Victory against Wales in final group match would see England reach the last eight, but Beth Mead is taking nothing for granted [Philipp Kresnik/SheKicks/SPP]

WORLD number five England face a Wales side ranked 25 places below them in St Gallen tonight (Sunday) but Arsenal forward Beth Mead has warned against complacency.

Victory for the defending champions in this final group match would see Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses reach the last eight, but 30-year-old Mead is taking nothing for granted.

“Sometimes these are your hardest games,” she said after the 4-0 win over the Netherlands in midweek.

“Wales are not wanting us to do well in this tournament, understandably, they are going to be a very tough team to beat and we’ve got to figure out ways that we can break the team down.”

Wales have lost nine and drawn once in their 10 previous meetings with England and have faced a baptism of fire in their first major tournament with losses to the Netherlands and France.

But in a passionate press conference that brought home just how far Wales have come on their road to the big stage, head coach Rhian Wilkinson said her players had nothing to fear in this final group game.

“We know there’s still a chance for us, we’re aware of it,” she said.

“And when there’s a chance there’s always an exciting element that we get to go towards and not be frightened of, because what do we have to fear? It’s just an exciting opportunity.”

And Wilkinson, who as a player was knocked out of Canada’s home World Cup of 2015 by England and a Lucy Bronze goal, added that Wales were definitely not in Switzerland to make up the numbers.

“These women have fought so hard for so long, many of them their whole careers, to have this opportunity and I will not allow us to just feel like we are here to just participate,” she said.

“Why wouldn’t we go towards a rivalry? This will only benefit the women’s game and we are going as much as possible push them to the very end.

“And it is to the very end, we are in an incredibly close group, England will be forced to play a strong line-up and there’s also goal differential so my women get to show up and spoil the party and it’s a wonderful job to have.”

Wales skipper and Seattle Reign midfielder Angharad James suggested that the sporting rivalry between the two nations only added to an exciting mix.

“There’s no hiding behind the history of Wales versus England whatever sport you play in,” she said.

“It’s a rivalry match and one that everyone wants to play in and we’ve come on so much since the first game and the second game was such a big improvement and we’re looking to step it up again in this game.

“But the pressure is all on England, they have to come out, they have to perform and are expected to win this game.

“Within our group we believe we can upset a very top team, but we’re preparing as normal and ready for the fight.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal striker Stina Blackstenius will be among those players who will be watching Group D unfold with interest – her Sweden side will face whichever team finishes as runners-up, and that could mean England.

“I don’t want to stand here and say that I prefer any of the teams,” Blackstenius told the Swedish media in Zurich on Saturday.

“So it will be exciting to see how it ends and then we will continue to prepare ourselves regardless of the team we play against.”

The Swede is enjoying a fine tournament and brought her goal tally to two on Saturday after cancelling out an opener from Germany’s Jule Brand to pave the way for a remarkable 4-1 win in front of 22,552 fans.

“I was really happy to score and that it got us back into the game,” she told the New Journal afterwards. “And I’m really proud of the team how we managed the game after that.”

Blackstenius certainly got the ball rolling on a sublime Swedish victory that delivered four goals and a red card in the space of 34 minutes.

Teenager Smilla Holmberg carved out a brilliant goal from a tight angle to extend Sweden’s lead before Fridolina Rolfo made it 3-1 from the spot after Carlotta Wamser was dismissed for handball.

Former Gunner Lina Hurtig added the cherry on top with a fourth to spark a delighted reaction from the noisy, flag-waving, yellow-clad Sweden fans behind Germany’s goal, celebrations that the players joined in with at full-time by bouncing along in tandem with the crowd.

“Amazing, couldn’t dream about more, this is incredible,” said player of the match, Chelsea forward Johanna Rytting Kaneryd.

“You see all those yellow shirts, so many as well, we never thought it would be as big as it is and it’s a really good sign that we really have the support from Sweden.”

Kick off in both Group D matches tonight is at 8pm.

Catherine Etoe reporting from Zurich