Women’s Euro 2025 draw: England’s Sarina Wiegman says ‘no easy things anymore’
Wigman is captain under Dutch coach Juncker and they have been friends for nearly 30 years.
“It’s always special because we’re friends. Usually with friends you wish them the best, but as athletes we want to beat the other person,” Jonker said.
“We want to win. That means you have to hurt your friends. But we’re all on the same page and the respect for each other doesn’t change.
“We met after the draw. I said to her, ‘Did you ever think we’d be on this side?’ Our history goes back to the ’90s.
“Now we stand on the stage and will play against each other in the European Championship. This is a special moment.”
Jonker said “the winner of Group D can win the whole tournament”, with former Lioness Anita Asante backing England to have the tools to defend their title.
“I don’t see why not. In championship football, anything is possible,” Asante said when asked if England could go all the way in Switzerland.
“It all comes down to how you navigate your journey, how you manage expectations and pressure when it matters most, and who can make the difference in those crucial moments.
“That’s football. You can be the best team and play the best football but you can also lose. I think England know that.
“A lot of them are used to being in finals now. We’ve won finals, we’ve been to World Cup finals – they’ll be up for the challenge.”
