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England's Lionesses started their European Championship title defence in concerning fashion on Saturday, with a 2-1 defeat to France marking the first time in competition history that a reigning champion has opened their campaign with a loss. It began so well for Sarina Wiegman's side too, who appeared to mark a bright start with an Alessia Russo goal after just 16 minutes. However, VAR intervened to overturn it and, 25 minutes later, Les Bleues assumed, and rarely let go, of total control.
The French had looked vulnerable and, in truth, poor in the opening stages as well, with the centre of their defence seeming especially suspect amid the controversial omission of long-time captain Wendie Renard. But Russo's disallowed goal appeared to kick Laurent Bonadei's side into life, who scored twice in three minutes just past the half-hour mark. There was a lot to like about both goals from a France perspective, be it the electric wing play of Delphine Cascarino, the clever movement of Marie-Antoinette Katoto or the tenacity of Sandy Baltimore. Still, it was impossible to ignore the awful defending on England's part, which left a lot to be desired on both occasions.
From there, the Lionesses struggled to get back into things, despite a triple sub on the hour mark and more changes later on. Instead, it was France who looked the more likely to add to the scoreline, most notably when Hannah Hampton nearly spilled Grace Geyoro's strike into her own goal. That all changed in a frantic finale, capped by Keira Walsh's fantastic strike three minutes from time. However, that flurry came far too late for England to get anything from their opener. In the 'group of death', things don't get much easier either, with a result against the Netherlands needed on Wednesday in order for the Lionesses to avoid becoming the first defending champion in competition history to be eliminated in the group stage.
GOAL rates England's players from Stadion Letzigrund...
