Overloaded in midfield, outpaced in defence and second best in one-v-ones, England were given a taste of the level they need to reach if they are to retain their crown.'Bullied all over the pitch'The bulk of England's issues seemed to stem from midfield as Georgia Stanway and Walsh were overrun and their opponents were devastating on the break.

France can play even better despite putting on a strong performance to comfortably beat England 2-1 in their Women's Euros Group D opener on Saturday, Les Bleus manager Laurent Bonadei said.

ZURICH (AP) — England set a number of unwanted firsts as it began the defense of its Women’s European Championship title by losing to France 2-1 on Saturday. Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore scored two quickfire goals towards the end of the first half as France recorded a ninth straight win and stunned the defending champion.