England deliver statement 7-0 win over Jamaica in final Women’s Euro 2025 warmup

LEICESTER – England issued a statement of intent ahead of the Women’s European Championship, demolishing Jamaica 7-0 at home in their final pre-tournament friendly on June 29.

The reigning European champions dominated from start to finish and although Jamaica had an equaliser ruled out for offside, Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses controlled the match, pushing to settle the game before half-time.

Ella Toone opened the scoring, followed by a headed goal from Lucy Bronze, before Toone again scored deep into first-half stoppage time at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium.

The onslaught continued after the interval, with Georgia Stanway adding England’s fourth just before the hour mark, followed by Alessia Russo making it five in the 71st minute.

With five minutes to go, Aggie Beever-Jones netted the sixth, before Beth Mead capped the rout with a seventh in the dying moments.

“We enjoyed that game today. A lot of goals and a clean sheet. It’s nice to send ourselves off to the Euro,” Toone told ITV.

“We’ve got a talented squad and we’ll step out and give the nation our all.”

Wiegman said her side had produced a “good performance”.

“We expected to be in the final third a lot, so we wanted to show what we could do,” she said.

“It was nice to score seven goals, though there were times when we played an extra pass.

“Overall I’m really happy with the performance.”

England begin their Group D campaign against France on July 5, followed by games against the Netherlands and Wales. The tournament runs from July 2 to 27 in Switzerland.

“We’ll take it game by game. Let’s go and get ready for France. I think there is huge potential in this squad,” Wiegman said.

England’s main rivals, world champions Spain, received a boost on June 29.

Midfielder Aitana Bonmati has been discharged from hospital after treatment for viral meningitis and is expected to rejoin the national squad soon, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said.

Its statement revealed that the Barcelona player would now link up with Spain’s Euro squad “in the coming days”, although she is unlikely to figure in their opening matches.

The 27-year-old missed Spain’s 3-1 victory over Japan in a friendly on June 27.

The Barcelona player, back-to-back Ballon d’Or Feminin winner in 2023 and 2024, posted a photo from her hospital bed on social media on June 29, giving a thumbs up and stating: “Fortunately, everything is going well. I hope to return soon.”

Bonmati has been pivotal for Spain, scoring 30 goals in 78 appearances and helping them win the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 2024 Nations League.

Spain begin their Euro 2025 campaign against neighbours Portugal on July 3 in Bern. They are also drawn with Belgium and Italy in Group B.

Away from Europe, Olympic champions the United States sent a friendly reminder of their dominance with another 4-0 victory over Ireland in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 29.

US coach Emma Hayes made 11 changes from the line-up that defeated Ireland 4-0 in Commerce City, Colorado on June 26 and did not miss a beat as the Americans won their fourth straight match without conceding. Ireland failed to register a shot on target.

Izzy Rodriguez, who made her US debut along with Sam Meza, scored in the 42nd minute to give the hosts a 2-0 lead, while Emma Sears was involved in the first three goals. Sears and Rodriguez played together at Ohio State University.

Sandwiching the Rodriguez goal, Lynn Biyendolo opened the scoring in the 11th minute and Yazmeen Ryan extended the lead to 3-0 in the 66th with her first goal. Alyssa Thompson made it 4-0 in the 86th minute.

Said Hayes: “I feel like everybody is not just trusting the process, but they’re carrying out all the things we’ve asked them to do...

“It’s not easy to go and chance the (entire starting line-up) and perform and raise the bar. The players did that. I’m extremely proud of them.” REUTERS, AFP