England 1-1 Sweden: Defending champions held in opening Euro 2025 qualifier as Alessia Russo’s first-half header is cancelled out by Fridolina Rolfo at Wembley
- England’s defense of the European title got off to a disappointing start
- Alessia Russo gave England the lead, but Fridolina Rolfo equalized for Sweden
- Jurgen Klopp has the eye of the tiger! He hasn’t seemed so confident since 2019. Listen to the It all starts podcast
If England want to defend their European title in Switzerland next summer, things will have to be better than this.
In the stadium where the Lionesses lifted this trophy, they were clearly reminded that the shine of silverware does not last forever.
This was the Lionesses’ most lackluster performance at Wembley since the start of Sarina Wiegman’s reign, and they were fortunate to escape with a point.
“Of course I’m disappointed, because we always want to win,” Wiegman said.
‘I think we played a tough match against a good opponent. As a team we had to make quicker decisions, pass the ball quicker and we struggled with that.
Alessia Russo put England ahead in the first half against Sweden in the Euro 2025 qualifier
The striker nodded in Lauren James’ clever cross in the 24th minute on Friday evening
‘We scored a beautiful goal. In the second half I thought their goal was really unnecessary. We gave away a throw-in and they scored from it. That was disappointing. We also occasionally had some difficulty with our pressure on them and they did that very smartly. We want to keep the ball longer. At the end of the game we gained more control and were able to get more energy and more attacks. Of course we hoped for a goal.’
The last time England played Sweden was their 4-0 win in the Euro 2022 semi-final, a match remembered by Alessia Russo’s back heel. There was a sense of deja vu as the striker had given the hosts a first-half lead, but the Swedes deserved an equalizer and got one through Fridonlina Rolfo just after the hour mark.
In terms of chances, Sweden should have won this match, but Stina Blackstenius could only shoot wide when she scored on goal.
If England needed any proof that this qualifying group for next summer’s tournament won’t be easy, this was it. The Nations League format means they are drawn against two of the top six ranked countries in the world (Sweden and France) and an improving side in the Republic of Ireland.
But the truth is that with England in League A it is more difficult not to qualify for next summer’s tournament. The top two teams will automatically advance, while the other two countries will face a two-legged play-off with a League C country.
England had come into this match on the back of comprehensive wins over Austria and Italy during a warm-weather training camp in February, but Sweden was always going to provide a sterner test.
Fans hoping for Leah Williamson to make her return to England were disappointed as the defender was only fit enough for a place on the bench. The Lionesses captain has not played for her country since tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in April last year and the wait for that first appearance has been going on ever since.
This was the Lionesses’ first game at Wembley this year but the atmosphere was flat, which was not partly helped by the football for much of the first half. However, the only piece of quality provided the opening goal.
Lauren James skipped past Jonna Andersson and delivered a beautiful cross to Russo, who pounced on the ball to head past Jennifer Falk.
Fridolina Rolfo equalized for the visitors against England at Wembley in the 64th minute
Rolfo sneaked in behind Barcelona teammate Lucy Bronze and headed in at the back post
Sweden’s Stina Blackstenius missed a big chance to secure the victory when she shot wide
But it was a lead that always felt small and just after the hour it was relinquished. It was a well-worked goal from Sweden, but poorly defended by England, as Rosa Kafaji’s cross picked out an unmarked Rolfo to head home at the back post.
Blackstenius should have given Sweden the lead a few minutes later when she was played through on goal, but the attacker could only send her effort wide.
England then had two chances at the other end, when Lauren Hemp and Beth Mead forced decent saves from Falk.
Lucy Bronze had said before this match that winning back-to-back European Championships would be a ‘next-level’ achievement. Before England can even think about that, they have to get there first. On Friday evening it became clear that the road to Switzerland will not be without bumps