England forward Beth Mead has said the Lionesses are feeling frustrated after their Euro 2025 qualifying loss to France on Friday, while coach Sarina Wiegman said the team "have to do better."
France came from behind to beat the defending European champions 2-1 at St James' Park, leaving the Lionesses in a less-than-desirable position to qualify for the 2025 tournament. They face the group leaders again in Saint Étienne on Tuesday.
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Mead struck early to give the hosts an edge but two goals conceded from set pieces saw England crumble. Goalkeeper Mary Earps was forced off with an injury in the opening minutes, adding to England's woes as she will be unavailable for the crucial game.
"I think [it was] small margins," Mead told a news conference on Monday. "We let two set pieces in which we pride ourselves massively on, and it's very frustrating and I think if we can bring the game that we know we can play, then I think we have no reason not to be able to beat the French team.
"[We are] Very frustrated with Friday. We've got a team of winners, people that want to push each other out of the team. Every day, everyone's fighting for those positions, and we want to prove, you know, things don't always go right.
"That's football, and there's no one more than the players who get frustrated and want to pick the hell out of the game the other night. We've analysed, we feel ready, we feel that we can put a good performance on tomorrow night and yeah, show that we can beat France comfortably."
Wiegman, speaking alongside Mead, added: "I think a couple of things we did well, uh, and we obviously we didn't do good enough, so again, review.
"We have to do better tomorrow. That's what we're working on all the time in, in every, in every part of the game but now, especially, of course in the set pieces, because we know that's one of the strengths."
It is a near-must-win game for England on Tuesday. The Lionesses are third in their qualifying group, five points behind France who remain undefeated and are level on points with Sweden.
The top two of the group earn automatic qualification to the Euro 2025 in Switzerland, with the two bottom-placed teams entering the playoffs in Autumn. If France beat England, they are almost guaranteed to top the group, leaving the defending champions in a battle to avoid playoffs.
Despite the high stakes of Tuesday's game, Wiegman is entering the tie level-headed and does not believe it is a must-win game.
"No, want to win, we always want to win games and of course it would really help us to put us in a better position when we win the game. That's how we are going to approach it. And we think with the experience we have on Friday, we feel comfortable that we can get a good result tomorrow," Wiegman said.
Whilst a win, a draw and a loss was not the way the Lionesses would have wanted to begin the qualifying campaign, Mead is optimistic.
"You've gotta beat the best to be the best, and obviously, we've got a target on our back since winning the Euros, but we have enough quality in this team to be able to play against any team and, and beat them," Mead said.
"So, obviously, it's a tough group. Most people will probably say it's a group of death, but again, you've gotta beat the best to be the best."
Wiegman confirmed Earps is unavailable for the pivotal match after leaving the England camp. The Manchester United goalkeeper was substituted off in the eighth minute on Tuesday due to a hip injury. However, Wiegman said it does not seem like a major injury and is hopeful Earps will return to the fold for the last two qualifiers in July against Sweden and Ireland.
Wiegman also all but confirmed that Chelsea's Hannah Hampton would be starting the vital game after being the chosen replacement when Earps was unable to continue.