England’s defence of their European Championship crown got off to a difficult start as France claimed a 2-1 win in Zurich.England created the first chance in the opening minute, but Lauren James

ZURICH (AP) — England set a number of unwanted firsts as it began the defense of its Women’s European Championship title by losing to France 2-1 on Saturday. Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore scored two quickfire goals towards the end of the first half as France recorded a ninth straight win and stunned the defending champion.

Meanwhile for Les Bleus, manager Laurent Bonadei took the radical decision to leave out captain Wendie Renard, all-time highest goalscorer Eugénie Le Sommer and the experienced Kenza Dali. The trio have 444 caps between them. France have never won the Euros and Bonadei referenced Einstein as he spoke of doing things differently