It went mostly as expected during the second match of the group stage at Women’s Euro 2025, and I could really wish for more chaos as we head into the finale. Nevertheless, the Euro tournament still provides epic moments and accomplishments even when things go chalk. Here’s the scoop on Day 2.
Women's Euro Winners
Spain
Think I mentioned that their offense can make opposing teams look incompetent. Their rout of Belgium has them through to the round of 16 with 11 goals scored against two conceded. Granted, the two they gave up to the Belgians will have future opponents probing for defensive weaknesses, but they and France are the form teams going into the last group-stage match.
England
crushed the Dutch 4-0Switzerland
They needed quite a bit of effort for their 2-0 win over Iceland, but the result leaves the host country needing only a draw against Finland to progress out of the group stage.
Sweden and Germany
Ho-hum, these two traditional powerhouses are through to the knockout stages with a game to spare. That game is against each other, and they’ll still have first place in Group C to play for, but they made sure there were no surprises here.
Diana Gomes
With Portugal down 1-0 to Italy and seemingly headed out of the tournament, she saved her country’s bacon (or should we say toucinho?) in the 89th minute. The Sevilla defender was already in Italy’s penalty box for a corner kick that Fátima Pinto headed off the crossbar, and when Portugal recovered the ball, she took a cross from Dolores Silva and chipped the ball delightfully over the head of Laura Giuliano for the equalizer that got the Navigators a priceless draw. They’ll need to beat Belgium by a lot to have any chance to overtake Italy for second place in the group, but they are still alive thanks to Gomes’ finishing.
Cristiana Girelli
Let’s not forget Italy’s all-time leading scorer, who bagged the azzurre’s goal against Portugal with a thunderbolt from outside the corner of the box. That would have been a worthy match-winner.
Jess Fishlock
Ymlaen Cymru! The 38-year-old Seattle Reign central midfielder has won the Champions League as well as league titles in France and the Netherlands, and on her 166th cap for Wales, the country’s all-time leading scorer added to her total by pouncing on a loose ball that ricocheted off her fallen teammate Ceri Holland and putting it in France’s net. Who else but Wales’ talisman would score their first-ever goal at a major tournament? Her team would go on to lose, but her goal is yet another milestone in her glittering career.
Women's Euro Losers
Netherlands
Their lopsided loss to the English means that to survive, De Oranje will either have to beat France by a massive score or hope that the Welsh can manage at least a draw against England. And that’s why they call it the Group of Death.
Denmark and Poland
These two countries on the Baltic Sea were eliminated simultaneously when the Poles lost to Sweden. They have two of the best offensive players on the planet in Pernille Harder (Denmark) and Ewa Pajor (Poland), but they didn’t have the quality around those players to get them the ball consistently, though the Danes were able to actually score a goal through Amalie Vangsgaard in their loss to Germany. These countries will play each other in their last match in Group C, so maybe the neutral fans will finally get to see what these great players can do.
Emma Færge
The Danish defender smashed her clearance into the face of her fellow Dane Emma Snerle, which not only created Germany’s game-winning goal but also gave a concussion to her namesake and her teammate at Fiorentina. Some observers are blaming referee Catarina Campos for not stopping the game with an injury behind the play, but I say the play developed too quickly to merit a stoppage. Now, having said that…
Catarina Campos
The penalty decision the ref made on Germany’s first goal was downy soft, as Denmark’s Katrine Veje was judged to have fouled Germany’s Linda Dallman when their legs tangled up as they tracked a long ball. Other similar incidents at this Euro tournament and the Club World Cup have been ruled to be incidental contact, but this one allowed Sjoeke Nüsken to tie the game from the penalty spot.
Iceland
This country will always be an underdog at any major tournament due to their small population base, but they have been eliminated after two losses without scoring a single goal against Finland or Switzerland. (Given that their remaining match is against Norway, I wouldn’t bet on them getting a face-saving win, either.) The team that won a historic 3-0 upset of mighty Germany during qualifying for this Euro will have expected better.
Belgium
The Red Flames are out of this tournament, too, thanks to Italy’s draw with Portugal. They came into this hoping to improve on their result in Euro 2022, when they made the round of 16, but Coach Elísabeth Gunnarsdóttir’s defend-and-counter approach crumbled against Spain’s onslaught. They’ll only have pride to play for against Portugal.
Safia Middleton-Patel
She replaced Olivia Clark in Wales’ goal against France, and the 20-year-old backup at Manchester United had a game to forget. You can blame her midfielder Ceri Holland for needlessly conceding the penalty that led to France’s second goal, but Middleton-Patel got a toe to Kadidiatou Diani’s spot kick and couldn’t keep it out of her net. The evening got worse as Clara Mateo took the ball off her feet and squared it for Amel Majri to deposit into an empty net. Then she whiffed on Diani’s cross, and France’s fourth goal deflected in off Melvine Malard. Her youth means that she’ll likely have better days ahead of her, but the Dragons are eliminated because of her errors.