{"id":256449,"date":"2025-07-11T15:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T15:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/256449\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T15:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T15:00:10","slug":"lauren-hemp-england-desperate-to-win-wales-derby-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/256449\/","title":{"rendered":"Lauren Hemp: England desperate to win Wales ‘derby’ match"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Lauren Hemp insisted England were desperate to win their \u2018derby\u2019 match against Wales on Sunday as they aim to secure progression to the Euro 2025 knockout stages.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n

\n The Lionesses bounced back from an opening defeat to France with a resounding 4-0 victory against the Netherlands meaning a win against Wales would all but guarantee a place in the quarter-finals.\n <\/p>\n

\n But while many have already written off The Dragons\u2019 ability to get a result against the defending champions, Hemp is aware of the threat that Wales still pose.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re very desperate to win and we know what it\u2019s going to take to win,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a really tough match.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe have so much respect for Wales, and they\u2019ve done really well in the tournament so far.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to play to our strengths and do what we do. You never know what you\u2019re going to get from this England team but what you will get is a lot of fight, a lot of character and we\u2019re going to try our absolute best to win.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n

\n Now this is a race we want to see! Who are you backing? \ud83c\udfc3\u200d\u2640\ufe0f<\/p>\n

Watch more of #LionessesUnfiltered<\/a> connected by @EE<\/a> on YouTube. pic.twitter.com\/nQxk12jPgJ<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\u2014 Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 10, 2025<\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n The rivalry between the two nations is well-established, and in women\u2019s football they have met twice before in recent history, with both meetings happening during World Cup qualification in 2018.\n <\/p>\n

\n Those two encounters resulted in a 0-0 draw in England before a trip to Wales saw the Lionesses triumph 3-0.\n <\/p>\n

\n While Wales are yet to win a game at the tournament so far, losing 3-0 to Netherlands and 4-1 to France, England will guard against any expectations of a win heading into their final match of Group D.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe definitely won\u2019t go into the game complacent,\u201d asserted Hemp. \u201cWales have done well this tournament, they deserve to be there, and we have so much respect for them.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey have a lot of great players who are experienced, playing week in, week out in the WSL, so they\u2019ve got a good team.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cBut we also know that we\u2019ve got a good team as well, and we\u2019ve got so many strengths.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019ve looked at their strengths and what we need to do to make sure we can give the best England performance that we can.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Those strengths were demonstrated to full effect against the Netherlands when a brace from Lauren James and goals from Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone constituted a dominant win.\n <\/p>\n

\n It was much needed as defeat would have seen England exit the tournament early, but despite inconsistent form so far this year, they delivered when it mattered.\n <\/p>\n

\n Sarina Wiegman\u2019s tactical change to switch Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter at the back and bring Toone into the 10 to move James out wide worked to perfect effect as the Netherlands looked overrun in midfield and defence.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019ve all experienced losses in our career so we know what it\u2019s like and we\u2019re obviously all very disappointed about that first loss,\u201d said Hemp.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cComing into the next game we knew that we needed to win and the pressure was on but this team thrives under pressure. We were so disappointed with the last result that we just wanted to go in with the confidence to prove ourselves to everyone.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe managed to do that and we did that really well. We got four great goals, and we dominated the majority of that match.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere are so many positives to take into the match on Sunday but none of that counts unless we put in a result against Wales as well.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But just as the Lionesses relished the challenge of proving themselves after defeat, they will relish a clash with their neighbours in St. Gallen come Sunday.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great rivalry that we have and they\u2019re the games that you want to be involved in. They\u2019re the ones that I absolutely love playing in,\u201d added Hemp.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re all very excited about it. I don\u2019t need to explain the rivalry because it\u2019s like a derby. We want to win end of and we\u2019re going to do everything we can to do that.\u201d\n <\/p>\n