It’s not a disaster, yet, but a 2-1 defeat to France dealt a hefty blow to England’s hopes of avoiding the Euro 2025 playoffs, after Élisa de Almeida and Marie-Antoinette Katoto capitalised from corners to cancel out Beth Mead’s opener.
The loss means Sarina Wiegman’s side slipped to third in qualifying group A3, with tricky games in France and Sweden as well as a home tie against the Republic of Ireland to come. Only the top two sides will qualify automatically for next summer’s European Championship in Switzerland.
France’s manager Hervé Renard – watching from the stands because of a suspension – had warned that his side weren’t here “just to visit Newcastle. We are here to play a competitive game. It will be a fantastic atmosphere and even when it’s against you it’s also pushing you,” he said. That was how it played out, a France side laden with stars from Lyon, the Champions League runners-up, feeding off the frustration of the crowd and patiently waiting to punish the somewhat earnest England for their profligacy.
The sun was out and supporters came out in force to welcome the Lionesses to St James’ Park for the first time. More than 47,000 tickets had been issued beforehand and there were few empty seats at kick-off, fans having poured through the city’s streets towards the stadium hours before kick-off, swarming around the players’ entrance to catch a glimpse of the household names.
Wiegman was able to name the centre-back duo Leah Williamson and Millie Bright in her starting XI for the first time since February 2023 but it meant that Alex Greenwood was sacrificed and dropped to the bench. Meanwhile, Ella Toone started in the No 10 role with Lauren James ruled out for both fixtures against France with a foot injury.
There was an early blow for the home team, with Mary Earps, winning her 50th cap, appearing to have pulled something as she passed to Bright. The goalkeeper played on after some consultation with the medical team but her time on the pitch didn’t last long, a goalkick sending her back to the turf in some pain before Hannah Hampton was called on.
The early stoppage was a reflection of the stop-start nature of the game, neither side asserting their authority in the opening 20 minutes.
The opening goal arrived at the half-hour mark, Toone finding Lauren Hemp. The winger’s ball into the middle was left by Russo and Toone before Georgia Stanway collided with Selma Bacha as they competed for it allowing Mead to fire in the loose ball. The goal lifted the crowd, but England would not make it to the break with their lead intact, the full-back De Almeida wriggling free of Keira Walsh before hooking a volley in from a Kenza Dali corner in stoppage time.
England had a chance to retake the lead in the lengthy period added on for Earps’ injury, though. Mead cut inside from the right before curling her effort towards the far post but Pauline Peyraud-Magnin made a smart save, before Russo fired a volley wide from close range from the resulting corner.
After the break England ramped up the tempo and the anxiety ramped up with it, Wiegman’s team needing a win to assert their authority on the “group of death”.
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Williamson had predicted the game would be “fairly even”, and she was right, England dominating possession but not creating the chances to go with it. Hemp was the Lionesses’ brightest outlet, but France bided their time and delivered a crushing blow in the 68th minute. England failed to properly clear a corner, Kadidiatou Diani headed back in and Katoto twisted and lashed in on the volley.
Wiegman withdrew Mead and Stanway in favour of Fran Kirby and Chloe Kelly for the remaining 12 minutes as they sought the equaliser. The latter would go close within minutes, but she mistimed her volley from a Hemp cross.
The changes provided experience but they were conservative, Kirby having not played a huge amount of football for Chelsea across the season and Kelly out of form and dropped in favour of Mary Fowler at Manchester City, while young dynamos Aggie Beever-Jones, Jess Park and Grace Clinton remained on the bench.
Advantage France and Sweden, and Wiegman – nine months after playing a World Cup final – faces arguably the most tricky phase of her England tenure. They can be confident for the return match on Tuesday as they limited chances for France’s potent front three of Katoto, Diani and Delphine Cascarino from open play. They must find their cutting edge in the final third and be smarter in defending set pieces though.
