Lionesses' World Cup hopes hang in the balance after defeat to France

England Women 1-2 France Women: Lionesses throw away lead to slip out of automatic qualification

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England's hopes of automatically qualifying for the 2023 Women's World Cup hang in the balance after they suffered a 2-1 defeat to France in their penultimate qualifier on Tuesday.

The Lionesses took the lead through Lauren James in the first half, but France hit back with two goals in the second half from Melvine Malard and Clara Matéo.

The result leaves England needing to beat Austria in their final qualifier on Friday to secure a top-two finish in Group G and automatic qualification for the World Cup.