England must be fearless to get past the Netherlands, says Russo

ZURICH :England will need to be fearless in their crucial Group D match against the Netherlands at the Women's Euros on Wednesday, said striker Alessia Russo, who insisted the team's confidence had not wavered since the 2-1 loss to France in their opener.

England's defeat was their first in the group stage in a European Championship in 10 years and they now face becoming the first holders eliminated before the knockout round. England will be out if they lose and France are not beaten by Wales.

"Massively," Russo said on Tuesday, when asked if England must play without fear. "We want everyone to be as free as possible out on the pitch and going forward.

"It's a big part of what we are as a team. We have players who can create something out of nothing, and making sure everyone is in a good head-space is important.

"Ultimately we have a game plan but we have individuals as well who can create a bit of magic."

Russo and manager Sarina Wiegman said they knew before the tournament kicked off that their group would be tough, with three of the four teams ranked in FIFA's top 11.

So while the loss to France was frustrating, it was not entirely deflating.

"No, it's tournament football and you go through lots of highs and lows to where you want to be," Russo said. "We came up against a great France team but we know we can be better and we have high standards as a team."

Wiegman is predicting an "intense game" on Wednesday at Stadion Letzigrund as England try to bounce back against the Dutch, a team she led to the European title in 2017.

"We knew this was going to be a hard group," she said.

"What we are focusing on is our game plan and executing that, doing your task and having conversations with players together and talking together and