England must “demand more from themselves”, said striker Alessia Russo after a disappointing begin to their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign.
Defending European champion Sarina Wiegman took the lead on Friday at Wembley Stadium due to Russo’s header, but they were removed from their best fluency, lost possession too easily and looked defenseless against Sweden’s counter-attacking threat.
They retired in the second half, allowing Sweden to get back into the sport when Fridolina Rolfo nodded in on the back post to make it 1-1.
Being placed in a difficult group with Sweden, France and Ireland, which England will face on Tuesday in Dublin, gave the look of a missed opportunity to use in front of their home crowd.
Russo, who was one in all England’s brightest players before his second-half substitution, admitted he was frustrated with the performance.
“Sweden are a top team, our group is difficult. We’re a good team too, so I think it’s disappointing, but we faced a strong team,” she told ITV.
“Our standards are high and we know we can expect more from ourselves. We will acknowledge this, but overall there were lower standards that we can improve upon.
“We wanted to solve the problems, but we managed to draw. Every result and every point counts.”
The atmosphere at Wembley was quite flat after heavy build-up before kick-off, with fans throwing paper airplanes in the second half and then turning off the lights on their phones as England’s performance slumped.
Sweden, sixth in the world, knows what the Lionesses are capable of heavy semi-final defeat to Euro 2022 on the road alongside Sarina Wiegman lifting the trophy.
But as Wiegman said, it was a much more even match.
“This group is really difficult. Of course I’m disappointed because we always want to win,” she said.
If you look back, we were very close to scoring at the end of the game. Overall it was a pretty even match. We had more possession of the ball, but you can also see how dangerous their counter-attacks were. I think the draw reflects how the match went.”
England may also face France, third in the world, in qualifying. Only the highest two teams from their groups robotically qualify for next yr’s European Championships in Switzerland, with the remaining two teams entering the play-offs.
Former England midfielder Karen Carney said the Lionesses needed to enhance their concentration in the remaining games and added that Sweden were the higher team in the second half.
“If England had been included, Sweden’s goal would not have happened. Lucy Bronze wasn’t being attentive to the back post,” she added.
“Sweden were the better team in the second half. Tuesday’s match against Ireland is a must-win. It’s a group of death and it’s really, really hard.
“We are European champions and we need three points. It’s an important game and we need to improve our performance, but we need three points.”
Former England international Ian Wright added: “England gave Sweden momentum. We played very poorly today, especially in midfield where we were very sloppy. We’re lucky we didn’t lose that match.”
Credit : www.bbc.co.uk