Lauren Hemp relishing England's must-win scenario as Lionesses feel the pressure

Lauren Hemp is relishing the pressure of a must-win game for England on Wednesday but recognises the team needs to perform better than against France on Saturday night. Defeat for England against the Netherlands would see them eliminated from the Euros with a game to spare, unless Wales cause a shock against France later the same evening.

Even a point on Wednesday would leave the Lionesses' fate out of their own hands, but winger Hemp isn’t shying away from the challenge. “I think this team, a lot of the time we thrive under pressure and obviously it's one of those situations where every game we go into we want to win,” Hemp said.

“From how we acted the last 10 minutes of the [France] game, we know what's at stake and we obviously want to get as far as we can. And we are reigning champions. It is important to remember that and gain confidence from that."

She added: “Obviously I love playing in football matches where we need to win, that's the games you want to be involved in, so it's important we take confidence from parts of yesterday.” England were left on the ropes as France scored twice in quick succession, and a late rally didn’t produce the miracle comeback manager Sarina Wiegman will have wanted.

“There were still parts of the game… where we can take confidence from [them], especially going into the game on Wednesday, and it's important that we recover and rest now, ready to go into that game,” Hemp said.

READ MORE: England stars identify secret weapon who can rescue Lionesses' Euro hopes

READ MORE: England Women told to face Euro 2025 reality and rediscover 'untouchable' selves

“We started strong and I thought we finished strong as well. Obviously parts in the game there's so much we can improve on,but we're going to look back at that and really work hard on what we can take forward into the Wednesday game.

“We know we've got to win the next two games, and I think the fight at the end of the game showed how much we're willing to do for this team and how much we want to make sure that we get through to the next round.”

Team-mate Alex Greenwood was also keen to stress all is not lost for the holders. "Yes, of course we’re disappointed we don’t like conceding goals like that," the defender told BBC Sport. "It’s important that we look at each other first and then assess it as a team and make sure it’s right for the next game.

"Well we’re European Champions so we have to. We’ve got two massive games now, in the next ones. We have to win the next two games. I have no doubt we will [be better]. We have to be better because we have to win the next two games."

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.