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Published 06 July 2025 4 min read
England Women's Senior Team

Clinton: "We have to get ourselves going again"

Written by:

Adam Drury

Grace Clinton and Jess Carter accept England must improve on their EURO 2025 defeat to France but believe there were positives to take from the game

REPORT: FRANCE 2-1 ENGLAND

Grace Clinton knows England can “improve as a team” as they aim to bounce back from Saturday’s EURO 2025 defeat to France.

The Lionesses were 2-0 down at the break but threatened a late comeback when Kiera Walsh scored in the 87th minute, with Clinton impressing off the bench.

The midfielder believes small details weren’t quite right in Zurich but insists England can take encouragement from positive spells of the game.

She said: “Everyone knows we can improve individually and then come together collectively and improve as a team.

England huddle during their game with France at EURO 2025

“If we play our game, sometimes we’re untouchable. Obviously it’s getting our passes where they need to go, just the little details.

“It's tournament football and these things are going to happen. Now we've just got to take each game as it comes and win the next game.

“Sarina told me to try and get a goal. We were 2-0 down. She wanted me to try and get on the ball, create things and get goals.

“Now we just have to get ourselves going again.”

Jess Carter echoed Clinton’s suggestion that the final 10 minutes of the match should offer the Lionesses plenty of encouragement ahead of Wednesday’s clash against The Netherlands.

The left-back accepted her side had lacked aggression in key moments but knows there is enough talent in the squad to put things right.

She said: “We weren't aggressive enough. We worried about their threats in behind and what they could do rather than doing what we could do.

Jess Carter applauds England fans after the game against France at EURO 2025
Jess Carter applauds England fans after the game against France at EURO 2025

“Watching it from the side, I really believed that we would equalise. We have to focus on that 10 minutes that we did have at the end and take that into the next game.

"The manager has told us it’s just about sticking together. That's the most important thing.

"When you face a loss, the biggest thing is sticking together and trying to figure out how we can be successful for the rest of the tournament.”