Lionesses Diary - Day 16: Knockout stages arrive for England as Italy make history

The Lionesses’ first knockout game has arrived as nerves build among fans for their impending clash with Sweden.

The winner of the quarter-final tie will face Italy in a semi-final in Geneva, with both sides entering the clash at 8pm this evening in strong form from their group.

Here is everything you need to know from the England camp on day 16 of Euro 2025…

Today in camp

England are back in Zurich for their quarter-final tie, a place familiar to them from their group games against France and the Netherlands.

It means they do not have far to travel from their tournament base to the west of the city, and have therefore not had to fit a travel day into their plans.

It also brings the added bonus of a matchday walk the familiarly bucolic surroundings of the wooded paths around their hotel.

With final training sessions already complete, the players will be doing what they can to stay relaxed ahead of the impending knockout clash.

Esme Morgan shared that while her former role of bracelet-maker has been taken by Alessia Russo and Ella Toone at this tournament, she had found a new crafty pastime to keep her occupied in camp.

“My craft time commitments have now gone to doing my cross stitch, which I’ve been doing for ages on and off around other things,” she told the Lionesses’ Diary Room.

“Classic Esme tournament tradition, I left my essay until the last minute for my uni work so I had to get that boxed off. But now I can commit to doing my cross stitch.”

Team news

England enjoy a clean bill of health heading into their quarter-final tie against Sweden with Lauren James continuing to build up her fitness - a dangerous prospect for the opposition.

One player for each team faces the threat of semi-final suspension if they