Ella Toone has warned Sweden to “be scared” after helping England secure a dominant 6-1 victory over Wales, booking their place in the Euro 2025 quarter-finals. Toone scored one goal and provided two assists in the first half as the Lionesses stormed into a commanding lead.
England’s next challenge is a Swedish side that has won all three group games, scoring eight goals. “It is going to be a difficult game,” Toone said. “We watched them the other night and they were really good. We need to be on our best game. I think they should be scared!”
Midfielder Keira Walsh acknowledged Sweden’s attacking threat but stressed England’s strength lies in taking the game to opponents. “That’s when we’re at our strongest so I’m pretty sure we’ll try to carry on doing that throughout this tournament,” Walsh said. She also praised Toone’s defensive contributions, noting, “People speak about her offensively, but the defensive work she does for me and Georgia when she's in there is incredible.”
The Lionesses needed a win against Wales to guarantee progress, and they were out of sight by half-time. Georgia Stanway opened the scoring from the penalty spot, with further goals from Toone, Lauren Hemp, and Alessia Russo. In the second half, substitutes Aggie Beever-Jones and Beth Mead combined for England’s fifth, while Beever-Jones added a late header after Wales had pulled one back through Hannah Cain.
Russo’s goal was her first of the tournament after two efforts were ruled out for offside in previous matches. Toone expressed delight for her teammate: “I was buzzing. So happy for her. She deserves it. Even though she has not scored as much as she wants, she has been creating loads of chances.”
