Sarina Wiegman and England begin their quest for successive Euros triumphs this Saturday, the Lionesses kicking off their Euro 2025 campaign in Switzerland with a tough opener against France in Group D where the Netherlands and Wales are the other teams involved.
Having twice faced world champions Spain already this year, winning one and losing one, England may relish playing fancied opponents in their first game and laying down a marker in their bid to retain the trophy won on home soil in 2022.
That is certainly what Spain did in their match against Portugal on Thursday, four first-half goals giving notice of how they intend to add the European crown to their World Cup victory.
France continue to flatter to deceive at major tournaments, despite the presence of a number of players from perennial contenders Lyon and coach Laurent Bonadei has responded to that by not selecting veterans Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer.
For Wiegman, after a bump in the road prior to the tournament when Mary Earps announced a surprise international retirement and Millie Bright also made herself unavailable for the Euros, the return of some experienced players to complement the next generation of stars means England go into their defence with a squad that gives the manager plenty of options.