The Lionesses, however, thought they had taken the lead inside 16 minutes at the Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, only for Alessia Russo’s goal to be disallowed for a marginal offside ruling on Beth Mead. It was a decision England’s head coach described as a “huge surprise” — so what exactly happened, and why didn’t the goal stand?

ZURICH (AP) — England has never lost its first two matches at the Women’s European Championship. If that changes on Wednesday, the defending champion could very well be out of Euro 2025.

France staked their claim to be contenders for Women's Euro 2025 by beating holders England 2-1 on Saturday and joining the Netherlands at the top of Group D. Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore netted within three minutes of each other towards the end of the first half as Les Bleues deservedly defeated England in Zurich.

The marquee matchup, which France won 2-1, drew 690,000 viewers, a 329% spike from the previous group stage average.