Defending champs England fall at first hurdle, as France send statement

ZURICH, Switzerland -- France stunned defending champions England to triumph their Euro 2025 Group D opener 2-1 successful Zurich connected Saturday.

Laurent Bonadei's broadside person enjoyed a singular tally of signifier successful 2025 and they continued this connected a balmy evening successful Switzerland arsenic goals from Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore handed England a chastening defeat, who got a precocious consolation from Keira Walsh.

England headed into this tourney arsenic 1 of the favorites, but were outclassed by the French for overmuch of the crippled arsenic they handed Sarina Wiegman's squad a achy defeat.

England did instrumentality an aboriginal pb done Alessia Russo aft 13 minutes, but the effort was chalked disconnected owed to Beth Mead being a toed offside.

From there, France dominated and England started to marque a bid of errors. Katoto pounced to pat location a Delphine Cascarino transverse aft 36 minutes portion Baltimore exploited antiaircraft chaos successful the English ranks to treble their pb 3 minutes later.

Despite England making their accustomed changes connected the hr mark, it did small to stem the tide and France were seldom threatened successful the 2nd fractional until the closing stages. Wiegman introduced Michelle Agyemang astatine the 85th infinitesimal people and her beingness successful the container helped make abstraction for Walsh to steer a changeable home.

England pushed for a precocious equalizer, that ne'er came. They present look a must-win lucifer against the Netherlands, portion France volition look to spell 2 from 2 against Wales connected Wednesday. -- Tom Hamilton

England's mistake number was punishing

Heading into this opener, England were keen to propulsion their connection that they're not truly present arsenic defending champions, but alternatively looking to bash thing nary England elder squad has ever achieved: triumph a large tourney connected overseas soil.

The radical were softly optimistic and successful a bully place.

But against France, for astir of the match, they froze. The mistake number was remarkable. Players who are usually truthful reliable were making uncharacteristic, poorly judged passes, they were giving the shot distant successful unsafe areas, and the squad mislaid immoderate aboriginal momentum they had.

The midfield was acold excessively exposed portion Cascarino and Baltimore had the state of the wings, with Jessica Carter and Lucy Bronze struggling to incorporate those threats. France's archetypal extremity from Katoto came disconnected a escaped walk from Georgia Stanway to Lauren Hemp, which allowed France to counter, portion Bronze was retired of presumption for France's second, an unfortunate ricochet allowing Baltimore plentifulness of clip to occurrence home.

Both had acold excessively overmuch space. There were escaped passes from players similar Mead, portion astatine 1 constituent Leah Williamson and Alex Greenwood collided to springiness Élisa De Almeida a chance. It each contributed to France's commanding clasp connected the match.

Though England rallied precocious on, for truthful overmuch of this, it was jarring to watch. They simply person to chopped retired these errors against the Netherlands, oregon they're heading location early. -- Hamilton

France's midfield conflict was cardinal successful win

Previewing this match, it was wide that midfield power would find the winner.

With 2 beforehand threes facing each different -- Hemp-Russo-Mead for England and Cascarino-Katoto-Baltimore for France -- it was each astir dominance successful midfield to provender bully balls to your forwards, meaning that whoever would bash that champion would triumph the game.

In the end, it wasn't adjacent a contest. After a balanced opening 10 minutes, France's midfield overwhelmed their English counterparts.

Manager Bonadei decided to commencement with Oriane Jean-François alongside Grace Geyoro and Sakina Karchaoui, and helium made the close choice. The Chelsea subordinate was everywhere, truthful impactful with and without the ball, portion Geyoro dictated play and Karchaoui's question caused changeless problems.

Walsh and Stanway ne'er got into the game, and Lauren James became a bystander. France's 4-3-3 enactment ever offered an other subordinate against England's 4-2-3-1. -- Julien Laurens

France's Baltimore and Cascarino, important connected the wings

Aside from Spain -- who tin besides wounded you done the mediate -- the main attacking menace among the tourney favorites astatine these Euros continues to travel from the wings.

We saw it with Germany connected Friday, arsenic Klara Bühl and Jule Brand ran riot. And we saw it again with France. Cascarino connected the close and Baltimore connected the near perfectly tormented England during the hr they spent connected the pitch.

Bronze and Carter had nary answers to their skills and pace. Cascarino, who plays for San Diego Wave successful the NWSL now, gave a cleanable assistance connected the archetypal extremity portion the Chelsea guardant scored the 2nd one.

Because France were truthful ascendant successful midfield, Les Bleues' 2 wide players saw plentifulness of the shot successful large situations too, often isolated one-on-one, precisely wherever they thrive.

They went astatine the England defence nonstop. The gait of Cascarino, possibly the fastest subordinate successful the tournament, is scary, and Baltimore has go specified a large all-around subordinate since her determination to the Women's Super League.

They volition spell again present against Wales connected Wednesday, with the anticipation of already qualifying their squad for the quarterfinals. -- Laurens

The Lauren James gamble

At her best, James is 1 of the champion attacking talents successful satellite football. But since injuring her hamstring against Belgium backmost successful April, James has had astir 30 minutes of football, and that came against Jamaica past Sunday.

Against France, she showed flashes of her attacking threat, but this was a immense gamble from Wiegman to commencement James from the outset, fixed her deficiency of lucifer action. James had a bully accidental aft conscionable 43 seconds to unfastened the pb for England, but her effort flew implicit the bar, and past aft 3 minutes, her curled transverse conscionable missed Russo's head.

But James is an out-and-out attacker. Wiegman's strategy much commonly sees the No.10 play arsenic a hybrid No.8, joining Stanway and Walsh successful antiaircraft duties.

Having been fixed plentifulness of abstraction aboriginal on, France chopped down James' abstraction and past started dominating the mediate of the pitch, winning the midfield battle, and leaving England defensively vulnerable. James lasted 60 minutes earlier being replaced with Ella Toone coming into the mediate of the pitch. That gave England much antiaircraft screen and helped physique much attacking momentum.

Either Toone oregon Grace Clinton person to commencement against the Netherlands successful midfield with Wiegman facing a determination connected whether she starts James oregon Chloe Kelly connected the wing, oregon keeps the religion with Mead. -- Hamilton

Wiegman and England are present nether immense pressure

Wiegman's large tourney grounds is remarkable. In her 2 European Championships to day heading into this one, she won the 2017 variation with the Netherlands, past guided England to their triumph successful 2022. So we're successful uncharted territory here.

This was Wiegman's first-ever decision arsenic caput manager astatine a European Championship. England's tally of large tourney occurrence nether Wiegman has been remarkable. But successful some the Euros successful 2022 and the World Cup successful 2023, they started slowly. But connected some those occasions, they recovered a mode to triumph 1-0. Unfortunately for them, that tally came to an abrupt halt successful Zurich.

This was not a show from a Wiegman squad we person travel to expect. For overmuch of the lucifer -- contempt their precocious rally -- the errors were plentiful, the defence shaky, the fullbacks backpedaling, and the attacking menace negligible. England lone registered their archetypal changeable connected people erstwhile Walsh guided the shot location precocious on.

They person plentifulness to hole up of the Netherlands connected Wednesday, who volition beryllium riding their ain question of optimism aft defeating Wales 3-0. England are fundamentally successful must-win territory now, oregon their tourney volition beryllium implicit earlier it ever got going. -- Hamilton

Geyoro celebrates centenary headdress successful style

Of the 2 players celebrating a landmark 100th headdress successful this game, Geyoro is evidently the happiest.

Alex Greenwood, the England halfway back, won't support a bully representation of this nighttime contempt achieving a uncommon feat.

100 matches for your state is precise special, and for Geyoro to bask it with a triumph implicit England -- the reigning European champions -- felt adjacent better. The 28-year-old PSG midfielder made her debut 8 years agone and has been done each the disappointments, each the losses successful quarterfinals despite Les Bleues often having a presumption of favorites.

She has cried much than she has laughed with her country. But she has besides ever fixed 100%, taking large pridefulness successful wearing the No. 8 shirt. On Saturday, she bossed the crippled again. She won each her duels by recovering 5 balls, much than anyone other connected the pitch. For much than 90 minutes, she was the cleanable centurion. -- Laurens