Delphine Cascarino’s clutch brace helps France come from behind to beat the Netherlands and secure top spot ahead of England in Euro 2025 group

France entered Round 3 of the group stage of the 2025 European Championship as the leaders of Group D with two wins from their opening two games. The Netherlands, on the other hand, won their opener against Wales but then suffered a humiliating loss to England in Round 2. Heading into the clash, the Leeuwinnen knew that even a win would not be enough for them to reach the quarter-final of the Euros, as they would need the Lionesses to either draw or lose their clash against Wales.

The Oranje started the clash on the front foot but were quickly pushed onto the back foot as France almost opened the scoring via Sakina Karchaoui, who was denied by Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar. Les Bleus did not look back after that as they continued to dominate the game before Sandie Toletti finally broke the deadlock for France with a half-volley into the Netherlands' goal.

However, the Oranje did not let their heads drop as they shifted gears and began countering France's press. Their first big chance came to Chasity Grant, who struck a thunderous volley but was denied by Pauline Peyraud-Magnin only to see Pelova pick up the pieces and fire into the top corner. The Dutch then had total control over the clash as they threatened the French goal on multiple occasions; however, the Netherlands' lead came after Les Bleus defender Selma Bacha turned over a threatening pass from Lineth Beerensteyn into her own goal.

The second half saw the French come back into their own as they dominated proceedings yet again, as the Dutch players seemed to withdraw into their shells. It was at the hour mark that the Netherlands lost the ball on the halfway line before Cascarino played in Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who slotted the ball for the equaliser. What followed was a blinding storm from France as they added two more goals in the next six minutes, with Cascarino scoring both.

In the end, the Netherlands' hopes were short-lived as their loss and England's win saw them crash out of the group stage of the 2025 Euros.

San Diego Wave star Cascarino had a rather dull first half as she could not break the Dutch defence. However, it was the second half that saw her come into her own as she managed to bag one assist and two goals all within six minutes of the game, while keeping Netherlands defenders Kerstin Casparij and Dominique Janssen on their toes as she moved in and out of the centre of the field. Her first goal on the night saw her toy with Janssen before letting rip on a 22-yard strike past Van Domselaar.

Former Manchester City star Jill Roord was not directly at fault for any of France's goals; however, her night saw her fail to dominate the midfield for the Netherlands as she lost possession on 12 occasions and also lost the ball for Cascarino's second goal of the night.

As the toppers of Group D, France will now face off against the Group C runners-up, Germany, in the quarter-final of the 2025 European Championship. The clash will take place at St. Jakob-Park in Basel on July 19.