Euro 2025 Tips Day Eight Tipsheet: Back the Lionesses to roar back to life

• England started slowly in last two major tournaments...but won second game

• Roord a threat from midfield for Dutch

• Hot-shot Katoto to keep Wales under pressure

England v Netherlands

Wednesday 09 July, 17:00
Live on BBC One

In the build-up to this make or break game for the Lionesses, midfield stalwart Georgia Stanway summed up the mood by declaring that the time for talk is over, and it's time for the defending champions to step up and show their quality. England were outmuscled and at times outplayed by France in their opening 2-1 defeat, and although they were desperately unlucky to see an early Alessia Russo goal ruled out for offside, the loss was probably deserved.

It's not just the players who have a reputation to protect. Manager Sarina Wiegman has at least reached the final of the last four major tournaments she has been involved in, and her assistant Arjan Veurink will become the boss of the Netherlands after this tournament. The pair won this tournament with the Dutch in 2017, and they know Wednesday evening's opponents inside out.

The Netherlands looked sharp against Wales, but it's difficult to judge how good they are after facing such inexperienced opponents. It's worth remembering that Andries Jonker's side came into this tournament in poor form, having won just three of their six games in the Nations League and having squeezed through qualifying with a record of two wins in six.

England were slow starters at Euro 2022 (they laboured to a 1-0 win over Austria) and at the World Cup in 2023 (they edged out Haiti 1-0) but they won their second group game on both occasions. I still believe in this vastly experienced and talented coaching team, and while the squad chemistry doesn't seem as strong as it once was, there is an enormous amount of talent that England can bring to bear.

I'll back England to take maximum points in what is pretty much a must-win game at 1.84/5 on the Match Odds market. They have a number of players who just won the Champions League with Arsenal, and a lot of the Euros-winning squad can call upon their experiences of dealing with pressure here. I'm not convinced this Dutch team is as good as Wales made them look.

I'll also back the Nethlerlands' Jill Roord to have a shot on target at evens. The former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder was a constant menace against Wales, and her record in recent major tournaments is worthy of respect.

Roord had at least one effort on target in two of her three starts at the last Euros, while at the World Cup she hit the target in three out of five, scoring four goals. If you look at her last ten starts for Manchester City in the WSL (she has since gone home to join Dutch side Twente), she hit the target in seven of them.

France v Wales

Wednesday 09 July, 20:00
Live on ITV 1

Although Wales went into their first ever major tournament match with a reputation of being stubborn and hardy opponents (they had lost by a multiple-goal margin in just one of their last 20 internationals), they found the Netherlands too hot to handle.

The Dutch had 18 goal attempts, six of which were on target, and three of which were goals. Had Andries Jonker's team not been denied several times by the woodwork, the margin of defeat could have been even worse.

Wales boss Rhian Wilkinson admitted her side has to be even more disciplined and determined this time around, keeping the shape and being prepared to suffer. She admitted Wales had been trying to get to half time with a blank scoresheet before opening up in the second half, but a stunner from Vivianne Miedema just before the break shredded that gameplan.

France will also be formidable opposition, and Les Bleues fully deserved their win over ragged England. After surviving an early scare, Laurent Bonadei's side showed their attacking quality, with Delphine Cascarino, Sandy Baltimore and Marie-Antoinette Katoto all running riot.

With Wales expected to be on the back foot here and the market fully expecting a sizeable French win, we have to be a little creative, and I'll back the in-form Katoto to have three shots on target at 6/42.50. The PSG striker managed exactly that in the Olympics against both Colombia and Canada, and she scored three goals across those matches. She also hit the target twice against England, and France will be applying pressure from the get-go as they seek the win that would leave them on the cusp of qualification.

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