England stunned group leaders France in St. Etienne with a 2-1 victory that kept their Euro 2025 qualification hopes very much alive. Sarina Wiegman’s side produced a composed performance for the most part and sealed three points thanks to first half goals from Georgia Stanway and Alessia Russo. A penalty from Kadidiatou Diani brought the hosts back into the match but the Lionesses drew on all their experience and resilience as European champions to hand on for an important victory.
It was a re-match of the two European heavyweights who had met just four days earlier – second against third in the world rankings. England had been stung at St. James’ Park – a 2-1 defeat that manager Wiegman had called “very unnecessary” and which had caused a bit of consternation amongst England fans.
There would have been raised eyebrows, therefore, when Wiegman opted for just one change to the starters that had looked visibly fatigued on Friday. Hannah Hampton was the sole difference, replacing Mary Earps who had pulled up early with a minor hip injury early in that encounter. Captain Leah Williamson continued her partnership with Millie Bright in the backline while Ella Toone retained her role as the No 10, earning her 50th cap for her country at just 24 years old.
In contrast, France manager Hervé Renard – returning to the sideline after serving a suspension – made two changes. He opted to bring in the experience of Amandine Henry and Grace Geyoro into midfield with Sakina Karchaoui pushed up to provide support to the attack.
Just as was the case last time out, it was a cagey start from both as they looked to find their rhythm early on. England seemed content to pass the ball around the back, building back their confidence in possession and picking their moments to drive forward.
It was the visitors who had the first real shot of note with Stanway setting Toone away in the box, only for the midfielder to scuff her shot in front of goal. France almost made England immediately pay for that instance of wastefulness when Diani diverted a Karchaoui cross wide under pressure from Williamson.
As England settled, they began to find the gaps to which France had little answer. The hosts looked particularly vulnerable down the flanks with the running of Lauren Hemp and Lucy Bronze stretching the play to meet the trademark cross-field balls from their captain.
As the gaps started to appear, England took the lead in spectacular style. Stanway is known for her natural ability to score from distance and she did not think twice when she received a lay-off from Hemp about 20 yards out. With one glance at goal, she opened up her foot to rifle a shot past the helpless Pauline Peyraud-Magnin in France’s goal.
The Lionesses did not take their foot off the gas and continued to out-create their opponents. They made their lead more comfortable ten minutes from the break when Russo broke through the French defence to turn Hemp’s pinpoint delivery home. She had been knocking at the door all evening and capped off a hat-trick of chances with an instinctive striker’s finish. It was a goal that left France with plenty of thinking to do as they trudged off the pitch somewhat desolately at half-time.
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Renard had seen enough and hauled off Henry and Karchaoui at half-time for Toletti and Delphine Cascarino. It had an immediate impact as the hosts visibly moved up a gear, buoyed by the drumbeat of the raucous home support sitting behind the opposite goal. They came at England more directly with the speed of Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto applying more pressure on the defensive line but created very little to trouble Hampton.
They did get a lifeline in the 72nd minute, however, when Williamson got caught in a tangle with Geyoro and the referee duly pointed to the spot. Diani stepped up to convert with aplomb, driving home the spot kick on her 100th cap for her national side. It was a goal that suddenly put England on shaky ground with the last quarter of the game remaining.
The Lionesses’ frustration at conceding in a game in which they had largely been untroubled was evident and it took them a while to settle again. They set up compactly, allowing France to have control of the ball in their own half while focusing on marshalling the key attacking players out of the game
It gave Renard’s side the encouragement they needed to continue driving forward. Cascarino had an ambitious half-volley over the bar from a tight angle before Chloe Kelly, on for the tiring Beth Mead, vitally blocked a shot from Geyoro. Hampton also produced a superb instinctive save to deny Katoto late on, ensuring victory for her side. It was a win that saw England draw level with Sweden in League A, Group 3 ahead of the final two matches. The Lionesses host the Republic of Ireland in July before finishing their qualifying campaign against Sweden.
