da bet7： The Man City star has been her country's most consistently impressive defender in the last year – but still isn't in Sarina Wiegman's first-choice XI

da brdice： Relieved. That's how Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman felt as England secured their place at the 2025 UEFA Women's Euro in extremely nervy fashion on Tuesday night. The reigning European champions went to Gothenburg knowing that they only needed a draw against Sweden to clinch automatic qualification and they looked set to achieve that comfortably for a while, only for it to become a little more tense in the final stages of what was a must-win game for their hosts.

This was a window all about results though and England got those, first in the form of a 2-1 win at home to Ireland on Friday night before the goalless draw on the road a few days later. "We took care of business," were the words from captain Leah Williamson, a take which perfectly summed up two matches from which the team will identify both positives and areas to improve.

Wiegman talked at length about the latter on Tuesday and said, with a laugh, that England 'need' these next 12 months before Euro 2025 to work on some factors so that they are ready to hit their top level when it comes to defending their European title. Doing so won't be easy, not with Women's World Cup winners Spain among those plotting to take their crown, but the Lionesses know that it takes a lot of work to win major tournaments and are prepared to do those hard yards.

But before that next stage of the process begins, as the players return to their clubs and get ready for the new season, GOAL picks out the winners and losers from England's July camp…

Getty ImagesWINNER: Sarina Wiegman

On first glance, the difference between England qualifying automatically for Euro 2025 and having to go through the play-offs might not look that big a deal. After all, the reigning European champions would be expected to beat any of the potential opponents in the latter path. However, by finishing in the top two of their group and avoiding those games, the Lionesses can prepare for next summer's tournament exactly how Wiegman wants – and that's a big win for her.

The coach explained after Tuesday's goalless draw against Sweden that there were areas she wanted the team to improve in over the course of the next year, then added: "Now, with the friendlies, hopefully we play some very good games so that we can also develop, we can give players minutes who are knocking on the door and then when you get that moment, of course, you can take big steps." Wiegman also emphasised in her pre-match press conference the significance of getting to "pick the games yourself" and she and her staff will get to do that now, having come through an extremely tough qualifying group in second place.

AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Alex Greenwood

When England's defence appeared to hit a self-destruct button on Tuesday night in Gothenburg, Alex Greenwood must've been wondering why on earth she was sat on the bench. Looking at performances for club and country, the Manchester City star has been the Lionesses' best defender for at least the past 12 months, a composed figure who can ride out pressure admirably well. Yet, having played in the win over Ireland on Friday night, when England lined up for the make-or-break game against Sweden, Greenwood was on the sidelines.

As Leah Williamson recklessly dived in on Rosa Kafaji in her own box, and likely breathed a sigh of relief when the 21-year-old decided to stay on her feet when she could've easily won a penalty, and Millie Bright clumsily bundled into Hannah Hampton on two separate occasions to prevent her own goalkeeper from collecting a cross into the box, it was difficult not to think about how unlucky Greenwood is not to be in this team.

Williamson and Bright were the centre-back duo that led England to glory at Euro 2022 and Wiegman has understandably had a level of trust in them since. But while both have had injury problems in the last year, and struggled for form as a result, Greenwood has staked a strong case to start for her country and she's incredibly unfortunate that it is often overlooked.

Getty ImagesWINNER: Hannah Hampton

There's been a lot of talk in 2024 about the battle between Hampton and Mary Earps to be England's No.1 and this international break felt like the most significant in it so far.

In February, it wasn't a surprise to see Hampton get minutes in one of the two friendlies played and when, in April, she got the nod in a qualifier against Ireland, making it the first competitive game since September 2022 that Earps hadn't started for England, it just felt right in order to give Hampton some experience of a match like that. The last international break was tough to judge, too, as Earps picked up an injury during it.

However, for both goalkeepers to be fully fit for these two crucial matches, that had automatic qualification at stake, and for Wiegman to select Hampton for both felt huge. The Chelsea star wasn't faultless but she came up big in Sweden in particular, producing two huge saves to ensure England got the point they needed to reach Euro 2025. If it felt like Hampton was creeping up behind Earps before, now it feels like she is right there alongside her in Wiegman's thinking.

GettyLOSER: Mary Earps

It must have been tough for Earps to take as well, to be sat on the bench while England played these two massive games. She has become so used to being right in the thick of the action in these big moments – and coming up with crucial interventions in them, too.

None of this is to say that the 31-year-old, who was the best goalkeeper at Euro 2022 and the 2023 Women's World Cup, has now lost her No.1 shirt, not at all. She's built up real trust over the last few years with her reliable performances on the big stage and Hampton will need to perform at a consistently high level for club and country over the next 12 months if she is to push to be England's No.1 when Euro 2025 rolls around.

But this past week has confirmed that Earps' spot is under threat more than ever and she'll be eager to get out to France, to her new environment at Paris Saint-Germain, and put in the work on her own side that will be required to stave off the competition from her talented Lionesses team-mate.