England's defence struggled against France

New York Times

3 days ago

Follow live reaction to England's morale-boosting 4-0 victory over the Netherlands, with Lauren James scoring twice Getty Images Opta, The Athletic
Lauren James scored twice for England in an impressive 4-0 victory over the Netherlands, as the reigning European champions got their title defence back on track.
England head coach Sarina Wiegman moved James out wide following criticism of her side's midfield in a concerning 2-1 defeat by France and was rewarded with a superb performance.
James opened the scoring with a drilled effort from just inside the box and England doubled their lead when Georgia Stanway struck from range.
The Netherlands made a triple change at the break but James added her second on the hour mark and Ella Toone completed the rout by scoring the fourth a few minutes later.
England are next in action on Sunday when they take on tournament newcomers Wales. A win will send them through to the knockout stage.
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England 4 Netherlands 0: James' magic moment, Stanway's stunner and Lionesses back on track Getty Images
Niamh Charles was handed the England No. 3 shirt for Euro 2025, perhaps an indication that she would be Wiegman's starting left-back at the tournament, having rotated with Carter over the past 12 months. However, it was Carter who was selected against France. She is considered one of England's best one-on-one defenders and was an understandable choice given the strength France boasts on either flank.
Carter was, however, given the runaround by Cascarino in the opening 45 minutes. The warning signs had been there before the France winger scurried in behind and picked out Katoto for the opening goal. Carter's night ended on the hour mark as she was replaced by Charles.
On the opposite flank, Bronze did not enjoy a much better time of it up against Baltimore. A trademark lung-busting run mid-way through the first half left her out of position, and the untracked Sakina Karchaoui nearly capitalised. Having already seen Baltimore weave past her earlier in the half, she stumbled as her Chelsea team-mate spectacularly doubled France's advantage.
England's full-back struggles were in stark contrast to the excellent Elisa De Almeida at right-back for France. De Almeida nullified Lauren Hemp, often among England's most dangerous attacking outlets, and rightly received the plaudits from the France bench for her key role in her side's second goal. Getty Images
England's run to the European title in 2022 was characterised by key goals off the bench. There are certainly squad players at this tournament who can change games, but against France, none could help England the way they needed.
There is plenty of goalscoring talent on England's bench, such as 2022 super-sub Ella Toone, and teenage forward Michelle Agyemang. However, none of those players solved England's key problems: struggling to defend the wings and gain control of the midfield.
Holding midfielder Walsh might have scored an excellent consolation goal, but she could not stay on the ball nor pick out passes in the middle of the park. England's starting full-backs Carter and Bronze were run ragged by France's Delphine Cascarino and Baltimore in the first half, but Wiegman lacked experienced options to replace them.
Though Niamh Charles eventually came on for Carter, and Maya Le Tissier is viewed by Wiegman as an option at right-back, neither feels like a tried-and-trusted backup.
England's bench had the answers to the questions asked of Wiegman in 2022, but it didn't in the opening match of this tournament. Getty Images
Sarina Wiegman is no longer perfect in the European Championship.
France defeated England 2-1 on Saturday in Group D of Euro 2025, handing Wiegman her first loss outside of a tournament final, dating back to her time with the Netherlands.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore scored for France three minutes apart in the first half, taking advantage of England's full backs. While Lionesses midfielder Keira Walsh struck back in the 87th minute, it, along with England's changes at half time, were not enough to overcome the deficit.
💬 'I make a lot of considerations before I make a starting lineup,' head coach Sarina Wiegman said after the match. 'Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn't go well, but I don't have regrets.'
England now face a mountain as high as the Alps that spread across the host nation, Switzerland, to get out of the group following the Netherlands' 3-0 win over Wales earlier on Saturday. Getty Images
In 13 previous editions of the tournament, there have been five winners.
England beat Germany at Wembley to become European champions for the first time in 2022. They took the crown from the Netherlands, who also won on home soil, and also under Sarina Wiegman, in 2017.
Before that, Germany had won six times in a row, going all the way back to 1995. Norway won the second of their two titles in 1993, and Sweden won the inaugural tournament in 1984. 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 — Germany (once as West Germany, in 1989)
(once as West Germany, in 1989) 🏆🏆 — Norway
🏆— Sweden, England, the Netherlands Getty Images
Four teams have already qualified for the knockout stage: Norway (Group A), Spain (Group B), Sweden and Germany (both Group C).
The Netherlands will also progress to the knockout stage with a win today, as will France should they pick up three points against Wales later today.
There are four groups of four, with the winner and runner-up of each heading through to the quarter-finals. As usual, it's three points for a win and one for a draw.
If teams are level on points, who goes through will first go down to head-to-head results, before looking at group-wide measures like goal difference.
In the quarter-finals, each group's winner will face the runner-up of a different group. The layout of the bracket means that if teams played each other in the group stage, they won't meet again unless they both reach the final.
For the knockouts, any draws will go to 30 minutes of extra time, followed by a penalty shootout if necessary. Getty Images
The tournament will take place over less than four weeks, with only 16 teams taking part. This is how it will pan out… Group stage: July 2-13
July 2-13 Quarterfinals: July 16-19
July 16-19 Semifinals: July 22-23
July 22-23 Final: July 27
There is no third-place play-off. The Athletic
We want to hear from you today. Who's going to win today's game? Were you surprised by England's defeat by France on Saturday? And how far will the Netherlands go at this tournament?
Either leave a comment using the 'Discuss' tab at the top of your page or email [e-mail]. Getty Images
In the United Kingdom the game will be shown live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
In the United States you can catch it on FOX Sports and ViX. Getty Images
England vs Netherlands is scheduled to start at 5pm BST today.
That's midday EDT for those of you following from the United States. Getty Images
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of today's crunch UEFA Women's Euro 2025 match between reigning champions England and the Netherlands.
The situation is simple for the defending champs: lose today's game and they are out of the tournament at the first hurdle.
Stick with us as we start counting down to kick-off and don't forget that you can get involved throughout by emailing [e-mail].