England suffered a 2-1 defeat to France in their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign to leave them four points behind the group leaders with three matches played.
Friday night's contest at St. James' Park was thrust into early disarray as goalkeeper Mary Earps, celebrating her 50th international cap, was forced off through injury with a handful of minutes on the clock. England's backline had looked doubtful in the opening exchanges and the hosts were fortunate that France did not capitalise better on the lapses.
An eventful first-half contoured by a sloppy defensive display from England and low energy eventually gave way to Beth Mead's opener with half an hour gone, the Arsenal striker pouncing on Lauren Hemp's cross into the box and fizzed below France keeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. Ten minutes later, defender Elisa De Almeida produced a terrific looping volley from Kenza Dali's corner to draw the visitors level.
A fiercely contested affair if lacking the usual quality due to tired legs, both sides bore chances with both keepers producing impressive saves. But it was France who made the most of theirs, Marie-Antoinette Katoto swivelling in the box and lashing her shot into the bottom far corner beyond Hampton with 20 minutes left to play. England pushed hard to find an equaliser, defender Millie Bright sprinting forward into the six-yard box at times in hopes of stirring some magic. Below are the talking points.
France grow gap at group's top
England's defeat to France means the European champions have plenty to do in the qualifying group if they are to reach Switzerland the easy way.
France remain top of England's qualifying group having won all three of their matches thus far, with England now sitting third, four points behind Hervé Renard's side having salvaged a draw against Sweden while defeating the Republic of Ireland.
A rematch against France next week could bridge the gap but England's vulnerability in set-pieces, a joy for France, was stark and leaves Wiegman with plenty to consider before next Tuesday's clash in France.
England's shaky defence
The defensive display from England was far from convincing and arguably the root cause of Friday night's defeat.
With Millie Bright welcomed back for the first time since October and France's imperious attacking line, Wiegman's side were always going to be handed a more exacting test than other opponents and showed signs of vulnerability as the visitors piled on the pressure. Jess Carter was given a handful to deal with in Delphine Cascarino while Bright slowly grew in confidence as she bid to handle the towering figure of Katoto. Even so, a natural left footer was clearly missing, and France should have done better to exploit the cheap concessions of possession from the Lionesses' backline as early as the opening kick-off.
Conceding the first-half equaliser via a corner was further testament to the unconvincing defensive display at times and will no doubt be disappointing for Wiegman, with set-pieces habitually undoing England's defence. And almost predictably, France's second goal once more arrived from a set-piece, this time England failing to clear their lines after the initial cross into the box and in the second phase of play, leaving Katoto with plenty of room to do what the French striker does best.
How England respond to this latest qualification set-back will hinge on Wiegman's adjustment of the defensive backline.
Earps cause for concern
Another injury, another opportunity to wonder why a competitive qualifier is being played before the dust has even settled on the domestic game.
Earps was the latest casualty in the ongoing Player v Calendar debate, the Manchester United No 1 crumbling to the ground in visible agony as the medical team attended to what appeared to be a problem with her hips.
Earps - who played every minute of United's WSL campaign last season - went to ground shortly after dealing with a back pass from her defence. And after wiping away tears and trying to push through, the England shot-stopper was eventually replaced by Hampton and was seen after the match on crutches.
Women’s football is currently reckoning with a concerningly congested fixture schedule, one which players have not shied away from challenging it. England’s Lucy Bronze raised concerns in a FIFPro column recently, having enjoyed less than 48 hours between lifting the Champions League trophy with Barcelona and arriving at St. George’s Park for international duty.
The busy nature of the calendar was on display in Newcastle, with both sides lacking their usual vim and verve, arguably due to the fact both sets of players have yet to relish a break from competitive football since the turn of the year.
England struggle to shake slow start
Whether the Lionesses were lacking confidence or shaken from the sudden departure of Earps from the match, there was little to argue that the exchanges before Mead's opener were defined by a reticence and sloppiness from the defending European champions.
The slow start eventually bled into an overall malaise, and while England boasted a fair share of chances, they toiled to produce anything too dangerous for France's defence to handle.
That will be a concern for Wiegman, who has had to parry concerns that England's attack is becoming too pedestrian and even predictable. Keira Walsh, who recently won the Champions League final with Barcelona, struggled to break out from the shadows as France did well to nullify her.
Kirby's arrival in the final throes invited something different to England's attack and Kelly arguably should have done better to convert Hemp's cross, albeit it was a difficult effort. But the Manchester City winger was a vibrant addition to the attack in the closing stages, inviting questions of whether Wiegman should have introduced changes earlier and perhaps more of them.
Mead extends Wiegman form but missing James
It's 33 goals in the England shirt for Mead but the fact that 25 of those have arrived while Wiegman has been at the helm is quite extraordinary.
Mead was on hand once more for England when Hemp's cross skidded into the box, evading a handful of players before Mead found the composure to sweep home. The goal looked to have been the igniter for England, but instead, a familiar tale played out as England looked too often predictable in attack as Hemp sailed crosses into the box.
Losing Earps meant England were now without two familiar faces in Earps and Lauren James, the latter forced to withdraw from the double-header against France due to an ongoing foot injury.
James' absence was clear as England toiled to tease out a moment of brilliance, France repeatedly sussing out England's attacking formula and the Lionesses' forward line struggling to execute when provided the chance to do so.
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