England are not out, but they are down, the folded bodies of the players in white shirts at the close told the extent of the challenge ahead. The Lionesses were lacklustre and were punished, kicking off their European title defence with a 2-1 defeat by an impressive France team and handing Sarina Wiegman’s first major tournament defeat outside a final.
After a promising and pressing start fell away, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore delivered for a resurgent France. Keira Walsh’s late strike from a corner reduced the reigning European champions’ blushes but the late charge was not enough and England have a lot of work to do to escape the tournament’s group of death.
