France proved too strong for England Ladies in their opening World Cup match in Canada, where a first-half strike from Eugenie Le Sommer proved the difference between the two sides.
Having not beaten Les Bleus since 1974, manager Mark Sampson deliberately set his team up against a renowned attacking French side who are ranked third in the world – three places above the Lionesses. England contained France for the opening twenty minutes, albeit allowing the Bleus to slowly gather momentum in the build up to their goal. It was France who looked on the front foot in what was a tame first half for Sampson’s side, who managed only one shot on target.
In spite of some valiant defending by England’s back four and goalkeeper Karen Bardsley’s save to thwart striker Gaetane Thiney, France were eventually rewarded for their attacking possession half an hour into the match. After Katie Chapman was dispossessed on the edge of the box, the ball fell to Le Sommer who wasted no time in firing at Bardsley’s near post to earn her 45th international goal.
England somewhat improved after the break, showing resilience to more French attack. Such passages of play, however, forced the Lionesses to sit deep and struggled to support lone strike Eniola Aluko, who appeared isolated in heading any hopeful attack. Jill Scott’s volley was notably their best effort of the second half along with Chapman, who shot wide from 18 yards when keeper Sarah Bouhaddi strayed from her goal line.
In spite of defeat, England can take a lot of positives from the game. Their last match against France resulted in a 3-0 hammering at their disappointing Euro 2013 campaign, when ex-manager Hope Powell was in charge. Sampson, who is managing his first major international tournament, has urged fans to “stick” with England and praised his team’s performance against a highly competitive side.
England now have much to do in their following matches against Mexico and Colombia if they are to progress from their group stage. They can, however, head into these games with confidence, having perhaps played the toughest game of their group.
Fiona Tomas