Suzanne Wrack was at the Stadion Letzigrund tonight. Her report is in. Thanks for reading this MBM.
Sarina Wiegman talks to ITV. “Of course I am disappointed with the result … we started really well … scored a goal … unfortunately it didn’t count … then we played ourselves a bit out of the game by playing short passes which really helped them … not being tight enough … get out of that first press … that harmed us a bit … then they scored goals … and at the end we played with four attackers … we tried to get the goal over the line but we didn’t … we needed to get in behind them … when we were out of the press we were too sloppy … they are really strong on the counter … powerful and fast … they did that really well … we can do better … we know France are really good but we caused our own problems … we have to make it a little bit easier … we have to step up … we recover then it’s straight onto the Netherlands … sometimes you lose but it’s part of sport … it’s really important we stick together … talk to each other and move on.”
England captain Leah Williamson speaks to ITV. “We lost the game … cheap defending one v one … we learned from those mistakes in fairness and grew in the game … but on the ball not good enough … couldn’t keep it in the areas we needed to keep it … we got better as they tired … but not enough in the end … sometimes it happens … the positive is, I’ve not seen us turn over the ball like that for a while now … really frustrating … tomorrow back on it … some good stuff today especially at the end … we’re losing the ball really cheaply and then we’re in emergency defending … when you do that five times in a row it is tough … we hold ourselves up to the highest standards … we improved on that which is good to take into the next game … everyone should take responsibility for themselves … take a look … I will … tomorrow we have a new gameplan … we will improve.”
That’s not just the first Euros match Sarina Wiegman has ever lost. It’s the first she’s ever failed to win. As a result, the Group D table looks like this …
1. Netherlands W1 D0 L0 F3 A0 Pts 3
2. France W1 D0 L0 F2 A1 Pts 3
3. England W0 D0 L1 F1 A2 Pts 0
4. Wales P1 W0 D0 L1 F0 A3 Pts 0
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Let’s be honest with ourselves: had England managed to scramble a draw, it would have been highly impressive in terms of sheer moxie, but on the balance of play such a result would have seriously flattered them. France were their bosses up until Keira Walsh scored a goal out of nowhere near the end, and with some better decision-making in the second half, they’d have added to their first-half tally. England’s shaky defence rode their luck on a couple of occasions as well. But while the result and the overall performance will sting Sarina Wiegman and her team, those last few minutes will offer a little succour. England had been tame up until that point; at least during that frantic denouement, they finally showed a spirit that suggested they’ll not be giving up their trophy so easily. They can’t afford the same again next Wednesday against the Netherlands, though.
FULL TIME: France 2-1 England
France hold on by the skin of their teeth! England so close to a comeback, but the reigning champions lose their opening match.
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90 min +6: Agyemang makes a nuisance of herself on the edge of the box. The ball drops to Clinton, who sprays a shot miles over the bar. This is an incredible finish!
90 min +5: Peyraud-Magnin flaps at a long ball. It drops to Hemp, who dinks over the keeper … but Bacha clears off the line!
90 min +4: Jean-François is back up, but she has to go off for 30 seconds. The match will restart with a drop ball, gifted to England in the centre circle.
90 min +3: Jean-François goes down with cramp and the referee stops the game. This match was petering out, but Walsh’s goal has set up one heck of a finish. What drama here!
90 min +2: Mateo dribbles in from the right, reaches the touchline, and cuts back for Malard, in a pocket of space, 12 yards out. Malard kicks the ball up onto her own arm and the whistle goes. That was a huge chance for France to settle their nerves and this match.
90 min +1: Peyraud-Magnin is booked for taking her sweet time over the restart. There will be five additional minutes.
90 min: Clinton has a shot. Blocked. Then Agyemang has another go. That one’s turned out for a corner, which is worked left to right for Russo, who loops a cross-cum-shot onto the top of the net. Peyraud-Magnin was backtracking in a panic there.
89 min: Suddenly England are first to everything. The psychology of sport, huh? Hemp and Agyemang make a nuisance of themselves down the inside-left channel, but can’t break into the box.
88 min: France should have put this game to bed long ago. But now look! The England fans have had very little to shout about tonight, but they’re making themselves heard now.
GOAL! France 2-1 England (Walsh 87)
France only half clear the corner. Walsh takes a touch on the edge of the box, before whipping a rising shot towards the top-right corner. Peyraud-Magnin can’t get enough of a fingertip to it, and it’s in! England suddenly with a lifeline, out of nowhere!
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86 min: A rare shot in anger by England. Toone takes it, and it’s deflected wide right for a corner. Before the set piece can be taken, Agyemang comes on for Greenwood. And from the corner …
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85 min: Bronze tries to get something going with a Beckenbaueresque stride down the middle of the park. But there are simply too many blue shirts to get past, and not enough white ones in support. The run peters out.
83 min: Clinton clips Geyoro. These little skirmishes are allowing France to run the clock down in the fuss-free style.
82 min: It’s Lakrar versus Russo in the middle of the park again. Russo grabs hold of Lakrar from behind. Lakrar falls back onto her, and that’s a sore one for the England attacker. Thankfully she’s able to spring up again quite quickly.
81 min: Bronze’s weak backpass nearly lets Malard in. There’s just enough juice on the ball for it to reach Hampton, allowing the keeper to welt clear. England just haven’t been on it tonight at all.
80 min: France replace another couple of excellent players, in De Almeida and Karchaoui. Toletti and N’Dongala take their places.
79 min: There’s a check for hand-ball and a potential penalty as Hemp leans into a misplaced cross in the England box. But the ball hit her shoulder and we play on.
77 min: Stanway makes way for Clinton.
76 min: The resulting free kick is sent into the England box by Bacha. De Almeida, at the far post, cushions a brilliant pass back for Jean-François, who scuffs her shot. France recycle the ball anyway, and Diani heads De Almeida’s right-wing cross wide right. England suddenly hanging on again.
75 min: Toone, still running hot, slides in on Bacha, who was making off down the left touchline. A yellow card all day long.
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73 min: Karchaoui advances down the left and loops a cross that’s too high for Diani. France haven’t been able to find the final pass in this second half.
72 min: Toone, competing on the edge of the France box, needlessly skittles Geyoro to concede a free kick of frustration.
71 min: Williamson was also caught on the back, and shows the referee a little nick. She’s not happy, doubly so when VAR decides there’s little wrong with what Karchaoui has done. An accidental coming together is the decision, and play restarts with a drop ball. Fair to say England are not great fans of the referee or VAR.
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69 min: Williamson and Karchaoui slide into each other as they contest a loose 50-50 ball. Karchaoui went in with studs showing and caught Williamson on the shin. VAR is going to have a look at a potential red card.
67 min: England get their foot on the ball for the first time in a while. France hold their shape and there’s no way into the final third for now, but this is a little better after a very rocky few minutes. Small acorns, all that.
65 min: Mateo curls into the mixer from the left. Hampton and Charles confuse each other in the slapstick style, and are very fortunate that the ball clanking between them doesn’t drop to the lurking Diani or Malard. England eventually lash clear having got away with a huge one there.
64 min: De Almeida dribbles down the right and loops long for Malard, but Bronze reads the danger and heads back to Hampton.
62 min: France respond with a triple change of their own. They replace their entire front line of Katoto, Cascarino and Baltimore – who have all been superb - with Malard, Diani and Mateo. Malard is immediately into the thick of it, tearing down the left and nearly getting clear of Williamson, who is slightly fortunate to win a foul as she stands on the ball and slips.
60 min: A triple change by England. James, Mead and Carter make way for Kelly, Toone and Charles.
59 min: Baltimore has been quiet since the restart, but now she slips Karchaoui into space down the left. Karchaoui’s low shot-cum-cross is feathered away from the danger-zone by Hampton. England hearts in mouths for a second there.
57 min: James wins a corner down the right. Mead passes it along the line to Hemp, on the corner of the six-yard box. France are dozing. She spins and takes a snapshot that’s going wide, but Katoto is taking no chances and turns out of play for another corner. Nothing comes of the second one. That was quick thinking by Mead and Hemp; just a shame the resulting shot was a bit of a scuff.
55 min: Bronze nutmegs Bacha, which is a lovely moment of skill, but doesn’t lead anywhere.
54 min: Mead ships possession cheaply to Katoto, who feeds Geyoro down the left channel. Geyoro enters the box with only Hampton to beat. Hampton does just enough, the ball squeezing under her body but, the pace taken off, dribbling towards the line, allowing the keeper to swivel and smother.
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53 min: England have enjoyed 57 percent of possession so far tonight. They’ve not enjoyed much else.
52 min: De Almeida sends Hemp the wrong way as she enters the England box from the right flank. She’s got options in the middle, but lashes a shot into the side netting. She apologies to her team-mates. England immediately counter, Hemp romping up the left and hooking infield for Russo, who miscontrols and fails to get a shot away. Half a chance for England there, with France light at the back.
51 min: This half has started, but it hasn’t really started. France will be perfectly content as the clock turns.
49 min: Mead makes good down the inside-right channel, but she’s cut across Karchaoui in doing so, and the referee pulls her up for a foul. England are clearly still sore about the Lakrar tackle, because Mead is incensed at what seems a fair-enough decision, while Sarina Wiegman throws some irritated shapes on the sidelines. England need to clear their heads.
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47 min: A scrappy start to the half. “Unfortunately, Stanway has done nothing except make a poor intercepted pass, which led to the first French goal,” writes Peter Gartner. “Stanway off, Toone on. Also, we need some Beever-Jones.”
France get the second half underway. No changes. “I feel bad to single anyone out,” begins Zach Neeley, “but I don’t see how England survive with Carter playing like this. It’s not doing her any favours leaving her out there.”
Meanwhile here’s Tom Garry’s half-time dispatch.
It is very rare to see Sarina Wiegman argue with any officials, like she did with the fourth official after France’s second goal was given. That is possibly the angriest I have seen her, in her four years as England head coach.
Now she has some big tactical decisions to make. England have the players on the bench to turn this around, and this is where Wiegman and her staff will need to earn the big bucks. This game isn’t necessarily over. But France are controlling the midfield now and something needs to be changed.
ITV’s pundits aren’t pulling any punches. Emma Hayes reckons “England have been bullied all over the pitch”, a point a livid Karen Carney picks up and runs with when asked about the Maëlle Lakrar challenge on Alessia Russo that led to Sandy Baltimore twisting the blood of Lucy Bronze and captain Leah Williamson.
“Initially I thought it was a foul but that was the English side of me … being brutally honest, it wasn’t a foul … we’ve been bullied all over the pitch … it looks like we’ve never played together … it’s not a foul … France have been physical … it was unacceptable from a defensive perspective … come on Leah, you’re better than that … France have been superb … I’m really annoyed … this is our trophy and they’ve come and bullied us.”
Think Roy Keane after a Manchester United home defeat, then take it up a couple of notches. Magnificent entertainment, if not exactly the sort England fans will have tuned in for.
Half-time postbag. “England made a meal of defending that first French goal, so it’s no surprise that Marie-Antoinette’s beaming face had ‘Let them eat cake’ written all over it” – Peter Oh
“Like a team used to weak tea, England can’t handle the French press. In the minutes leading up the second goal, Lionesses were barely able to get out of their penalty box, let alone cross the halfway line” – Kári Tulinius
“I’m sitting here in my flat, just one kilometre as the crow flies from the Letzigrund. I expect to hear you cheering all the way over here! Let me say, it’s such a joy to have my favourite football commentators in my home country. Welcome, friends! As for the heat: go for a swim in the lake or river in the morning – just be careful, and do shower afterwards, the duck fleas are back! As for eating out – just don’t, it’s far too expensive. And please, don’t even think about having fondue in this heat – it’ll be the death of you. Head to Migros, grab some bits, and have a picnic in the park” – Bettina Stehli
HALF TIME: France 2-0 England
… nothing occurs. The toughest group just got even tougher for the reigning champions. Big second half for the defence of their title coming up. Already.
45 min +5: Stanway’s speculative shot is deflected out for a corner on the right. From which …
45 min +4: France seem happy enough to sit back, hold their shape, and wait for the break.
45 min +3: Walsh tries to release Stanway with a cute pass down the right channel, but her team-mate is on the back foot and the ball rolls out of play for a goal kick. Pained England expressions all round.
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45 min +2: England have yet to register a shot on target. They did score a disallowed goal, to be fair, but rules are rules. “The fullbacks are not having good games but I really don’t think they are getting much if any help from their wingers,” argues Henry Miller. “Hemp in particular has let Carter be isolated and not tracked back enough.”
45 min: … but that’s not going to happen, because there will be five additional minutes of first-half play.
44 min: England desperately need something before the break, and Mead advances down the right. Her cross is aimless, but headed behind for a corner anyway. However the set piece is no use, easily cleared by France. England look stunned. In fact it’s probably best for them if the half-time whistle comes quicksmart.
43 min: In any case, France still had loads to do, and the defending by Williamson and especially Bronze was dismal. The full-backs are having a nightmare.
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42 min: Sarina Wiegman is livid at the decision, and gives the assistant referee the what-for. But the tackle happened right in front of the referee, and having seen nothing wrong with it in real time, she’s not of a mind to change her decision.
40 min: There’s a VAR check for a possible foul on Russo. But it’s one of those hard-but-fair 50-50 challenges. Lakrar simply caught Russo dozing and barged her off the ball. The goal stands.
GOAL! France 2-0 England (Baltimore 39)
Lakrar wins a crunching tackle on Russo in the centre circle, then sends France off on another attack. Baltimore dribbles in from the left, reaches the byline by brushing off Bronze and Williamson with absurd ease, cuts back, swivels and lashes spectacularly into the top-right corner! This scoreline doesn’t flatter France.
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38 min: Cascarino starts another France attack down the right. Her cross isn’t so pinpoint this time. England can’t keep on like this, though. Cascarino has the run of the right flank.
GOAL! France 1-0 England (Katoto 36)
Cascarino has been the boss of Carter down the right, and she once again finds acres of space. She rolls into the six-yard box. Katoto, racing in from the other flank, slots easily from a couple of yards. Simple as that. And it had been coming. Both England full-backs – Bronze and especially Carter – are being given the runaround.
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35 min: James shoves Bacha to the floor from behind. Bacha falls awkwardly and wants treatment, but France play on anyway, Cascarino finding more space down the right. She cuts back to nobody, then play is stopped so Bacha can get some treatment.
33 min: Baltimore crosses from the left. Cascarino heads down for De Almeida, who shoots hard towards the bottom right. Hampton saves brilliantly with an extended leg, but the offside flag goes up so it wouldn’t have counted anyway. That’s good goalkeeping, though.
31 min: James tries to release Bronze down the right but seriously overhits the pass. Goal kick. Since the disallowed goal, England have gone quiet as an attacking force.
29 min: Baltimore skips past Bronze on the left, and cuts back to … nobody. The ball’s hacked clear. But France come again, Karchaoui and Cascarino combining crisply down the right before cutting back for Bacha, who attempts to catch out Hampton with a dipping shot towards the top-left corner. Hampton is on point this time to claim.
27 min: Cascarino works down the right and has her cross handled by Carter. A free kick that’s in effect a corner. The set piece is sent towards the far stick. Katoto wins a header, but it’s a weak one, and easy for Hampton. A nervy couple of minutes for England as France re-establish that earlier dominance.
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25 min: Karchaoui goes for the spectacular again. A long pass hoicked down the inside-left channel. She chases after it, and spots Hampton standing around in no-woman’s land. She attempts the lob, but can only ripple the side netting. A yard or so to the right, and that was going in. Hampton was way out of position, and out of the game.
24 min: Karchaoui swans in from the right and looks for the top-left corner. She finds a top-left corner, but it’s of the stand behind.
23 min: Russo sends Hemp into space down the left. Hemp crosses. Russo tries to get on the end of the return, but James is already there, and attempts an elaborate overhead kick from the penalty spot. It’s ambitious, and sails miles over the crossbar. Might have been better either laying that off for Russo, or leaving her team-mate to it altogether. But these are split-second decisions.
21 min: Cascarino skins Carter with too much ease down the right. She loops towards Baltimore, but the cross is a smidgen too high. It’s half cleared, then Jean-François returns it by lashing a shot over the bar. This certainly doesn’t feel like a game destined to end 0-0.
20 min: England load the box, but Greenwood wastes the free kick, floating it high into the penalty area, easy pickings for Peyraud-Magnin.
19 min: Are England frustrated? No, they seem encouraged. Mead makes her presence felt down the right and draws a foul from Jean-François. A free kick in a dangerous position.
VAR: NO GOAL. France 0-0 England
17 min: Ah, there were a couple of offsides in the build-up. Mead was a touch off when she received the pass from James, then Russo, in an offside position, feathered Mead’s ping back across to Hemp. The correct decision x2.
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GOAL! France 0-1 England (Russo 16)
The champions open the scoring! James drops deep then runs down the inside-left channel. She switches play to Mead on the right. Mead rolls it back to Hemp on the left. Hemp’s only got Peyraud-Magnin to beat! The keeper parries Hemp’s rising shot, but the ball deflects into the path of Russo, who adroitly slams into the left-hand side of the net. Fine play all round!
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15 min: Walsh takes a poor touch in the centre circle and is lucky that Karchaoui’s attempt to release Cascarino down the right is overhit, sailing into touch. England were light at the back there.
13 min: Bacha makes good down the left but can’t find anyone with her pass infield. Les Bleues, as you’d expect from a confident team on an eight-game winning run, are dominating possession now.
11 min: This is good end-to-end stuff now. Mead tries to beat Lakrar to a ball played into the French box down the right. Lakrar wins the tussle and waltzes off with the ball. Mead, having fallen over, claims a penalty, but it’s a cheeky request and the referee waves play on.
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9 min: France are now getting into the game, and the England half. Cascarino reaches the byline down the right only to curl her cross out of play for a goal kick.
8 min: Karchaoui probes down the inside-right channel and is upended by Stanway. It’s a fairly crude challenge, and one that would surely earn a booking had it been made later in the game. But the referee decides a chat will suffice. Bacha swings the free kick into the mixer and it’s confidently claimed by Hampton.
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6 min: This start will give England heart. They could very easily be 2-0 up already. France are seeing more of the ball, but England look dangerous when they get it and advance.
4 min: James barges her way down the right, all power and pace. And then some delicate art, as she checks back and swishes a glorious cross into the centre. Russo and Mead kind of get in each other’s way, six yards out, and the ball flies between them both and away from danger. A big chance goes begging. What a ball, though!
2 min: France respond with a few passes to calm the nerves. That was close to a disastrous start for the fourth favourites to win the entire thing.
39 secs: England should be leading. Space for Russo down the right. She cuts back for James, who has time just inside the box! But she blooters wildly over the bar. That would have been some statement.
Both sets of players take a knee against all forms of discrimination … and then the European champions get the match started. Here we go, then.
… but before kick-off, we pause for a minute’s silence in memory of two beloved brothers taken from us earlier this week. Perfectly observed. Rest well, Diogo. Sleep easy, André. xx
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The teams are out! France in their famous bleu, England in Mick-Mills-inspired white with red and blue shoulder panels. A wonderful atmosphere at the Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich. We’ll be off once coins have been tossed, fists bumped, and those pennants exchanged and anthems sung.
Our man Tom Garry is at the game tonight. Here’s his pre-match missive.
The England men’s team boss Thomas Tuchel is here in the stands in Zurich tonight, to watch Sarina Wiegman’s team in action. He has been getting around to a lot of fixtures this summer, including the men’s Under-21s final too. His colleague Wiegman has won every single match she has overseen at European Championships so far.
Wiegman of course having won the 2017 staging with the Netherlands with a 100 percent record, just as she did with England five years later. The sliding-door moment below seems an awfully long time ago, doesn’t it?
The national anthems. France have won this too, haven’t they.
Pennant watch. France have this literally sewn up. It’s simply not possible to go wrong with that flag. Simple and classic.
The FA however keep up a habit that’s long blighted the men’s game, by issuing a pennant that looks as though it’s been knocked out in five minutes using Microsoft Word. Gorgeous 1982-referencing kit, though, and the players get a goodie bag full of Dove products too, so the administrators haven’t been totally asleep on the job.
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England manager Sarina Wiegman speaks to ITV. “We are ready … excited … finally we can start now too because all the other teams have started already … we have had three weeks of training sessions … the game against Jamaica … now we start tonight … I hope [Lauren James] is going to perform well … she can bring something different … she tried really hard to be where she is right now … we have options … she is excited … [Alex Greenwood] is a leader of the team … so experienced … she connects the team … we need her experience … [Jess Carter] performs well at left-back … keeps it simple … she also wants to go forward … when to go, when to stay … [France] are powerful … dynamic … speed up front … we are aware of that.”
A major tournament simply isn’t a major tournament without a wallchart. Don’t worry if you haven’t been able to source one, because our resident artistic genius David Squires has been to work and has your back. You know the pack drill: Print it out! Pin it up! Fill it in! Make a series of primary-school-level errors while filling out the final tables!
The Guardian Experts’ Network has run the rule over every team at Euro 2025. Here’s why France have the potential to reach the final …
… and why England can defend their title.
Today’s other game in Group D has just finished: Wales 0-3 Netherlands. Underdogs Wales held out against the Netherlands until first-half stoppage time, at which point the previously quiet Vivianne Miedema stepped up with a screamer, and the 2017 champions never looked back. Emillia Hawkins delivers the details in the new-fangled minute-by-minute idiom.
1. Netherlands W1 D0 L0 F3 A0 Pts 3
2. England W0 D0 L0 F0 A0 Pts 0
3. France W0 D0 L0 F0 A0 Pts 0
4. Wales P1 W0 D0 L1 F0 A3 Pts 0
The big news for the Lionesses: Lauren James starts the game. The half-hour run-out she got against Jamaica last week has stood her in good stead. It’s the Chelsea forward’s first start for club or country since picking up a hamstring injury in April. Alex Greenwood wins her 100th cap at centre-back.
A couple of James’s Chelsea team-mates are in France’s starting XI: midfielder Oriane Jean-François and winger Sandy Baltimore. Manchester United’s Melvine Malard and Everton’s Kelly Gago are on the bench. France’s centre-back and captain Griedge Mbock has a calf issue and isn’t risked.
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The teams
France: Peyraud-Magnin, de Almeida, Lakrar, Sombath, Bacha, Karchaoui, Jean-Francois, Geyoro, Baltimore, Katoto, Cascarino.
Subs: Lerond, Samoura, Toletti, Malard, Majri, Diani, Mateo, Gago, Mbock, N’Dongala, Bogaert, Picaud.
England: Hampton, Bronze, Williamson, Greenwood, Carter, James, Walsh, Stanway, Mead, Russo, Hemp.
Subs: Moorhouse, Charles, Toone, Le Tissier, Clinton, Morgan, Agyemang, Kelly, Beever-Jones, Park, Wubben-Moy, Keating.
Referee: Tess Olofsson (Sweden).
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Preamble
It’s the final game of the first wave of matches, and the best of them has been saved until last. The champions England begin the defence of their title against France, fourth favourites to lift the trophy and the biggest nation in this tournament never to win a major international prize. This, you suspect, is going to be tasty.
It’s not that easy to predict, mind. France have the overall upper hand in the head-to-head, with five wins from ten meetings to England’s two. But it’s the most recent match-ups that are the most instructive, and these teams met last year in qualifying for these finals, and traded 2-1 away victories within the space of four days. So good luck calling it.
Perhaps overall form clears the picture? Well, perhaps: France are on an eight-game winning streak, while the Lionesses have been inconsistent of late, defeated by Belgium and Spain in recent Nations League matches. But Sarina Wiegman’s women can also boast a victory over the world champions this year, and they’ve recently put five past Belgium, six past Portugal, and seven past Jamaica. So yeah, good luck calling this. The game kicks off at 8pm UK time, 9pm in Zurich. It’s on!
