group for France as well.

32:49You know, I think England and France both have the benefit of having beaten each other once in the last kind of year or so because obviously England had France in their Nations League group previously where they won one and lost one. So yeah, I think with the new manager, it'll feel like a clean, fresh slate. Maybe that's how they're going to approach this tournament is that like, we've got the new manager, we've got the new captain, we're fully locked in this is a new France we're going to approach this differently and we're going to go and win it um but yeah a tough game to for any team to start against the defending champions is always going to be really tough 100 % and I think um yeah it's definitely going to set the tone for how the rest of the tournament goes um but then talking about sort of like how we then get from France to then the last group stage game Wales England and Wales going up against each other two home nations big big test obviously Wales you know entering their first major tournament there's been so much kind of celebration around how historic this has been for the Wales squad and how much it means to them and sort of they are going into the competition as underdogs they're like their lowest they're the lowest ranked team in the draw and they obviously face Netherlands on Saturday but there's just a kind of um I said there's such a good feeling around there's a good vibe around the Wales squad going into this like the the way that their the players names were announced and kind of like you know how historic that moment was and they finally realized that they were going to be going into the competition and all the buzz around the Wales squad like it feels huge it feels like also you know fans in the UK have kind of two teams to celebrate going into the competition um but at the same time so much conflict there the England Wales obviously face each other and Wales could be the blocker to England progressing dare I say like that that is a possibility.

34:39But yeah, I mean, you look at the sort of Wales squad and you look at the talent they have. I mean, do we think the midfield is going to be key? You've got Jess Fishlock, you've got Angharad James, Sophie Ingle obviously making the squad as well. I mean, do you think that's kind of where the games are going to be sort of, I suppose, won and lost and drawn in this competition? I think Jess Fishlock will absolutely be key for Wales. I think they'll They'll need to work on managing the emotion of the occasion, which is something you don't know how to do until you do it for the first time. So I think that's something Wales will need to think about.

35:15The fact that the England game is last is probably beneficial because they'll have found their feet by the time that game comes around and they won't need any extra motivation coming up against England. But yeah, this is going to be a huge tournament for them facing the Netherlands first. I don't think I've seen that Wales had any pre-tournament friendly, which I think is interesting. The Netherlands have. The Netherlands have come off the back of a win. So it is interesting in that respect where they are from a footballing perspective and how fresh maybe they're feeling. But equally, Wales might want to be saving it all up for the tournament.

35:54So yeah, it's going to be an interesting one. this always seems to happen when a home nation gets into a major tournament England had Scotland in their group in the 2017 Euros they had Northern Ireland in their group in the 2022 Euros and now they have Wales in their group you could see it coming before the draw was even made I knew Wales and England were going to face each other and maybe that's something Wales can use actually is that extra motivation in that final game, wherever they are. Listen, like I said earlier, they could be on the cusp of something by the time they come to that game and need something out of it.

36:34Or they could know that they could have a say in who progresses out of the group. So either way, it's just all added fuel and added motivation to what will make for a very entertaining final game. 100%. And I think obviously there's so much emotion around Wells at the moment. I mean, Fishlock has said in the build-up, we've shown we can compete. Rianne's made us very adaptable. We can change our style depending on who we're playing and we understand all the different systems so well. We're such a tight knit group. We chat all the time. That closeness definitely pushes us on. And I was sort of messaging Josie Green over the weekend.

37:07Yeah, she's one of my good mates from the old Spurs days back in the day. And she was sort of saying how much excitement there is around the team, like how, you know, yeah, obviously there's always a bit of nerves for anyone going into the competition. But, you know, obviously having like friends and family out there and it just being such a historic occasion, like regardless of what happens. So, yeah, I really am wishing them the best of luck because it's just good vibes around that squad. And I just want to see how they can get on, to be honest. And I don't think we should underestimate them by any means at all.

37:36OK, talking of then the last team in Group D, the Netherlands, a strange qualifying campaign. So they won only two games and scored just four. However, they only let in for two. I mean, they're solid. we did have a situation obviously in the 2023 World Cup where Viviane Miedema missed it but now she's back in business since that tournament the Netherlands have developed a range of young talent too you've got Esme Brutz at Barcelona as well as Chelsea's Viga Kaptein and Verle Berman I mean Rach what do you make of the Netherlands and the kind of threat that they're going to pose not just to England but I suppose the rest of Group D?

38:16Yeah I mean not like the best preparations in the Nations League. And again, as I touched on, they were managing injuries. I think the fact that Lineth Bierenstein has really found her shooting boots in Miedema's absence just gives the Netherlands another weapon. It's a bit awkward because I think they know that this is Janker's last tournament and I'm not sure him leaving was something he wanted. So that's a little bit awkward, I think. they've got plenty of experience in the squad so I expect them to be able to manage these kind of big occasions but I just find they've been inconsistent of late and it makes it hard to again read if they'll turn up, how they'll turn up I think the Wales game opening for them will be really important for them to go and try and get the three points will be a massive target and I think again, yeah, getting Miedema back will give them a huge boost ahead of this tournament That's not to say that she's their only good player.

39:19She's not, obviously. But I think when she was not there, there was a very big Vivian Miedema-shaped hole. So the fact that they've been able to get her back, that she came back, she captained the team in their friendly and scored two goals. That's all the kind of confidence you need going into a tournament. But again, when England play Netherlands, it does feel a bit like a derby because of Serena Wiegmann. And, you know, especially now that Arjen Wierink is replacing Andres Jonker, it's again going to be a bit awkward on the sidelines there. But there always seems to be like just an extra edge in the Dutch games.

39:54And like France, England have played the Dutch twice in the previous Nations League and won one and lost one. So both teams know they can beat each other. So, yeah, this is why this is the group of death, I think. Oh, 100 percent. And I think we'd be remiss to mention the fact that the Dutch fans were such a massive part of the Euro 2022, absolutely bringing the vibes at the stadium. So expecting more big things from them as well. Massive Dutch contingent. And as well, I think everyone I seem to be speaking to recently saying how they're going out to Switzerland from an English perspective. So I do think like the Dutch clash with like the Dutch and England fans together, I think is going to create one of those like Sweden, Denmark moments as well.

40:34So looking forward to seeing that and the atmosphere there. Viv was asked by a Dutch reporter after their match about facing Beth. Very direct questions from the Dutch, which I thought was interesting. Initially calling Beth Mead her wife and then correcting herself and saying girlfriend. The reporter did, not Beth. And not Viv. But basically asking if they talked about it and if they'd shared any tactics and all this kind of stuff. And Viv was very much like we have an unspoken rule where we don't talk about that kind of thing. like obviously we talk about how we're feeling and whatever else but we don't tend to talk about tactics so yeah that is going to be another interesting matchup that's for sure no definitely um okay Rach coming up after this our final tournament predictions time to put your flag pole thing in the sand

41:36okay andy has asked us on blue sky if we had any bold predictions for this tournament and it is absolutely that moment in time that we have to find outrage it is that time yeah really bold positions i can give you a bold one but i don't think it's going to be any of these questions oh well do you know be creative um can i tell you what my bold one is can i give you my bold one first god i've not even asked the question no because i know that the question isn't in there the golden boot okay go on then and I got so much I got so much shit for this Stina Blaxtenius do you I got so and someone accused us of being Arsenal fans because we said that I was like I'm looking at Sweden and she's just like she scored a hat trick against wasn't it against Denmark she scored there in their recent win over Norway and she scored in the Champions League final maybe she's finally cracked the offside stuff and this is her moment as Martine McCutcheon said this could be her moment so there's a bold one the rest of my predictions I don't think are that bold well well let's see first off dark horse what we say in Italy why I think they've quietly gone about their business I think they've shown they can cause top nations problems I think if they come second in their group they could face the winners of group a who i think would be norway and i think italy could take which would then potentially see them going to a semi-final okay nice i like that i think um this isn't going to be a very popular opinion but i think wales um i do think they have enough talent in that squad to cause disruption and i think there is something really spicy about going into your first international tournament we saw the same thing with ireland and the world cup like you've made history yes but you want to get your first goal at a tournament you want to get your first points at a tournament you want to get your first win at a tournament like you want all of those things to still like you don't know when the opportunity is going to come back around again so it's not I wish that Wales was in another group and I wasn't having to say like I do think they could cause some disruptions but I do think Wales have it in them and especially where that last game could be the game that kind of defines England's futures which is it creates a whole host of different conflict in this country about what should happen but um yeah my dog horses I think are definitely wows okay not not the best one then to lead on to but how far do we think england will go in the competition i think if they get to the semi-finals it's a success okay i think they're in the group of death i think every team has come on leaps and bounds and i think you know they could potentially face spain if permutations go the way we think in the semi-finals So I think if they got to a semi-final, that should be considered success.

44:22It won't be. If they don't win it, it will, I'm sure, be deemed a failure. But that's where I think. I do think, I mean, we talked about the expectation and sort of what it would be like to win another European tournament back to back, which is obviously just outside the realm of like, you know, that's such a massive expectation on a country. But at the same time, I suppose, when you've gone from winning the Euros 2022, getting into the final of the Women's World Cup, but then going into this tournament now there's the expectation that's been created I suppose by the success of previous tournaments so I think anything less than getting into final probably won't be seen as a successful one in the competition I think that will be the view or the perception of it I don't think it's the right one but I do think there will be that perception that we seem to have dropped off or standards seem to have gone down or we've dipped in some way and I don't think it's never anyone else has gotten better it's it's just England have gotten shit yeah it's it's we have dropped yeah yeah completely we've all fallen to crap you know all the turbulence around the squad you know before the game that must have before the tournament started that must have contributed to things has Serena lost it like all those narratives that we see are gonna gonna crop up in the competition at some point um yeah so I think I think I think for me personally I think success would be the semi-finals I think we're good enough to get there and we have the talent I think anything below the semi-finals I think I would be thinking that's not a successful tournament for the lionesses and I think where they're at with the players that they have but I do think the mainstream view is going to be that if it's not final it's it's not it's not quite good enough and what's funny is we all talk about the Euros in the World Cup and I know we don't put the same weight on the Nations League but there's essentially been two Nations Leagues since the World Cup which England did not get out of their group for twice well they didn't get to progress to you know the latter stages of of that tournament if you like And that just seems to be forgotten because, you know, there's two tournaments right there that they haven't gone as far as they would have liked.

46:14They missed out on a potential Olympic spot. So, you know, you have to factor that in as well. And everyone else has gotten better. True story. That is the sensible, pragmatic view, 100%. Okay, the last and the tastiest question. Who is going to win the whole tournament? Spain. I think Germany will go far as well. oh god this this causes so much like actual moral conflict um we need to do this after like the first round of games where we can see where everyone is at um do you know what touch wood i think it's going to be england i think the um i don't know whether this is just naivety or stupidity or just blind hope i just yeah i'm gonna i'm gonna go england england for me spain for you and I think one of those is probably going to be it's a 50-50 I think going into this competition I think probably on balance my head is saying more Spain but my heart is saying England so I'm going to settle for heart on this one okay Rach we have done it we have finished our build up podcast before the Euros we have completed another pre-tournament run the next pod that we have is going to be in and amongst the action of the Euros you're obviously out there on the ground I cannot be more jealous of the position that you're in you're going to be our ears and eyes on all the drama wishing you the best of luck in covering this tournament going across the country and being amidst all the best and most magic parts of the tournament thank you very much looking forward to catching up with you once it's all beginning soon we're obviously back on Thursday to react to the opening day remember to make sure that you hit subscribe so that you never miss an episode throughout the Euros also hit the link in the show notes to join our official Euro 2025 fantasy football league it's so simple and it works just like the WSL edition pick your 15 players before that first game kicks off tomorrow at 5pm and get yourself involved also subscribe to us on YouTube too as we'll be releasing our match reaction episodes on there throughout the tournament rachel thank you so so much and enjoy the opening games mate and that last swiss beer before the chaos unfolds thank you i'll be the same i'll be the same

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