France 2-1 England: Lionesses left with plenty of soul searching after opening night disappointment at Euro 2025

The camera panned to Sarina Wiegman in the 82nd minute of England's opening night loss to France. She was deep in thought, tearing strips of paper from her tactical notepad.

But a ponderous expression had emerged on her face a long time prior, as she attempted to make sense of how and why her reigning champions were being dominated so comprehensively.

France looked like a total team on the night. A squad all in sync, fresh and sharp, ready to run harder, move smarter and pass slicker. England, meanwhile, were stuck for a spark, not landing a single shot on target until the 87th minute when Keira Walsh offered a half-hearted lifeline and a brief reason to cheer.

For the next five-minute spell, the Lionesses actually played like a side with belief. They turned the French around for the first time in the game; Grace Clinton was tenacious in dangerous areas and Michelle Agyemang gave defenders something to think about. But those flickers of threat came too late. Really, they were only passing fragments.

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England had long lost this contest. Perhaps the battle had subliminally been lost by half-time. By the final whistle the numbers told a compelling tale.

France won the overall head-to-head duel count 53 to 36 and the expected goals tally 2.22 to 0.91. The 'big chances created' column was a whitewash: 4-0. Not only were England less aggressive than their French counterparts, they were far sloppier too.

Losing the physical and technical battle, especially evident in midfield, will particularly irk Wiegman. Speaking to ITV post-match she said her side "played themselves out of the game", which is conceptual talk for "did not execute the game plan".

Clearly the Dutchwoman had not instructed her team to be passive out of possession and untidy in it, yet England were both of those things, turning the ball over far more frequently than it was retained and opting to play short when the need to go longer was so obvious. Walsh and Georgia Stanway were overexposed, quickly outnumbered by the nous of Sakina Karchaoui, Grace Geyoro and Oriane Jean-Francois.

"We weren't tight enough," Wiegman continued. "They wanted to press, and are strong on the counter-attack. We were sloppy in possession and caused a bit our own problems. We can do better."

Captain Leah Williamson reeled off similar shortcomings. "Cheap defending one-vs-one. We were not good enough on the ball. I've not seen us like that for a long time, in terms of turning over the ball so much, it's frustrating."

The three-minute first-half implosion was indeed uncharacteristic. Wiegman's England have rarely been undone so easily at a major tournament finals. With all the talent and expectation of a knockout tie, this was as one-sided a game as you are likely to see between two European heavyweights. Holders vs hopefuls this was not.

England have become the first reigning champions to lose their opening game of a Euros group stage. An unwanted tag to match an unwelcome result. For Wiegman - whose teams have featured in the final of each of the past four major tournaments - this represents her first ever loss at a Euros finals. The 'readiness' she spoke of pre-match simply did not exist.

And many of Wiegman's gambles did not pay off either. Starting Lauren James, who had played only 40 minutes since April, over Ella Toone was the first mistake. Not correcting that decision until the 60th minute might be considered the second. There was no balance and little structure to England's play. Changes to address that arrived too late - Aggie Beever-Jones, the squad's second-best goal threat behind Alessia Russo, did not make it on at all.

And yet Wiegman might well point to the marginal offside that eliminated Russo's opener, or the foul on her that was never given, which became the precursor to France's second goal. But in truth VAR's decision making simply mirrored the misery of England's display.

There is no shame in losing 2-1 to Laurent Bonadei's side, packed with an abundance of talent and buoyed by rich form. France have won nine from nine in 2025. In the game preceding these finals they came from behind to defeat Brazil 3-2. Their intensity lay bare everything England lacked.

Life has moved on this 'new England' team fast. Their ability to get it together before facing the Netherlands on Wednesday now becomes more salient than ever. Lose, and quite simply, their Euros defence is in tatters.

(c) Sky Sports 2025: France 2-1 England: Lionesses left with plenty of soul searching after opening night disappointment at Euro 2025