France vs England LIVE: Lionesses result and final score from vital Euro 2025 qualifier
France 1-2 England: The Lionesses revived their chances of claiming an automatic qualification spot for Euro 2025 as they held on to victory in Saint-Etienne
England claimed a stunning win in France to spark life into their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign with a vital 2-1 victory in Saint-Etienne.
The Lionesses were beaten by France in Newcastle on Friday but manager Sarina Wiegman’s decision to play an unchanged outfield line-up was rewarded with an improved display from the European champions.
Georgia Stanway’s stunning strike gave the Lionesses the lead midway through the opening half, before Alessia Russo met Lauren Hemp’s excellent cross to double England’s advantage.
Russo, in particular, deserved her goal following a brilliant all-round display leading the line, but the second half was a different story for England as France took control in search of an equaliser.
The hosts were given hope as Leah Williamson caught Grace Geyoro in the box and Kadidiatou Diani sent Hannah Hampton the wrong way from the penalty spot.
Hampton then made a stunning save to deny Marie-Antoinette Katoto in the dying moments, as England held on and France suffered their first home defeat in five years.
Follow all the reaction below as England claimed their first win away to France in 51 years
France vs England: CONFIRMED LINE-UP
England team to face France:
Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Bright, Carter; Walsh, Toone, Stanway; Mead, Russo, Hemp
France vs England: Latest build-up
The Lionesses have arrived at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard as they get familar with the pitch ahead of kick-off.
We’ll have the team news in around 15 minutes.
England boss Sarina Wiegman issues challenge to Lionesses after loss to France
And after that bruising defeat, Sarina Wiegman has challenged England to turn the tables on France to kick-start their Euro 2025 qualification campaign.
Wiegman’s side have now taken just four points from their first three qualifiers and trail Group A3 leaders France by five points and Sweden on goal difference.
She said: “Of course, we first wanted to be first in the group, but that’s a little further away now. We’ll go through the game tomorrow and then we have the game on Tuesday.
“From what we showed today, I think we can win that game. If you see, we had more possession, more shots on goal – all we wanted more on target – so we go out there to win that game and from there, we will see.”
England boss Sarina Wiegman issues challenge to Lionesses after loss to France
The Lionesses have slipped to third place in Group A3
England stunned at St James’s Park as Marie-Antoinette Katoto completes comeback win in Euro qualifier
England need a positive result tonight if they want to secure automatic qualification for Euro 2025, after France came back from behind to beat the Lionesses 2-1 at St. James’ Park last week.
Beth Mead had given the Lionesses a 30th-minute lead in head coach Sarina Wiegman’s 50th game at the helm, but Elisa De Almeida levelled before the break, and Paris St-Germain striker Marie Antoinette Katoto secured the win in front of a crowd of 42,561.
The defeat leaves England in third place in Group A3 behind the French and Sweden, who beat the Republic of Ireland 3-0 in Dublin, and knowing that anything less than a win in the reverse fixture in St-Etienne on Tuesday night could scupper any lingering hopes of finishing top.
England stunned as Marie-Antoinette Katoto completes comeback win in Euro qualifier
England 1-2 France: Beth Mead’s opener was cancelled out before Katoto’s strike kept France’s 100% win streak in tact
France vs England: Latest build-up
Predicted line-up
Hampton, Bronze, Bright, Greenwood, Carter, Walsh, Toone, Stanway, Kelly, Russo, Hemp.
Mary Earps forced out of England squad through injury
Mary Earps is the latest high-profile injury for the Lionesses, after Lauren James was ruled out of both games against France just before last Friday’s match.
Earps withdrew from England’s squad to face France on Tuesday with a minor hip injury, which she sustained during Friday’s Euro 2025 qualifying defeat to Les Bleues.
The 31-year-old was forced off at St James’ Park just seven minutes into her 50th Lionesses appearance and left the stadium on crutches.
What is the England team news?
Hannah Hampton will start in goal following Mary Earps’ early injury and there were further withdrawals from the original squad by Niamh Charles and Lotte Wubben-Moy before that first match, as well as Lauren James. While there are no further new injury issues reported, Sarina Wiegman could shuffle the pack after the disappointing defeat on home soil, with Chloe Kelly and Alex Greenwood candidates to start.
When is France vs England?
The match will kick off at 8pm BST on Tuesday 4 June, and it’ll be shown live on ITV 4 and ITV X, with coverage getting underway from 7:15pm.
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Good afternoon
England travel to southern France tonight hoping to earn a vital win in their campaign to qualify for Euro 2025. The Lionesses sit third in Group A3, level on points with Sweden, who they drew to in their opening game, and above the Republic of Ireland, who they beat 2-0 in their second group match.
Last Friday, Sarina Weigman’s side lost 2-1 in the reverse fixture at St. James’ Park, when a spirited France side led by Marie Antoinette Katoto came back from behind to snatch a winner and go top of the group.
This leaves England with work to do to ensure automatic qualification. In the new format, only the top two sides from each group qualify automatically, with the third and fourth-placed teams from each ‘A’ group entering play-offs against teams from the B and C groups.
Follow all the build-up and action in tonight’s live blog
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