Lionesses looked 'different' in France defeat, says former midfielder Kirby
Reigning champions England could be eliminated from Euro 2025 as early as Wednesday, following a demoralising defeat to France.
England looked a very different side from the one that won Euro 2022 as their title defence started with a 2-1 defeat to France, says former Lionesses midfielder Fran Kirby.
Sarina Wiegman lost a European Championship game for the first time in her career on Saturday, as first-half goals from Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore guided Les Bleues to a huge victory on matchday one in Group D.
It was just the third time Wiegman had tasted defeat at a major international tournament in 27 such matches, with her other losses both coming in World Cup finals – in 2019 with the Netherlands and 2023 with England.
The Lionesses are the first defending champions to lose their opening game at the Women's Euros, leaving them staring at an early exit if they fail to beat the Netherlands on Wednesday.
And Kirby, who joined goalkeeper Mary Earps in retiring from international football on the eve of the tournament, believes there were worrying signs in Saturday's defeat.
"It was very different to the Lionesses team I am used to playing in and watching," Kirby told BBC Radio 5 Live about Saturday's loss.
"There were too many errors, too many sloppy passes. Defensively, we looked shaky and disjointed. It was really tough to watch.
"We always do analysis after the game but I think this analysis probably has to be one of the most important ones of Sarina's managerial career."
Several England regulars endured disrupted 2024-25 campaigns, with four of Saturday's starters – Lauren James, Georgia Stanway, Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp – battling back from injury to make Wiegman's squad.
But Manchester City winger Hemp is refusing to make excuses for their poor start, telling reporters: "A lot of us have had a big amount of time out and that's obviously been gutting.
"I have missed most of the season, but we've also had four or five games to get up to scratch and I think it's no excuse really.
"I think the biggest thing for us to just stick together. I think we stuck together as a team yesterday throughout the whole game and into the final stages and that's what we need to take with us."
England have now lost three of their last four competitive matches (one win), after only losing four of their first 39 under Wiegman (30 wins, five draws).
They last suffered a group-stage defeat at a major tournament (World Cup or Euros) in 2015, also going down to France in their opening match at the World Cup in Canada.
