Jess Fishlock makes Wales history before France take control at Euro 2025 | OneFootball

Given that they were playing next door to a branch of Ikea it could be tempting to say Wales collapsed in the manner of badly assembled flat‑pack furniture. But that would be very wrong.

An admittedly emphatic scoreline that leaves France top of Group D and imperiously on course for the quarter-finals does not tell the whole story of a much improved Wales performance on a night when Jess Fishlock scored a historic goal.

Granted, only highly improbable mathematics dictate that their impending tournament exit is not quite rubber-stamped but Rhian Wilkinson’s players made Laurent Bonadei’s gifted side work hard for a convincing win.

Wales arrived at the St Gallen Arena in a new team bus with a fresh driver at the wheel. Wilkinson’s squad were badly shaken when their original coach was involved in a collision with a car en route to a training session on Tuesday afternoon but her switch to a back four amid a quartet of personnel changes was all about tactical choice.

In contrast Bonadei’s decision to rotate so heavily that the France starting XI contained only four survivors from the 2-1 win against England last Saturday reflected a desire to keep his stars well rested.

Having analysed the Netherlands’ opening 3-0 victory against Wales the France coach clearly felt sufficiently confident to rest seven key players including two outstanding forwards in Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore.

If that bolstered the morale of the travelling Red Wall, aka near 2,000 travelling Wales supporters, so, too, did the replacement of the rain that soaked St Gallen in recent days with tepid evening sunshine.

Yet as dusk descended, a slight chill permeated the air. Wales looked in peril of freezing as France began in menacing mode with Manchester United’s Safia Middleton-Patel, who had replaced Olivia Clark in goal, quickly forced to save from the impressive Clara Matéo with her legs.

When the otherwise indomitable Angharad James-Turner failed to clear a corner, the ball fell for Matéo to chest down and volley expertly beyond Middleton-Patel.

Undeterred, Fishlock – who else? – responded by conjuring the moment for which Wales waited so long; their first goal at their inaugural major tournament.

Despite being tackled, Ceri Holland somehow managed to dink the ball into Fishlock’s path and Wales’s 38-year-old record goalscorer needed no invitation to direct it into the back of the net.

Although an offside flag paused ecstatic celebrations they resumed once VAR came to the rescue and it was decided Fishlock’s goal stood after all. The Seattle Reign midfielder, who made her Wales debut almost two decades ago, became the oldest player to score at a women’s European Championship and immediately raced towards a suddenly tearful Wilkinson.

“What a moment,” Fishlock said later. “I’m extremely proud of the girls tonight; for most of it we were in the game but we need to be better in little moments.”

Her goal relaxed Wales to the point where they remembered they can actually play a bit. So much so that Bonadei’s youthful backline lost their way for a while.

Indeed France seemed so unnerved by their opponents’ counterattacking capacity that Wilkinson’s players found themselves on the receiving end of a series of rather desperate, and hefty, challenges.

Then Wales went and ruined it all by conceding a needless penalty when Holland lunged in on Matéo. Kadidiatou Diani converted from the spot, somewhat fortuitously after her fancy run-up produced the tamest of kicks straight down the middle. Yet although Middleton-Patel, diving to her right, got a foot to it she could only divert the ball into her own net, leaving it to trickle over the line.

That setback apart, Wilkinson’s smart decision to play a formation that swiftly morphed into a brave version of 4-4-2 discomfited France for long periods.

Significantly only an awful error from Middleton-Patel, who dithered over a clearance, enabled Matéo to steal possession before passing sublimely for Amel Majri to lash home. In mitigation, the goalkeeper is only 20 and generally her footwork is very good.

Now, though, her inexperience showed and, when she misread Diani’s cross, Grace Geyoro applied the finishing close-range touch.

As French fans dared to dream of a first major tournament triumph, Fishlock thanked the Red Wall. “They were loud and proud,” she said. “We have the best fans in the world.”

“I’m very proud of that performance against very strong opposition,” said Wilkinson. “I truly believe France are one of the top three teams in the world. Yes, we lost 4-1 but we showed up and were courageous against one of the world’s best teams. It’s not always about the result. It’s fine margins but we’ve shown everyone how proud we are to represent Wales.”

Header image: [Photograph: Sébastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images]