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Defender Lily Woodham insists Wales will not be “too down” and “come back fighting” following defeat by the Netherlands in their opening game of Euro 2025.

Wales, making their debut at a major finals, were beaten 3-0 by the 2017 European champions in Lucerne.

Rhian Wilkinson’s side face another tough game on Wednesday in St Gallen against France, who beat reigning champions England 2-1.

“We can’t get too down about it,” Seattle Reign’s Woodham said of the defeat by the Dutch.

“It was a big occasion for us, and not to make excuses at all, we were a bit shaky

“We know in ourselves what we need to do better and that’s something we’ll definitely work on as a group.

“We’ll look at it, review it and try and be positive for the next one. We’ll come back fighting.

“Now we know the reality of these major tournaments and what you’ve got to give and the work rate you have to put in.

Hayley Ladd said defeat against the Netherlands was a “harsh reminder” of playing at a major finals.

“It was a nervy opening game,” the Everton player said.

“Obviously a difficult scoreline in the end but it’s the start to our journey here and we know we’ve got lots to improve on and still really positive as well.

“At least we’ve got a foundation now to build and grow with these next two games.

“We obviously know the standards of this level of football now and that’s probably a harsh reminder as well that we’ve really got to be at our very best to compete with these teams.

Former champions Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk beat Nathaniel Lammons and Alexandra Panova to progress to the mixed doubles quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Briton Skupski and American Krawczyk, who won the title together in 2021 and 2022, took 53 minutes to win 6-4 6-2.

Liverpool fan Skupski wore a black ribbon on his T-shirt in tribute to their forward Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash on Thursday.

Skupski’s men’s doubles partner Joe Salisbury also won in the last 16 as he and Brazilian Luisa Stefani prevailed in two tie breaks to beat Andres Molteni of Argentina and American Asia Muhammad 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5).

After winning the first set 7-6 (7-2), British duo Joshua Paris and Eden Silva secured their passage into the quarter-finals as opponents Robert Galloway of the USA and Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi retired.

London Pulse secured their first Netball Super League title and denied Loughborough Lightning an unprecedented three-peat with a thrilling 53-45 Grand Final win at the O2 Arena in London.

Victory wraps up a magnificent treble for Sam Bird’s side, who topped the regular season table and won the inaugural Netball Super Cup in March.

The final whistle sparked wild celebrations from the majority of the 10,000 fans inside the venue, with the Pulse players embracing before sinking to the floor.

Their victory was based on a solid defensive display by player of the match Funmi Fadoju, who ended with eight deflections, three intercepts and eight gains.

The foundation set by Fadoju allowed Pulse to be aggressive and pushed Lightning back up the court, forcing the champions into uncharacteristic mistakes and restricting them to their lowest score of the season.

Pulse never relinquished the lead after nudging in front inside the opening five minutes and always looked to have another gear if required.

London Pulse defender and player of the match Funmi Fadoju: “It feels so amazing. I am so proud of the girls. We went out there and did what we had to do.

“We knew exactly what our set-ups were, we knew we had to work together, and that’s what we did.

“There’s no words to describe it. I knew we could do it and we did. “

Pulse coach Sam Bird: “I’m so happy for the club, the girls, the sponsors, the fans. It is such a great day. It was such a hard game. It was like a game of chess. The strategy involved was really tough and I’m just really proud we got across the line. “

It’s been all Thunder and Lightning of late, with a Manchester and Loughborough duopoly of the NSL title over the past five seasons, but the clouds have broken and there’s a new champion team in town. Just like this year, Pulse also topped the regular-season standings in 2023, but on that occasion the team from the Copper Box lost out to Loughborough in the Grand Final.

Most feeds: Bethan Dyke (Cardiff Dragons) – 465

Most super shots: Rolene Streutker (Nottingham Forest) – 157

With a dazzling 53-45 victory in the Grand Final at London O2 Arena, London Pulse won their first Netball Super League title and denied Loughborough Lightning a record-breaking three-peat.

Sam Bird’s side, who won the first Netball Super Cup in March and finished the regular season top of the table, will now complete a magnificent treble with Victory.

The majority of the 10,000 fans inside the venue erupted into wild celebrations after the final whistle, with the Pulse players embracing before falling to the ground.

Funmi Fadoju, the match’s player of the match, put together a strong defensive defense that earned them their victory, ending with eight deflections, three interceptions, and eight gains.

The foundation laid by Fadoju allowed Pulse to be aggressive and pushed Lightning back up the court, preventing them from making strange errors and limiting them to their season-lowest score.

Pulse never gave up on the lead after leading within the first five minutes, surviving on the pressure from a patient Lightning, and always looking for a second gear.

We were aware of our setups perfectly well, and we knew we had to collaborate.

There are no words that can adequately describe it. We did it because I was confident in our ability.

Sam Bird, the coach for Pulse, said to Sky Sports, “I’m so happy for the club, the girls, our sponsors, and our supporters. What a wonderful day! Such a challenging game. It resembled chess, exactly. I’m just so happy we made it across the line because of the challenging strategy we used.

The clouds have melted, and there is now a new champion team in town after five years of Manchester and Loughborough duopoly winning the NSL championship. Similar to this year, Pulse also topped the 2023 regular-season standings, but on that occasion Loughborough defeated the Copper Box in the Grand Final.

Most feeds: 465 feeds for Bethan Dyke (Cardiff Dragons).

Most outstanding shots: Rolene Streutker (Nottingham Forest) – 157.