Toone and Russo on special connection

Ella Toone described England’s 4-0 victory over the Netherlands as much needed after the Lionesses put three points on the board in Group D.

Although England’s UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 campaign didn’t get off to the desired start against France, Sarina Wiegman’s side rectified that result with a dominant display last night in Zurich.

“We should be really proud of ourselves,” explained Toone. “We knew that we had it in us, it was just about getting it out.

“You could see right from the start that we put the pressure on [the Netherlands] and we didn’t take our foot of the gas right until the very end, so it is definitely a display and a performance that we should be really proud of.

“Overall, the team were amazing, I don’t think one person had an off day today. We all gave it absolutely everything.”

The Manchester United midfielder put the icing on the cake in the second period following Lauren James’ brace and Georgia Stanway’s first-half effort, combining with Alessia Russo to make it four.

“I didn’t even know she got three assists,” said Toone. “I didn’t even know she assisted me, to be honest – it was all a bit of a madness. I will say thanks to her afterwards.

“I love playing with her. We have that connection off the pitch and the connection on the pitch as well so buzzing for Less and it is always nice to get on the scoresheet. I should take some lessons from her, and she needs to take some lessons off me scoring!”

“It was funny when she celebrated,” recalled Arsenal's Russo, on Toone’s goal. “She was just on the floor, so I don’t think she knew anything about it, but she took it well and whenever she gets in those moments, I am always confident that she is going to find the back of the net.”

Although she didn’t make the scoresheet, Russo was pleased with her individual display, which yielded three assists.

“I am disappointed with a couple of them [efforts on goal], especially Hempo’s ball in the first half,” noted Russo. “I want to be scoring that but it was great, I just tried to help the team as much as I could in working for all of us.

“It was great – it was a performance that we needed, it was a performance that we knew we were capable of and it felt nice to go and execute it.”

Attention now shifts to Sunday when the Lionesses go head-to-head with Wales with a place in the quarter-final of the tournament at stake – a match-up which both Toone and Russo described as ‘massive’.

How it stands in Group D 🤝 pic.twitter.com/LEQ2djXJ7u

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 10, 2025

However, the duo insisted there are plenty of positives to take from their victory over the Netherlands.

“We have a very strong mentality,” continued Toone. “From all of the girls, to have the pressure on our shoulders, to go out and put on a display like that is massive and it is something that we need to carry on and continue within this tournament.

“We know we have the belief in the squad, we know we have the talent – it is just about getting it out there on the pitch.

“We thrive under pressure and it was a proper English display. We know what it takes to win tournaments to win a EUROs. We should be proud. We’ll enjoy the night tonight and the win but the focus turns to Wales.”

“We’ve got to get recovered,” added Russo. “We’ve got another massive game in a few days, so we’ll be together as a team and recovering well. We are looking forward to going into Wales and hopefully going forward.”