ZURICH, Switzerland — France stunned defending champions England to win their Euro 2025 Group D opener 2-1 in Zurich on Saturday.
Laurent Bonadei’s side have enjoyed a remarkable run of form in 2025 and they continued this on a balmy evening in Switzerland as goals from Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore handed England a chastening defeat, who got a late consolation from Keira Walsh.
England headed into this tournament as one of the favorites, but were outclassed by the French for much of the game as they handed Sarina Wiegman’s team a painful defeat.
England did take an early lead through Alessia Russo after 13 minutes, but the effort was chalked off due to Beth Mead being a toe offside.
From there, France dominated and England started to make a series of errors. Katoto pounced to tap home a Delphine Cascarino cross after 36 minutes while Baltimore exploited defensive chaos in the English ranks to double their lead three minutes later.
Despite England making their usual changes on the hour mark, it did little to stem the tide and France were rarely threatened in the second half until the closing stages. Wiegman introduced Michelle Agyemang at the 85th minute mark and her presence in the box helped create space for Walsh to steer a shot home.
England pushed for a late equalizer, that never came. They now face a must-win match against the Netherlands, while France will look to go two from two against Wales on Wednesday. — Tom Hamilton
England’s error count was punishing
Heading into this opener, England were keen to push their message that they’re not really here as defending champions, but instead looking to do something no England senior team has ever achieved: win a major tournament on foreign soil.
The group were quietly optimistic and in a good place.
But against France, for most of the match, they froze. The error count was remarkable. Players who are usually so reliable were making uncharacteristic, poorly judged passes, they were giving the ball away in dangerous areas, and the team lost any early momentum they had.
The midfield was far too exposed while Cascarino and Baltimore had the freedom of the wings, with Jessica Carter and Lucy Bronze struggling to contain those threats. France’s first goal from Katoto came off a loose pass from Georgia Stanway to Lauren Hemp, which allowed France to counter, while Bronze was out of position for France’s second, an unfortunate ricochet allowing Baltimore plenty of time to fire home.
Both had far too much space. There were loose passes from players like Mead, while at one point Leah Williamson and Alex Greenwood collided to give Élisa De Almeida a chance. It all contributed to France’s commanding hold on the match.
Though England rallied late on, for so much of this, it was jarring to watch. They simply have to cut out these errors against the Netherlands, or they’re heading home early. — Hamilton
France’s midfield battle was key in win
Previewing this match, it was clear that midfield control would determine the winner.
With two front threes facing each other — Hemp-Russo-Mead for England and Cascarino-Katoto-Baltimore for France — it was all about dominance in midfield to feed good balls to your forwards, meaning that whoever would do that best would win the game.
In the end, it wasn’t even a contest. After a balanced opening ten minutes, France’s midfield overwhelmed their English counterparts.
Manager Bonadei decided to start with Oriane Jean-François alongside Grace Geyoro and Sakina Karchaoui, and he made the right choice. The Chelsea player was everywhere, so impactful with and without the ball, while Geyoro dictated play and Karchaoui’s movement caused constant problems.
Walsh and Stanway never got into the game, and Lauren James became a bystander. France’s 4-3-3 formation always offered an extra player against England’s 4-2-3-1. — Julien Laurens
France’s Baltimore and Cascarino, crucial on the wings
Aside from Spain — who can also hurt you through the middle — the main attacking threat among the tournament favorites at these Euros continues to come from the wings.
We saw it with Germany on Friday, as Klara Bühl and Jule Brand ran riot. And we saw it again with France. Cascarino on the right and Baltimore on the left absolutely tormented England during the hour they spent on the pitch.
Bronze and Carter had no answers to their skills and pace. Cascarino, who plays for San Diego Wave in the NWSL now, gave a perfect assist on the first goal while the Chelsea forward scored the second one.
Because France were so dominant in midfield, Les Bleues‘ two wide players saw plenty of the ball in great situations too, often isolated one-on-one, exactly where they thrive.
They went at the England defense nonstop. The pace of Cascarino, maybe the fastest player in the tournament, is scary, and Baltimore has become such a great all-around player since her move to the Women’s Super League.
They will go again now against Wales on Wednesday, with the possibility of already qualifying their team for the quarterfinals. — Laurens
The Lauren James gamble
At her best, James is one of the best attacking talents in world football. But since injuring her hamstring against Belgium back in April, James has had about 30 minutes of football, and that came against Jamaica last Sunday.
Against France, she showed flashes of her attacking threat, but this was a huge gamble from Wiegman to start James from the outset, given her lack of match action. James had a good chance after just 43 seconds to open the lead for England, but her effort flew over the bar, and then after three minutes, her curled cross just missed Russo’s head.
But James is an out-and-out attacker. Wiegman’s system more commonly sees the No.10 play as a hybrid No.8, joining Stanway and Walsh in defensive duties.
Having been given plenty of space early on, France cut down James’ space and then started dominating the middle of the pitch, winning the midfield battle, and leaving England defensively vulnerable. James lasted 60 minutes before being replaced with Ella Toone coming into the middle of the pitch. That gave England more defensive cover and helped build more attacking momentum.
Either Toone or Grace Clinton have to start against the Netherlands in midfield with Wiegman facing a decision on whether she starts James or Chloe Kelly on the wing, or keeps the faith with Mead. –– Hamilton
Wiegman and England are now under huge pressure
Wiegman’s major tournament record is remarkable. In her two European Championships to date heading into this one, she won the 2017 edition with the Netherlands, then guided England to their triumph in 2022. So we’re in uncharted territory here.
This was Wiegman’s first-ever defeat as head coach at a European Championship. England’s run of major tournament success under Wiegman has been remarkable. But in both the Euros in 2022 and the World Cup in 2023, they started slowly. But on both those occasions, they found a way to win 1-0. Unfortunately for them, that run came to an abrupt halt in Zurich.
This was not a performance from a Wiegman team we have come to expect. For much of the match — despite their late rally — the errors were plentiful, the defense shaky, the fullbacks backpedaling, and the attacking threat negligible. England only registered their first shot on target when Walsh guided the ball home late on.
They have plenty to fix ahead of the Netherlands on Wednesday, who will be riding their own wave of optimism after defeating Wales 3-0. England are essentially in must-win territory now, or their tournament will be over before it ever got going. — Hamilton
Geyoro celebrates centenary cap in style
Of the two players celebrating a landmark 100th cap in this game, Geyoro is obviously the happiest.
Alex Greenwood, the England center back, won’t keep a good memory of this night despite achieving a rare feat.
100 matches for your country is very special, and for Geyoro to enjoy it with a win over England — the reigning European champions — felt even better. The 28-year-old PSG midfielder made her debut eight years ago and has been through all the disappointments, all the losses in quarterfinals despite Les Bleues often having a status of favorites.
She has cried more than she has laughed with her country. But she has also always given 100%, taking great pride in wearing the No. 8 shirt. On Saturday, she bossed the game again. She won all her duels by recovering five balls, more than anyone else on the pitch. For more than 90 minutes, she was the perfect centurion. — Laurens
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