If we arent good enough on Wednesday we dont deserve to be in the tournament. The harsh reality from Georgia Stanway will echo around Englands changing room before they take on Netherlands in their vital group game at the Euros.
Lose and they will be on a flight home on Monday morning, becoming the first defending champions to be knocked out at the group stage. It seems like a cliche but there is definitely an extra intensity in training.
Media are usually allowed to film the first 15 minutes of a session the day before a tournament match, which traditionally consists of warm-ups, light runs and basic passing drills. Where England went wrong vs France – and how to fix itEngland fail their first test in Euros defence – and have only themselves to blameEnglands Euro 2025 fixtures and route | Euro 2025 explainerThe day before the Netherlands game, however, things ramped up.
Players were louder, quicker, sharper. Clearly words have been spoken and messages sent. Things need to improve. One talking point that would have surprised England head coach Sarina Wiegman is the discussion surrounding Lauren James.
The Chelsea forward did all she could to recover from a hamstring injury to make the starting line-up against France after more than three months out. Players like James can win games in a solitary moment of brilliance – you cant blame Wiegman for wanting someone of her immense talent in from the start against an exceptional France side.
Theres been so much debate away from the camp about whether James was fully ready to play, whether shed have had more impact from the bench and whether she should be playing centrally or out wide. With Lauren Hemp also coming back from a major injury and Beth Meads form not what it has been in previous seasons, James creativity and fear factor is seen as essential to England creating enough chances against the best in the competition.
James is not seen internally as Englands problem, player errors and a lack of intensity on the pitch are. Netherlands offer a completely different threat to France, with technically gifted players who like to dominate central areas.
Englands game plan will differ but it will be hammered home by Wiegman and her staff in a bid to avoid the many mistakes that blighted the performance against France. If England do stumble, no one will be able to blame the preparation.
The players know what is expected and how they are supposed to go about it. Stanway says she wants the Lionesses to go back to a proper England performance of physicality and grit. It is time to go hard or go home.
