England must “demand more” from each other, striker Alessia Russo has said after England's dominant start to their Euro 2025 qualifiers.
Defending European champion Sarina Wiegmann took the lead. Friday at Wembley Stadium They were credited with a header from Russo, but they were far from their best flow, easily losing possession and looking vulnerable to Sweden's counter-attacking threat.
In the second half, Sweden switched off and got back into the game when Fridrina Rolfo scored at the back post to make it 1-1.
It felt like England missed an opportunity to capitalize in front of their home crowd as they were drawn in a tough group with Sweden, France and the Republic of Ireland, who they next play in Dublin on Tuesday.
Russo, who was one of England's brightest players until he was substituted in the second half, admitted his dissatisfaction with the performance.
“Sweden are a top team but our group is tough. I think it's disappointing because we're a good team too, but we played against a strong team,” she told ITV.
“Our standards are high and we know we can demand higher from each other, which we are willing to acknowledge, but overall there were lower standards that could be improved upon.
“We struggled to resolve the issue, but the result was a draw. Every result and every point counts.”
After a huge pre-kick-off build-up at Wembley, the atmosphere was a bit flat in the second half, with some fans throwing paper airplanes, but before turning off their mobile phone camera lights as England's performance deteriorated.
Sweden, ranked 6th in the world, knows how capable their Lionesses are. Big loss in the semifinals On their way to lift the trophy towards Sarina Wiegmann's team at Euro 2022.
But, as Wiegman said, this was a much more equal encounter.
“This group is really tough. Of course I'm disappointed because we always want to win,” she said.
“At the end of the game, looking back, we were so close to scoring a goal. Overall, it was a pretty even game. We had more possession of the ball, but they counterattacked. You can see how dangerous our offense was.''I think the draw reflects the state of the game. ”
England will also play France, who are ranked third in the world, in the preliminary round. Only the top two teams in their group will qualify for next summer's Euros in Switzerland, while the remaining two will advance to the play-offs.
Former England midfielder Karen Carney also said the Lionesses needed to be more focused for the remaining games, adding that Sweden were the better team in the second half.
“If England had switched on, Sweden's goal wouldn't have happened. Lucy Bronze wasn't paying attention to the back post,” she added.
“Sweden were the better team in the second half. Tuesday's game against the Republic of Ireland is a must win. This is a group of death and it's really, really tricky.”
“We are European champions and we need three points. We need to improve our performance in big games, but we need three points.”
Former England international Ian Wright said: “England gave Sweden a boost. We were very poor tonight, very sloppy especially in the midfield areas. We're lucky not to have lost that game.” he added.
