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Sophie Ingle defied the odds to return from an ACL injury just in time to make the Wales squad for Euro 2025. The 33-year-old midfielder tore her cruciate ligament during a pre-season friendly against Feyenoord last September. She was subsequently sidelined for the entire 2024-25 season but did enough in training to impress Rhian Wilkinson and persuade the head coach to give her a place on the plane to Switzerland. Speaking to ITV Sport about her return, Ingle said: “I’m just loving being back with the team, being back on the grass, feeling like a footballer again after nine months, it’s just really special. To be back with the girls after such a long time and spend proper, quality time with them, I can’t wait. It’s the Euros and we’ve never been before.”
Louise Taylor
“Lucerne is noted primarily for its majestic lake and gorgeous medieval city centre, but it is also a part of central Switzerland where gently rolling hills give way to jagged Alpine peaks. For Wales, this tourist magnet marks the potentially awkward junction between the heady optimism of an exhilarating journey towards their first major tournament and the reality of the formidable challenge posed by Saturday’s opening match against the Netherlands.”
Today’s match officials
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Referee: Frida Klarlund
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Assistant Referees: Fie Bruun, Heini Hyvönen
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Fourth Official: Hristiyana Guteva
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VAR: Momčilo Marković
Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson insists her team can do “something special” in Switzerland this summer despite being the lowest-ranked side. Speaking head of the opening Group D match, she said: “When you watch Wales, you can expect to see a courageous team. A team that’s ready to compete with the very best in the world.
“I’ve inherited a team at the exact right moment for them to do something special. They’re 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’t ready for, and that now, they’re 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 – because why wouldn’t we?”
Wales midfielder Jess Fishlock spoke to Louise Taylor last month about making history and cementing a legacy at Euro 2025…
Team news
Wales starting line-up: Olivia Clark; Josephine Green, Rhiannon Roberts, Gemma Evans, Lily Woodham; Angharad James (C), Jess Fishlock, Hayley Ladd; Ceri Holland, Hannah Cain, Esther Morgan. Substitutes: Poppy Soper, Safia Middleton-Patel, Sophie Ingle, Kayleigh Barton, Rachel Rowe, Elise Hughes, Charlotte Estcourt, Lois Joel, Ella Powell, Carrie Jones, Alice Griffiths, Ffion Morgan.
Netherlands starting line-up: Daphne van Domselaar; Kerstin Casparij, Dominique Janssen, Veerle Buurman, Esme Brugts; Jackie Groenen, Daniëlle van de Donk, Wieke Kaptein; Jill Roord, Vivianne Miedema (C), Victoria Pelova. Substitutes: Lize Kop, Danielle de Jong, Lynn Wilms, Caitlin Dijkstra, Romée Leuchter, Lineth Beerensteyn, Sherida Spitse, Chasity Grant, Renate Jansen, Katja Snoeijs, Damaris Egurrola, Ilse van der Zanden.
If you’re checking out our Wales page, you might as well also look at our Netherlands team guide to read up on Andries Jonker’s squad.
As we edge closer to kick-off, be sure to check out our Wales team guide to become acquainted with Rhian Wilkinson and her team.
Preamble
Hello, hallo and welcome to coverage of Wales v Netherlands at Euro 2025. For Wales, today is a historic one. It is their first-ever match at a major tournament, a huge milestone for the nation. Despite being drawn in what many consider to be the ‘group of death’, Rhian Wilkinson believes her team can do “something special” in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Netherlands have been in this position plenty of times before. They are no strangers to European glory, having won the competition in 2017 under the guidance of now-England manager Sarina Wiegman. When it comes to experience, Oranje certainly have the upper-hand. But, of course, anything can happen in tournament football.
Kick-off for this one is at 5pm BST – join me!
