France 2-1 England PLAYER RATINGS: Which Lionesses duo played like strangers in Euros opener? And which defender was given a torrid time?
The Lionesses began brightly, with Lauren James and Alessia Russo both going close in the opening stages before a disallowed goal saw their early momentum stall.
But France, who came into the game having won their last 10 group-stage matches at the Euros, punished England with two goals before half-time to leave Sarina Wiegman 's side shell-shocked.
Keira Walsh pulled one back late on to spark hopes of a dramatic finish, but despite a flurry of late chances, England were unable to find an equaliser on a frustrating night.
The result leaves the reigning champions with work to do in a tough group if they are to keep their hopes of defending the title alive.
Read on for Lionesses player ratings courtesy of STEPHEN DAVIES.
Hannah Hampton 7.5
Caught well, distributed even better and exuded authority between the sticks. Could do nothing about the French goals and made one fine save in the second period.
Lucy Bronze 5.5
Pushed back time after time by Baltimore and Bacha who asked plenty of questions. Because of that found it hard to get forward to support Mead.
Leah Williamson 6
Skipper and Greenwood played like strangers at times, though you could never doubt Williamson's spirit. Put in some big tackles.
Alex Greenwood 5.5
Neglected the besieged Carter too often. Won all her headers but struggled to stem the incessant blue tide. Could never fault her for effort.
Jess Carter 4.5
Loves going forward but was tied down by the sublime Cascarino who gave the left back a torrid time. Was crying out for more help from Greenwood and doubtless happy to get a breather after an hour.
Keira Walsh 5.5
She's long been the first name on the teamsheet but was over-run in midfield. Not one of the Chelsea ace's better games yet still gave England hope with a late goal.
Georgia Stanway 5
Found life hard in a midfield which the French dominated. And it was her lazy pass which enabled Les Bleues to go in front.
Beth Mead 5
Had a big hand to play in England's early disallowed goal but then found it difficult to get involved. Let down by poor service and marshalled well by the French defence.
Lauren James 6
A real box of tricks for 20 minutes to justify her place in the side but, like so many of her team-mates, started to get bossed. Understandably faded and taken off.
Lauren Hemp 5.5
Rather like Mead was a peripheral figure after a bright start. Just got no change out of a ferocious French back line.
Alessia Russo 5.5
Was all smiles after thinking she'd put England in front only for VAR to say otherwise. From then on the Arsenal forward struggled to get involved.
Arsenal ace Alessia Russo thought she had put England in front but her goal was disallowed
Substitutes
Ella Toone for Beth Mead (6.5, 60min)
Chloe Kelly for Lauren James (5, 60min)
Niamh Charles for Jess Carter (5.5, 60min)
Grace Clinton for Georgia Stanway (77min)
Michelle Agyemang for Alex Greenwood (86min)
Manager: Sarina Wiegman 4.5
The England boss probably couldn't believe what she was seeing during the first half. Triple substitution before the hour was positive but cut a helpless figure on the touchlines.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
19 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Lewis Hamilton delivers most damning proof of his diminishing powers
Little encapsulated Lewis Hamilton's fading star this season quite like the sight of the seven-time world champion, a conjurer of all manner of miracles around Silverstone, trying and failing for 17 laps to hunt down a Sauber. Here, after all, was the figure who had adorned the history of the British Grand Prix with outrageous highlights. Take his rain dance in 2008, when he won by 68 seconds with water streaming down his visor, or his three-wheeled finish in 2020, when his front-left tyre delaminated rounding the final corner. And yet here his streak of 11 successive podium finishes at his home circuit came to an end at the hands of Nico Hülkenberg, a man who had not stood on the rostrum in 238 previous races. It was, to put it politely, galling. Traditionally, this is the place where Hamilton is immaculate, where the cheers of 140,000 fans inspire him to rediscover the sorcery of old. But he was anything but flawless on this occasion, twice losing control in the final stages on soft rubber as Hülkenberg, driving one of the day-glo green Saubers that had only amassed 29 points in 11 grands prix, disappeared into the distance. While his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, tried to congratulate him on fourth place, Hamilton would have none of it, shooting back: 'Oh mate, that was pretty bad overall. So much opportunity there that was missed.' His diagnosis was accurate. Although Ferrari deserved their share of blame, dropping him from fourth to eighth after the first round of pit stops, Hamilton was unusually error-prone himself, struggling to stay on track after the late switch to softs and then veering off the road with four laps left to surrender his chance of a maiden grand prix podium in red. There was a temptation to resist criticising too harshly, given the treacherousness of the conditions, with several mid-race downpours playing havoc with both strategy and racecraft. But was this not the type of challenge to make Hamilton come into his own? Had he not proved his enduring Silverstone love affair just 12 months earlier, winning a similar wet-dry race for his first victory in two and a half years? There has been the odd sign that Hamilton's edge could, at the age of 40, be slipping. In qualifying, the ultimate one-lap master suffered a spot of understeer at Club to sacrifice a potential front-row spot. It was in his abortive pursuit of Hülkenberg, though, that the cracks were most visible. At one stage he was within DRS range of the German but still could not produce the overtake, with his uncharacteristic errors leaving him stranded five seconds behind. Plainly, he was unimpressed with Ferrari's management of the race, placing his relationship with Adami under renewed strain. Hamilton has been memorably withering towards him already over the radio, losing patience over the Italian's dithering in Miami as he snapped: 'Have a tea break while you're at it.' Asked here whether he felt the team's important calls were correct, he replied: 'Not all of them. The first one wasn't a good call, because we got undercut by a bunch of people, so I'm not sure exactly what happened there. We'll have to go back and see what happened, but I was P4 and came out P8. I chose to come in close to the right time, but it was super tricky when I came back out, and I lost a ton of time. I went off at turn three, turn nine, turn 11 – it was just one of these days.' The worry is that these days are, increasingly, less the exception that Hamilton suggests. Once the consummate performer in the wet, he is finding that his typically infallible instincts are deserting him. The torrential rain in São Paulo last November, for example, should have been his opportunity to dazzle, bringing his full range of amphibian brilliance to the fore. Instead he was knocked out in the first phase of qualifying, creating such misery that he briefly floated the idea of breaking his Mercedes contract early. At Ferrari, there is no option of repeating this fit of pique. Hamilton is being paid £50 million a year to restore glory to the Prancing Horse, but so far that prospect looks hopelessly distant. He appears deflated, crestfallen, incapable either of carving a path to a record eighth world title or even of seizing his moment at the track he has made his manor. In one sense, you could not help but feel happy for Hülkenberg, a true grafter who had been waiting to savour the podium champagne for 15 years. But as he relished the fulfilment of a lifetime ambition, he acknowledged the weather had come to his aid, that the outcome would have been very different in the dry. The Sauber, after all, is supposed to be a backmarker, not a podium-chaser. What to make, then, of the fact that Hamilton, cheered relentlessly by his disciples at his beloved Silverstone, could still not reel it in? You could only regard it, ultimately, as the most damning evidence yet of his diminishing powers.
The Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Sun
Wimbledon fans BOO when Ben Shelton introduces sister & reveals her job and future tournament plans
BEN SHELTON'S sister Emma was BOOED during the American star's on-court interview yesterday. The 22-year-old booked a place in round four of Wimbledon by beating Marton Fucsovics 6-3 7-6 6-2 on No1 Court. 6 6 During his on-court interview, Shelton thanked his family sat in his player box. Supporting the booming lefty this week have been his father Bryan, himself a former ATP star, mum Lisa, girlfriend Trinity Rodman and sister Emma. Shouting out his family, Shelton said: "I've been playing well this week. It's not just been me here, I have a great team. "My parents are here, my girlfriend's here. Also, my sister's here. She's been here for every match I've played at this tournament so far. "She's been the lucky charm but she has work back in the US starting on Monday. She works for Morgan Stanley..." At this point, the No1 Court crowd incredibly started booing. Stood in the crowd, Emma laughed as she placed her head in her hands. Shelton continued: "Hey! Come on now! She works for Morgan Stanley so if any of you all have any connections, get her a couple of days off so she can (stay) we can keep this rolling that would be great." BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 6 6 Emma played college tennis for the Florida Gators, where dad Bryan was head coach prior to Ben going professional, between 2019 and 2023. Following Shelton's on-court appeal, Emma was successful in securing some time off. Shelton's sister celebrates securing week off work to watch brother at Wimbledon Posting on his his Instagram story, Ben asked his sister: "Did you get the week off?" Beaming, Emma responded by jumping up and down in celebration while laughing. Shelton will next be in action against Lorenzo Sonego tomorrow. The Italian overcame Brandon Nakashima 6-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 7-6 in a gruelling five hours and three minute epic on Court 14 yesterday.
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
'If I won then so can she' - the Wimbledon champion nurturing Andreeva
One is a chatty 18-year-old long tipped as a future Grand Slam other is a straight-talking 53-year-old former Wimbledon winner, who has also coached another top player to the Mirra Andreeva and her coach Conchita Martinez are forming a successful double act which they hope will lead to the Russian teenager also lifting the SW19 title."Bringing in Conchita has definitely helped me improve," Andreeva, who plays American 10th seed Emma Navarro in the last 16 on Monday, told BBC Sport."It helps she is an ex-player and has been a Wimbledon champion. She shares a lot of her experience and advice with me."Not only does Martinez know what world number seven Andreeva is going through, she's well aware what it takes to triumph at the All England Club."Mirra is a very special player and very complete in everything she does – but also improvable. I think she has a lot to learn," said Spaniard Martinez, who memorably won the 1994 title."If I won Wimbledon - I was more of a clay-court player - then I think she has a good shot of winning." Coming into Wimbledon as the seventh seed, Andreeva has serenely moved through the draw while many top players have floundered. The anticipation, athleticism and tenacity of the teenager make her one of the best defenders on the grass, although the quality of her serve and attacking intent has also improved from previous number one Aryna Sabalenka is the only player left ranked higher than Andreeva, although five-time major champion Iga Swiatek also lurks in the opposite half."It took me many tries to get my game to be more comfortable on grass," Martinez, who is also a Wimbledon-winning coach having guided Garbine Muguruza to the 2017 title, told BBC Sport."But I think if Mirra does things with an open mind, and doesn't get angry when he misses, she has a game which she can win."Since linking up, initially on a trial basis, the pair have formed a warm and natural bond. Martinez has appeared to fulfil a few roles: coach, friend, tennis parent. Is that an accurate assessment?"No, no, no," said Martinez, shaking her head."I'm her coach – that's the only way. Can you be friends? Yes. We have a great relationship. "But I'm the one there on the tennis court, changing things and making her improve. "I'm the one overseeing her whole career. I'm in charge of finding everything around her that will work to make her better player."So far it is paying in Siberia and trained in France, Andreeva has been touted as a future Grand Slam champion since making her breakthrough as a 15-year-old at the Madrid Open - where her talent and fearlessness caught the eye of Andy says it was clear from the moment she started working with Andreeva last year that the teenager was a superstar in the progress under Martinez has been season she has already won two WTA 1000 titles - the tier of tournaments below the majors - in Dubai and Indian Wells, helping her climb to a career-high ranking of sixth in the the generational divide, the way Andreeva and Martinez bounce off each other is allowing the player to shows their mutual affection by teasing Martinez in her post-match interviews, or encouraging a crowd to sing 'Happy Birthday' to her coach., externalBut from the conversations with both women it is clear that business comes first."The relationship is good, we get along great and she respects my work. For me, that is super important," said Martinez. "If I have to be hard on the court or outside of the court I will be, but then we can also laugh. "We like to joke around, she is very playful and I think I am too – even though I am much older. The kid in me is brought out. "I think she also enjoys that because I'm not a serious figure. I can laugh and then we go back to work. "But if there is too much of the other and she starts not respecting me then that's the end of the relationship."Teenage tantrums are frequent on the court for Andreeva, and some of her behaviour - notably swiping away balls towards the crowd - has come close to crossing the way she combusted against home wildcard Lois Boisson in a febrile French Open quarter-final last month was also a reminder of her tender years."Every match I have played there is always a moment where I let my emotions out. I feel it helps me," said Andreeva, who works on her mentality with a sports psychologist."But I think I can find a different way of letting them out. I don't know, maybe scream - but not throwing a racquet." Martinez does not want Andreeva to lose the fire in her belly, but says being overly negative will "not have a positive impact" on her game."You can get angry – it's not like you should always be perfect on the court," she said."But you have to be humble and accept when things are not perfect. If she is ready for that then she has a shot of doing really well."
