Has the draw just opened up for the Lionesses?! Winners and losers after England ease into Euro 2025 knockouts as super-subs Beth Mead and Aggie Beever-Jones find form behind all-star attack

It's fair to say Russo hasn't quite had the rub of the green in this tournament so far. She thought she'd broken the deadlock against France, only for VAR to intervene and rule Beth Mead offside by the narrowest of margins in the build-up, and then the technology stopped her celebrations short in the win over the Netherlands, too, with Leah Williamson the player offside on that occasion.

On Sunday, though, her goal finally came. Great work between Lauren James and Ella Toone created the opportunity, with the latter racing to the byline and cutting the ball back for Russo to coolly convert into a near-empty goal. It's not like the Arsenal striker has been playing badly and not getting on the scoresheet - after all, she provided three assists against the Dutch. But goals are what strikers are judged on and getting off the mark here will do her confidence good as England move into the knockout stages.

Not only will Wiegman have been delighted that her team got the job done on Sunday, she'll have also been extremely pleased that it was so comfortable so early, therefore allowing her to make plenty of subs at half-time and shortly after it, too. The England boss brought both Toone and Lauren Hemp off at the break, with the removal of the latter feeling particularly important given she only came back after knee surgery in April. Then, before the hour, both James and Russo got some deserved rest, with the former another recent returnee who will surely benefit.

Several of the big contenders for this Euro 2025 title have had the chance to rotate and freshen up their XIs in the group stage, whereas England have not had the luxury due to the opening round defeat to France. To make up for that a little bit here, then, as the tournament prepares to step up another gear, was vital.

Every big team goes into a tournament like this wanting to win their group but, sometimes, it's not actually the best thing for that side in the long-term. Sometimes the second-placed team that will meet them in the next game is actually more dangerous, or perhaps it puts a team into a less-favourable part of the overall draw. The latter certainly applies to France after they recovered from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Netherlands on Sunday and, as a result, finished ahead of England at the top of Group D.

There are obviously pros to finishing first. Les Bleues will next play on Saturday rather than Thursday, giving them a couple of extra days of rest, and while some would say there is not that much difference in the quarter-final opponent it grants them, Germany's 4-1 defeat to Sweden in the final round of group stage games would suggest otherwise.

The problem, however, is that if France are able to come through that tie and reach the last four, they will now likely face Spain rather than Italy or Norway. That is a massive difference - one that, if England can beat Sweden, could favour the Lionesses and their second-placed finish instead.

After losing her place in England's starting XI, it was extremely positive for Mead to make an impact in a different way on Sunday as her terrific goal took the Lionesses' total for the day up to five. The manner in which she scored felt particularly noteworthy, too. How she ruthlessly shimmied away from one defender and rifled her shot beyond the goalkeeper suggested that she is full of confidence right now, despite dropping out of Wiegman's line-up after the defeat to France.

England haven't had much luck with impact subs in the last couple of years, with a 21-game stretch of no goals or assists from the bench only ending in April, in the 5-0 win over Belgium. However, things have improved a little since then and Sunday was another step in the right direction in that regard, with Mead showing that she could be a game-changer even if she can't get into the XI right now ahead of the in-form James.

Similar can be said of Beever-Jones, whose goal against Belgium in April actually ended England's 16-month wait for a direct goal involvement from a sub. The Chelsea star was another player who had a real hand in this convincing win after coming off the bench, first by teeing up Mead for her goal before then seeing the Arsenal winger repay the favour, as her cross was headed in by Beever-Jones for the Lionesses' sixth of the day.

Even if Wiegman alters her XI again before England's tournament is done, Beever-Jones doesn't feel like a prime candidate to make her way into it, not ahead of Russo. However, as was the case with the Arsenal striker at Euro 2022, that doesn't mean she cannot make her mark in Switzerland, given she is seemingly one of the first subs Wiegman is going to turn to. "We need her," Karen Carney, 144 times an England international, said of the 21-year-old on ITV. "As the tournament progresses, we need her pace in behind. I think that'll be a big threat."

On the flip side of that is Michelle Agyemang, who looked very good when given a few minutes off the bench against France in England's opener. That was just her second cap, with her not entering the pitch in any of the three games that followed her first back in April, and she's not been given the chance to add to it in the two games since.

Against the Netherlands and then Wales, Wiegman didn't turn to the Arsenal youngster, instead opting for Beever-Jones. Given England play with one striker, it would seemingly require the latter to go on in a wide role or, as was the case in defeat to France, the Lionesses to change to a front two for Agyemang to get a look-in, or for players to be unavailable. Her case for minutes will not have been helped by Beever-Jones having the impact she did on Sunday, either.