Prince William hailed the Lionesses’ Euros victory against the Netherlands after jetting to Zurich to watch the crunch match this evening.
The Prince of Wales was in high spirits as he watched England thrash the Dutch side 4-0 in a must-win match at the Stadion Letzigrund on Wednesday.
The future King was on the edge of his seat in a tense first half before Lauren James opened the scoring with a staggering finish in the 22nd minute.
George Stanway later doubled England’s lead at half time, before James struck the net once again followed by a fourth goal from Ella Toone.
Following the match, William praised the team for their ‘big win’ and gave them some words of encouragement ahead of their next game against Wales on Sunday.
‘A big win in the group stage! Off the mark and onto the next one. Let’s go @lionesses,’ the Prince and his wife the Princess of Wales wrote on Instagram.
William, a long-term Aston Villa supporter, is often spotted in the stands supporting his Premier League club as well as the men’s and women’s national team alongside his son Prince George.
However on this occasion, the future King had travelled to Switzerland on his own, with George seemingly staying at home with his mother Princess Kate.
The Netherlands, fresh off a 3-0 win over Wales, were suffocated by England’s relentless pressing and committed defending.
All week, the Lionesses had drilled one-v-one scenarios – a weak point exposed by France – and here, they responded in style.
Wiegman made just one change to her team, bringing in Ella Toone for Beth Mead and shifting James to the right wing.
A more defensively-minded No 10, Toone was deployed to bolster a midfield that had been overrun in the previous match, which she achieved to great success.
Alex Greenwood also moved to left-back, with Jess Carter dropping into central defence.
Both sides came out with intensity. The Netherlands nearly struck first when captain Vivianne Miedema latched onto a loose ball, but her touch let her down, and Hannah Hampton was quick to smother.
England responded moments later. Lauren Hemp surged down the left and crossed for Alessia Russo, who found herself unmarked but couldn’t keep her header on target.
With 20 minutes gone – the point where England’s energy had faded against France – the breakthrough from James came, and the fans in white and blue breathed a visible sigh of relief.
Just before the break, England struck again. James swung in a free kick that was headed clear by Esmee Brugts, but only as far as Russo.
She laid it off for Stanway, who drove a fierce low shot into the bottom-left corner to redeem her performance from the opener.
After a sloppy performance against the French – a performance which she spoke about in the aftermath with refreshing honesty – the Bayern Munich midfielder was visibly elated to get her name on the scoresheet.
England picked up where they left off in the second half. Russo had a goal ruled out after five minutes, with Leah Williamson caught offside in the build-up.
James struck England’s third with a poacher’s effort before the hour mark had passed. Toone’s shot was blocked, and James passed it past Arsenal’s Champions League-winning goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar and into the back of the net.
Ever a player for a big occasion, Toone struck England’s fourth before Wiegman withdrew James for Chloe Kelly. James received a standing ovation as she walked around the pitch.