'We thrive under pressure' - Lionesses star Lauren Hemp relishing must-win group clash with Netherlands as Sarina Wiegman's side face do-or-die clash after France defeat

The Lionesses lost 2-1 in their opening Euro 2025 fixture on Saturday night, a late Keira Walsh strike not enough to prevent defeat in a disappointing performance against the French. Group leaders the Netherlands are next on Wednesday (July 9), and England and Manchester City winger Hemp has spoken out about her side's confidence heading into a must-win match.

This was already a group of death for England, with France and the Netherlands to face in addition to newcomers Wales. Opening-game defeat has only made things more difficult for the reigning European champions, who will have a mountain to climb with anything other than victory against the Dutch as Sarina Wiegman's side hope to reach the knock-out rounds once again.

Hemp said: “I think this team, a lot of the time we thrive under pressure and obviously it's one of those situations where every game we go into we want to win. From how we acted the last 10 minutes of the [France] game, we know what's at stake and we obviously want to get as far as we can. And we are reigning champions. It is important to remember that and gain confidence from that.

“Obviously I love playing in football matches where we need to win, that's the games you want to be involved in, so it's important we take confidence from parts of yesterday. There were still parts of the game… where we can take confidence from [them], especially going into the game on Wednesday, and it's important that we recover and rest now, ready to go into that game.

“We started strong and I thought we finished strong as well. Obviously parts in the game there's so much we can improve on, but we're going to look back at that and really work hard on what we can take forward into the Wednesday game. We know we've got to win the next two games, and I think the fight at the end of the game showed how much we're willing to do for this team and how much we want to make sure that we get through to the next round.”

The Netherlands and Wales lie in wait and England may not be able to afford slipping up again. Should they manage to navigate this difficult group, there is no telling how far the side can go as they look to defend their title. But the Euro 2022 winners will know the task at hand and will give all they can to ensure they avoid a demoralising group-stage exit.