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England must “demand higher” from each other, striker Alessia Russo has said after an underwhelming start to their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n Sarina Wiegman’s defending European champions took the lead <\/span>at Wembley Stadium on Friday<\/span><\/a> thanks to Russo’s header but were far from their flowing best, giving away possession too easily and looking vulnerable to Sweden’s counter-attacking threat. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n They switched off in the second half, allowing Sweden back into the game when Fridolina Rolfo nodded in at the back post to make it 1-1. <\/span><\/p>\n Drawn in a tough group with Sweden, France and the Republic of Ireland, who England face next in Dublin on Tuesday, this felt like a missed opportunity to capitalise in front of a home crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n Russo, who was one of England’s brightest players before being substituted in the second half, admitted to frustrations with the performance.<\/span><\/p>\n “Sweden are a top side, our group is tough. We’re a good side too so I think it’s disappointing but we’ve come up against a strong side,” she told ITV. <\/span><\/p>\n “Our standards are high, we know we can demand higher of each other. We will own that, but across the board, there were lower standards that we can improve on. <\/span><\/p>\n “We struggled to figure out the problems but we did get a draw. Every result and every point counts.”<\/span><\/p>\n It was a somewhat flat atmosphere at Wembley after a big build-up before kick-off with fans throwing paper aeroplanes in the second half, before getting out their phone camera lights as England’s performance dipped.<\/span><\/p>\n