Lionesses Diary - Day 14: Calm before the storm as England prepare for Sweden quarter-final

It is the calm before the storm as the Lionesses ready themselves for a heavyweight quarter-final clash against Sweden.

Battle plans are being drawn as all eyes turn toward Thursday, with England's 23-strong squad putting in the hard yards and leaving no stone unturned.

Here's everything you need to know from day 14 at Euro 2025....

Today in camp

The Lionesses continue preparations for Thursday as they undertake training under the watchful eye of Sarina Wiegman and assistant coach Arjan Veurink.

England won't have to venture too far to take on Sweden, with their contest to be played in Zurich, close to their base at the Dolder Grand Hotel.

The Group C winners have been one of the most impressive sides in the tournament, dismantling Germany 4-1 in their final group stage match to confirm comfortable progression into the last eight.

The two sides last met almost exactly one year ago, drawing 0-0 in qualifying to confirm the Lionesses' place at this summer's tournament.

But fans will best remember their 2022 semi-final match-up, where Alessia Russo scored that iconic backheel in a 4-0 win.

Team news

England seemingly enjoy a full bill of health, with no injuries reported from their most recent outing on Sunday when they demolished Wales 6-1 or from training.

Further confirmation is expected in the media conference ahead of the game on Thursday.

Trending topics

Last Sunday saw Ella Toone set a record when she became the first player on record to score, assist and complete 100% of her passes at a women's Euros match since 2013.

The midfield maestro scored the second of her side's six goals against Wales and turned provider for Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo later that night.

Asked if she was secretly an AI on That Lionesses Podcast, Toone said: "I've been caught out! You caught me on the podcast!"

What are the pundits saying?

Though England hardly broke a sweat against Wales last time out, former Lionesses Ellen White and Karen Bardsley have warned their ex-teammates of the threat posed by Sweden.

Thursday's opponents only twice, in 2009 and 2017, failed to advance to the semi-final in their previous 11 Euros and can claim Chelsea's Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius and Fridolina Rolfo - who recently left Barcelona - among their ranks.

"Whoever we were going to face was going to be a tough opposition," said Ellen White to BBC Radio 5 Live. "We've faced Sweden a number of times, everyone will remember that semi-final from 2022 where we beat them 4-0 and we've drawn with them recently as well.

"Sweden look very good, they beat Germany convincingly in their last game. I'm a bit terrified, I feel like there's going to be a lot of goals, hopefully for England."

Bardsley added: "Sweden have got quick wingers, a really talented, experienced midfield and threats in-behind. They are several things that England have struggled with.

"I believe in the Lionesses. I think they can win."

Quote of the day

“That’s a strong, strong statement. I don’t. One might be easier to dance to but I’m afraid not.

“I don’t think that’ll be on the playlist [ahead of Thursday] but it worked in 2022 so I don’t want to banish ABBA completely.”- Leah Williamson when asked if ABBA being better than The Beatles means Sweden will beat England.

Best of the rest

UEFA have announced that the group stages of this summer's Euros have set records for attendance, with close to half a million fans attending matches, and 22 of the 24 fixtures reported sold out.

Hosts Switzerland's 2-1 defeat to Norway in Basel drew a crowd of 34,063, a record crowd at a Swiss women's national team game.

While Germany's 2-1 success over Denmark in the same city attracted 34,165 supporters, the highest attendance at a group game not involving the host nation and the most spectators to attend a women's football match in Switzerland.

The fixture also set a record for most away fans to attend a women's Euro match ever, with more than 17,000 fans from Germany crossing the border to cheer on Christian Wück's side.

There is however some concern for Switzerland after they were forced to cancel their training on Tuesday with several members of the squad reporting cold-like symptoms.

It comes after the team have changed training bases after the poor pitch condition of their previous base.