Offence Could Be Best Form of Title Defence for England at Euro 2025

European Champions has such a nice ring to it, but if England want to keep the name, they will have to win another European Championship this month in Switzerland. Spain are favourites, Germany are in incredible form and France are dark horses, but as defending champions, England are right in the mix as well.

In 2022 the Lionesses did a bit of everything. They squeezed through tight games when they needed to, sat back and defended what they had when under pressure and at times utterly obliterated their opponents. England even had the last minute winner of their dreams, beating rivals and eight-time champions Germany with one of Wembley's most iconic goals.

This time around however it will be different. For starters, it won't be at home. This isn't necessarily a problem for the England squad themselves as they adapted fantastically to the climates of Australia and New Zealand in the World Cup two years ago.

What it does do however is play hugely into the hands of two of their fellow favourites - France and Germany. Both countries border Switzerland and are expected to bring thousands of fans to Euro 2025.

That's not to say England won't do the same, with over 40,000 England fans expected to travel to Switzerland during the tournament, but they don't share the luxury of the French and Germans of being able to drive home after a game.

Combine that with the ruthless nature of world champions Spain and there is a genuine four-way tussle for the title before even considering dark horses like Group D rivals the Netherlands and Sweden.

So how do England negotiate an incredibly tough group, featuring France and the Netherlands, and the rest of the tournament beyond? Well the stats suggest they should throw caution to the wind.

Attack, attack, attack

England are at their best when they play attacking football. This isn't exactly a hot take given their incredible depth in forwards. Beth Mead, the Golden Boot winner three years ago, has the potential to become the first player to win two Euros Golden Boots for England after scoring six goals in as many games in the last tournament.

Chloe Kelly is a player for big moments, netting the winner in the Euros and the winning penalty in the Finalissima against Brazil.

Aggie Beaver-Jones has been in fantastic form this season as well, scoring nine WSL goals for Chelsea. But she can't even get a start because of England's biggest attacking threat.

It's not too much of a stretch to say that Alessia Russo is the best striker in the world at the moment. No woman has produced the output Arsenal's number 23 has as well as being able to influence the game from deeper positions and support from out wide.

Since Renee Slegers replaced Jonas Eidevall at Arsenal, Alessia Russo has outscored every other WSL player as well as the non-WSL players in the England squad. She is everything a manager could want in a striker; an excellent team player, but also absolutely deadly in front of goal.

England scored 22 goals in just six games in Euro 2022 but just 13 in their seven 2023 World Cup matches. They weren't playing anywhere near as much free-flowing attacking football in Australia & New Zealand as they had at home the year before, and this perhaps played into Spain's hands.

Of course England must still defend well, as is always the case in tournament football, but even without Mille Bright, a back four of Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson, Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter won't exactly be making England fans nervous.

But however good England are, they will face several very difficult tests at the tournament, including two in their first two games.

Group D

05/07/25 - France (Zurich)

09/07/25 - Netherlands (Zurich)

13/07/25 - Wales (St. Gallen)

A group containing England, France and the Netherlands really shouldn't be possible in a tournament which also has a group of Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland but here we are.

England and the Netherlands both finished second in their qualifying groups, which should've left them both in Pot 2, but because Switzerland took a spot in Pot 1, the Dutch, as the lowest ranked second-placed team from qualifying, dropped into Pot 3.

The luck of the draw put them in Group D with two of the tournament favourites England and France, and these two rivals will get a look at each other right from the start, locking horns for the first time since they each won 2 - 1 away from home in qualifying for this tournament.

This won't be a tournament where England can afford to start slow; if they do, they'll be out before they've played their third group game.

On the subject of the game against Wales, it's not one England will likely be able to see as a free hit unless they were to beat both France and the Netherlands. Given that there are three heavyweight teams in a group where only two can progress, beating Wales is absolutely essential, and it's entirely possible that the group could be decided on goal difference.

Beyond the group

Even if England were to progress from Group D, which of course they'll expect to, they'll match up with Group C in the quarter-finals, handing them a tough assignment against Germany, Sweden or Denmark (or potentially Poland but this would require a miracle).

Of course Germany is the standout name, but any of these sides would provide a stern test. The Lionesses will also be expecting a clash with Spain at some point, whether that be the semi-finals or final.

But unlike the last two major international tournaments, this isn't a race entirely between England and Spain. France and Germany have excellent teams, and are fully capable of winning a tournament which consists of just six games. Clubs play more than that some months.

England are defending champions and that always counts for something, but with or without that added pressure, Sarina Wiegman's squad has as much quality as any heading to Switzerland, and will be rightfully confident of challenging for the title.