Former Arsenal and Everton midfielder Angharad James is determined to beat England and knock the reigning champions out of the Women's Euro 2025. James, who is leading Wales in their first major women's tournament in Switzerland, spoke about the rivalry that the two countries share, while claiming that is in their 'blood and DNA' to knock the Lionesses out of the competition.
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- James issued a rallying war cry ahead of facing England
- Wants to eliminate Lionesses from Women's Euro 2025
- England take on Wales on Sunday
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WHAT HAPPENED?
The Lionesses' title defence campaign got off to a nightmare start as they lost the tournament opener against France but they bounced back strongly to beat Netherlands 4-0 to remain alive in the Women's European Championship. Wales, on the other hand, lost both of their previous fixtures and are now staring at elimination from the group stages unless they beat rivals England heavily and the Dutch go down against France.
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WHAT JAMES SAID
Ahead of the all-important clash against their arch-rivals, the 31-year-old Wales captain said: "As a Welshwoman, do you want to knock England out? Of course you do. It’s in our blood, our DNA, and the rivalry has always been there and always will be there. But you have to come back to the occasion and this is just another game of football. Hopefully, we can perform in a better way than we did against France, keep improving our performances and the result comes with that.
"There’s no hiding behind the history of Wales v England, whatever sport you are playing in. It’s a rivalry match and it’s one everyone wants to play in. As a group, we’ve come on so much since the first game [v the Netherlands], the second game was such a big improvement from us and we’re looking to step it up again in this game. But the pressure is all on England. They have to come out, they have to perform. They’re expected to win this game. Within our group we believe we can upset a very top team but we’re preparing as normal and we’re ready for the fight."
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
James added: "Before we came to this tournament, we said: ‘We have already won, whatever happens'. We’ve had little wins at this tournament, [such as] Jess [Fishlock] scoring our first goal, and a result tomorrow night would be our next ‘win’. It’s big for our nation, being here, showing all the little girls and boys at home that we can be on the biggest stage, can compete at the biggest stage, and we deserve to be here as a nation."
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WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?
Sarina Wiegman's side will play their final group game against Wales at St. Gallen on Sunday.
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