France vs England UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Group D preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups

All you need to know about the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Group D game between France and England.

Where to watch France vs England on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Women's EURO 2025 broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

England kick off their title defence with a meeting against their neighbours from across the Channel, coach Sarina Wiegman hoping to win a third successive Women's EURO, having led her native Netherlands to glory in 2017 before winning England's first major title last time out. Four members of the France squad – Chelsea's Sandy Baltimore and Oriane Jean-Françoise plus Manchester United's Melvine Malard and Everton's Kelly Gago – play their club football in England, so will have plenty of inside info on their opponents. Then again, Lucy Bronze and Alex Grewnwood (set to partner Leah Williamson in central defence after Millie Bright's withdrawal) previously played for OL.

Plenty of water has passed under the bridge since Jodie Taylor scored the only goal as England eliminated France in the quarter-finals of Women's EURO 2017 - the sides' most recent meeting at a major finals tournament. However, their most recent encounters suggest they are still closely matched; in qualifying for these finals, France beat England 2-1 in Newcastle, only to lose to Wiegman's side by the same scoreline in Saint-Etienne a month later.

Predicted team line-ups

France: Peyraud-Magnin; Bacha, Sombath, Lakrar, De Almeida; Karchaoui, Jean-François, Geyoro; Baltimore, Katoto, Cascarino

England: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Greenwood, Carter; Stanway, Walsh; Mead, Toone, Hemp; Russo

Reporters' views

Jérôme Vitoux, France reporter
Up against defending champions England, France will nonetheless be boosted by eight consecutive wins. Indeed Laurent Bonadei's team approach this contest with ambition but also a clear head. With a mix of dynamic youth and experienced players, France want to strike hard from the outset. Collective quality, attacking variety and a close-knit group are the major assets of a team determined to shake up the European hierarchy.

Faye Hackwell, England reporter
Recent results have been inconsistent, but the Lionesses have shown goals can flow when a rhythm is found and Lauren James returning from injury boosts an already exciting attack. At the other end, goalkeeper Hannah Hampton could have a busy tournament debut against France's own formidable forwards. Whoever wins sends out a statement as Matchday 1 concludes in style with a heavyweight contest.

What the coaches say

Laurent Bonadei, France coach: "The message for the team is to play with confidence. We’ve won our last eight matches – six in the Nations League and two friendlies – including a tough one against Brazil. That was important to help us prepare for a group like this, because tomorrow against England it will be a real challenge. But every team in this group will have difficult matches to play.

"There will be a lot of key factors in this match – it’s going to be a battle for possession. We’ll need to switch between pressing and keeping the ball, and put pressure on the opponent. Will England play long balls or not? There are many different aspects to watch. As for us, we’ve got real attacking potential, with a lot of options to challenge their defence."

Sarina Wiegman, England coach: "It's very exciting [to be in Switzerland]. We're glad we're here, we've finished our last training session and now we play. The tournament has already started and you can feel the excitement.

"We have a very hard group but we aren't doing things differently than we have done before, we just get prepared in the best way possible and get the team in a place where we think we can play at our best."