France vs England

The England Women's team, known as the Lionesses, will begin defending their Women’s European Championship title against France Women in a Group D match in Zurich this Saturday. They are joined in the group by the Netherlands, winners in 2017, and Wales, making their first appearance at the tournament.

France, nicknamed Les Bleues, earned their spot in their eighth straight Euros by topping a qualifying group that included England. They secured four wins from six matches (with two losses), notably defeating England 2-1 away in May 2024. Despite facing a challenging group at Women’s Euro 2025, France can draw confidence from their consistent performance, having advanced to the knockout stages in each of the last four tournaments. Their 2022 campaign ended in the semi-finals with a 2-1 loss to Germany.

Les Bleues have been in top form, dominating their Nations League group with six wins against Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland, earning a spot in the final four. They continued their momentum with friendly victories over Belgium and Brazil, extending their winning streak to eight games since a defeat to Spain in December.

Historically, France has been strong in the group stages, remaining unbeaten in their last 10 European Championship group matches (six wins, four draws) since a 5-1 loss to Germany in 2009.

England, aiming to become only the second team to win multiple Women’s European Championships, claimed their first major title in 2022. The Lionesses overcame Spain and Sweden in the knockout rounds before narrowly defeating Germany at Wembley to lift the trophy. Head coach Sarina Wiegman, who previously led the Netherlands to the 2017 title, is targeting a third consecutive Euros victory.

England’s recent Nations League performance was inconsistent, finishing second behind Spain with three wins, one draw, and two losses in six games. After a narrow loss to Spain in early June, the Lionesses bounced back with a commanding 7-0 friendly win over Jamaica on Sunday, driven by Ella Toone’s two goals and contributions from Lucy Bronze, Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo, Aggie Beever-Jones, and Beth Mead.

While England face a formidable challenge against France in their opening match, they can take heart from their 3-1 victory over Les Bleues in last year’s return qualifying fixture, despite losing the home leg. The Lionesses also have a strong record in tournament openers, having won their first matches at the last two European Championships, including a 1-0 victory against Austria in 2022.