England suffer opening defeat to France in Euros

Sarina Wiegman proclaimed a “new England”, and they have certainly been responsible for a few things previously unseen in the women’s Euros.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

This 2-1 defeat to France was the first time the defending champions have lost their opening game in the next competition, and it has now put them in real danger of becoming the first champions to go out in the group stage, too. Wednesday’s match against the Netherlands in Zurich is essentially a knockout tie.

Of most concern was something else new about this defeat, that is the real story of how it went. A manager who has previously been flawless in this tournament, winning it twice in a row with 100 per cent records, made her first big error. It is really the first time Wiegman has got it wrong as an England coach. And it was a big one.

By picking Lauren James at the top of midfield, rather than out wide, she essentially subjected England to a two vs three midfield. That resulted in one of the many gaps from which France repeatedly punished Wiegman's side.

“I don’t see it as a mistake,” Wiegman said. “It’s a choice and I think if she’d scored in the first minute and if the cross she made, we just couldn’t get a head on, I think it would have been a different conversation.”

The fitness of some players admittedly didn’t help, since both James and Georgia Stanway were coming back from long-term injuries, but the question is then why use them in this way? Why not give more support? Why not use James later in the game to shake it up, since she had to come off after an hour?

England had none of their usual tactical security, but didn’t have the compensatory flair in attack, either.