England player ratings vs France: From bad to worse! Mary Earps injury haunts Lionesses as Millie Bright shows rust in Euro 2025 qualifying defeat to Les Bleues

England player ratings vs France: From bad to worse! Mary Earps injury haunts Lionesses as Millie Bright shows rust in Euro 2025 qualifying defeat to Les Bleues

Perhaps England should’ve known it wouldn’t be their day against France on Friday when Mary Earps suffered what appeared to be a hip injury with less than 45 seconds on the clock. A simple passing motion left the Lionesses’ No.1 wincing in pain and though their fortunes briefly improved when Beth Mead put them ahead at St James’ Park, an eventual 2-1 defeat to Les Bleues was the result of a disappointing display.

Things just didn’t click for Sarina Wiegman’s side in this match. There were nice moments, such as Mead’s composed finish and a shot of hers later in the first half which forced Pauline Peyraud-Magnin into a sublime stop, but there were too few of these. There were no huge defensive errors that cost them, either, in what was just a flat performance. Instead, it was an inability to defend set pieces that hurt the Lionesses.

There was little they could do about Elisa De Almeida’s stunning volley from a first half corner, except perhaps avoid conceding the dead ball situation, but failure to clear their lines from another in the second period was damaging and eventually led to Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s skillful, sweeping finish. This was only England’s first defeat in seven games, and first in the qualifying for Euro 2025, but after a draw against Sweden at Wembley in their first game in this competition, it leaves them third in a group of four ahead of a very difficult return game with the French on Tuesday.

GOAL rates the Lionesses’ players from St James’ Park…

Mary Earps injury England France 2024

Goalkeeper & Defence

Mary Earps (N/A):

Limped off with what looked to be a hip injury after only eight minutes.

Lucy Bronze (6/10):

Got forward plenty and linked up well with Mead down the right to cause France problems. Not troubled much defensively.

Millie Bright (5/10):

Looked rusty here despite ending the season with Chelsea having looked more match fit after so long on the sidelines.

Leah Williamson (6/10):

Superb pass to Toone to start the attack for the first goal.

Jess Carter (6/10):

Solid in her defensive work, especially given she was up against two sublime wingers. Like Bronze, wasn’t troubled too much.

Ella Toone England 2024

Midfield

Keira Walsh (6/10):

Near faultless in possession.

Georgia Stanway (5/10):

Didn’t get on the ball as much as usual and lacked incision when she did.

Ella Toone (5/10):

Did well to pick up a nice pocket of space in the build-up to Mead’s opener, though was relatively quiet for large spells.

Alessia Russo England France 2024

Attack

Beth Mead (7/10):

Great composure with the finish that broke the deadlock and was so close to a second, too, but for an excellent Peyraud-Magnin save.

Alessia Russo (5/10):

Looked lively despite her recent long-haul post-season trip with Arsenal but didn’t have her shooting boots on.

Lauren Hemp (7/10):

Always an outlet down the left and was often England’s most creative player.

Sarina Wiegman Keira Walsh England 2024

Subs & Manager

Hannah Hampton (7/10):

Had to take Earps’ place early on and didn’t put a foot wrong despite the goals. Made an exceptional save to deny Lakrar in the first half.

Chloe Kelly (N/A):

Had a good chance moments after coming on with 10 minutes to go, but couldn’t connect properly from close range.

Fran Kirby (N/A):

Looked lively off the bench, though didn’t have a lot of time to make an impact.

Sarina Wiegman (4/10):

Made her substitutions far too late. The game was already crying out for a change when the hour mark came along and yet it wasn’t until the 80th minute that Wiegman turned to her bench, after France had taken the lead.