Share<\/a><\/p>\n The Guardian Football team have been incredibly busy over the last few weeks putting together features, interviews and team guides to see you all through the tournament. Let me first point you in the direction of this absolutely mammoth guide to all 368 players appearing at Euro 2025<\/strong> this month.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson<\/strong> insists her team can do \u201csomething special\u201d in Switzerland this summer despite being the lowest-ranked side. Speaking head of the opening Group D match, she said: \u201cWhen you watch Wales, you can expect to see a courageous team. A team that\u2019s ready to compete with the very best in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve inherited a team at the exact right moment for them to do something special. They\u2019re a testament to all the people that came before and all the players that came before, and that my arrival was maybe just that kind of new coach at that right time who was able to ask them to do things that maybe in the past they weren\u2019t ready for, and that now, they\u2019re ready to try. My staff has done a great job at creating an environment where error is not punished, and it is a safe environment where we ask them to push themselves to the limits of their ability \u2013 because why wouldn\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n Rhian Wilkinson, head coach of Wales, poses for a portrait. Photograph: Pat Elmont\/UEFA\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n You can keep up to date with the race for the Euro 2025 Golden Boot here:<\/strong><\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We are lucky enough to have legendary Chelsea manager, WSL icon and United States women\u2019s national team head coach Emma Hayes on board as a columnist<\/strong> over the next few weeks. Here is what she had to say in her column this week\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Thanks John.<\/strong> I\u2019ll be with you all for the next few hours as we count down to kick-off in Lucerne.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n And with that, I pass over to Emillia,<\/strong> who will take you to that historic Welsh game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Important story on the Iranian fans<\/strong> who, as it stands, will not be allowed to support their team in the US at the 2026 men\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n What can Iran do? \u201cBoycotting the World Cup is not a solution,\u201d Siavash Pakdaman, a Tehran-based fan, says. \u201cRefusing to play on US soil would be a dangerous precedent \u2013 any host country could start excluding teams it has issues with. Just as the Iranian delegation can and should be present at the United Nations in the US, the Iranian team should also play on American soil if the draw requires it \u2013 without relocation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Later tonight, a new era of the Sarina Wiegman will begin.<\/strong> The final chapter?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Further detail on that sealed Walker to Burnley deal.<\/strong><\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.49 EDT<\/p>\n Via Manchester City\u2019s social media:<\/strong> \u201cWe can confirm @kylewalker2 is to join Burnley on a permanent deal, bringing an end to a hugely successful eight-year stay with Manchester City. Wishing you all the best, Kyle!\u201d<\/p>\n That confirms Friday\u2019s story:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Some quotes ahead of Norway\u2019s match with Finland<\/strong>: They beat hosts 2-1 on the opening day.<\/p>\n Norway defender Maren Mjelde handed over the captain\u2019s armband to Ada Hegerberg and the striker responded by scoring a vital equaliser. A win in Sion sees the Norwegians through.<\/p>\n Mjelde on Hegerberg and Norway, per Reuters.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s brilliant. I was so happy for her to open the tournament with a goal, it\u2019s good for the strikers to get the goals. Really pleased for her, pleased for the team, because we needed that win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe all knew that it wasn\u2019t good enough, but if they could do it in 45 minutes, we could turn it around in 45 minutes. And I think that\u2019s what we agreed on going out there, we promised each other that we would do everything, give everything out there for 45 minutes. We promised each other that, and I think we did that.\u201d<\/p>\n Norway players during a training session. Photograph: Vegard Gr\u00f8tt\/Bildbyr\u00e5n\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.55 EDT<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the match report for that shock Matildas defeat.<\/strong><\/p>\n Share<\/a> This is a week that will be forever remembered for the loss of Diogo Jota.<\/strong><\/p>\n Thousands will line the streets as friends and family in Gondomar pay their final respects to footballers Diogo Jota and Andre Silva on Saturday. The funeral will take place at 10am at the Igreja Matriz in the brothers\u2019 hometown in Portugal, where they were revered.<\/p>\n Mourners have travelled from over the globe to say goodbye to Jota and Silva. Streams of people queued for hours to attend a public wake on Friday in the town at Capela da Ressurrei\u00e7\u00e3o. The Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the prime minister Lu\u00eds Montenegro were among those to visit the chapel. Liverpool teammate Darwin Nunez, as well as international colleagues Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot, who play for Manchester United, and Manchester City\u2019s Bernardo Silva went to the vigil.<\/p>\n Liverpool staff and players arrived on Friday after the club chartered a plane to take them to Portugal. The director of football Richard Hughes and chief executive Michal Edwards were among the club officials to join mourners at the chapel on Friday.<\/p>\n Outside the Gondomar football ground locals have left scarves, shirts, flowers and mementos to remember the brothers who began playing at the club as children and the academy is named in Jota\u2019s honour. Silva returned to represent the team as an adult before embarking on a professional career in the Portuguese second division.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.55 EDT<\/p>\n Suzanne Wrack sets the scene in Zurich, through the eyes of the captain and coach of the Lionesses.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe team has been a bit in \u00adtransition, of course,\u201d the manager, Sarina Wiegman, said, \u201cand we \u00adabsolutely cherish what we have done before, and we never forget it, and those are lifetime experiences for us and for our families and also for the fans. But you have to move on and you have to be on top. Things are changing very quickly, so we have to, too. We came together in February and we said: \u2018It\u2019s a new challenge.\u2019 The approach was there anyway, but we called it the New England.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A shock result elsewhere in the world of women\u2019s soccer.<\/strong><\/p>\n An aerial view of play during the friendly between the Matildas and Panama at Hands Oval in Bunbury. Photograph: Paul Kane\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.59 EDT<\/p>\n There is, of course, another international tournament going on<\/strong>. Here\u2019s the latest from the Club World Cup.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s someone who knows the pressures<\/strong> \u2013 and might one day coach the Lionesses, Emma Hayes, The Guardian\u2019s columnist for the Euros.<\/p>\n When you are the holders, the most important thing to get right is your internal hunger and understand you\u2019ve got a target on your back in every fixture. To counter that, you have to find another level in yourself because a title cannot be won the same way you won it before.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n\n
![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Will_Unwin.png\")
Will Unwin<\/p>\n\n
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