England's Women's European Championship title defense got off to a rocky start as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against France in their opening match. This loss marks a historic first, making England the first reigning champion to lose their opening game in the history of the Women's Euros. The match, held on Saturday, saw France secure their ninth consecutive win, stunning the defending champions.
France's victory was fueled by two quickfire goals towards the end of the first half, scored by Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore. Despite a late goal from Keira Walsh, England couldn't overcome the deficit. The loss also ended England coach Sarina Wiegman's perfect record in the competition, after winning all 12 of her previous matches across two tournaments, leading the Netherlands and then England to victory.
The Lionesses entered the match with Lauren James back in the starting lineup for the first time since recovering from a hamstring injury. James almost made an immediate impact, with an early run into the box that narrowly missed the target. Alessia Russo also had a goal disallowed for offside in the 16th minute. France, however, grew stronger as the first half progressed. Sakina Karchaoui nearly scored a spectacular goal, but her lob landed just outside the net. French pressure eventually led to Katoto's goal in the 36th minute, followed shortly by Baltimore's.
England captain Leah Williamson expressed her disappointment after the game, saying, "We lost a game. Cheap defending one v one. Not good enough... On the ball, we were not good enough". She acknowledged that the team improved as the game went on, taking advantage of France's fatigue, but it wasn't enough to secure a positive result.
The loss puts England in a challenging position in Group D, which also includes the Netherlands and Wales. The Netherlands defeated Wales 3-0 in their opening match, further intensifying the competition in the group. England will face the Netherlands in their next match on Wednesday. France will play Wales on the same day.
The 2025 UEFA Women's Championship is being held in Switzerland from July 2nd to July 27th. The tournament has returned to its usual four-year cycle after the previous tournament was delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixteen teams are participating in the tournament, with the final to be played in Basel.
