France set pair of records with statement of intent drubbing of Italy at Euro 2022

France laid down the gauntlet to the rest of the rest of the contenders for this summer’s Women’s European Championship crown on Sunday evening, courtesy of an emphatic downing of Italy.

Les Bleues were back in action a short time ago.

In the country’s Euro 2022 opener, Corinne Diacre’s troops made the trip to the New York Stadium, for a showdown with the aforementioned Italy.

Safe to say, though, the latter’s efforts to replicate their male equivalents en route to European glory just shy of a year ago did not get off to the most positive of starts.

Instead, a rampant French outfit ran out dominant 5-1 victors, to take an early lead atop the Group D table.

The clash was all but killed off as a contest inside the opening 45 minutes, as Les Bleues, looking near unstoppable, surged into a five-goal advantage. Grace Geyoro proved the star of the show, bagging a hat-trick, either side of further strikes from Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Delphine Cascarino.

And, in the process of putting Italy to the sword, both Geyoro, and France, secured for themselves pieces of Women’s European Championship history:

5/3 – France are the first team in Women’s European Championship history to score five goals before half-time, while Grace Geyoro is the first player in the tournament’s history to net a first-half hat-trick. Rampage. pic.twitter.com/CMhmR9IOUX

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 10, 2022

And the records did not come to an end there, with Sunday’s victors having too set a new national benchmark:

11 – France have won against Italy the biggest victory of their history at the EURO (5-1). Les Bleues have also won their last 11 competitive games, equaling the longest winning streak in their history in this type of game. Brilliant. #FRAITA #WEURO2022 pic.twitter.com/ENrdKl7WxY

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) July 10, 2022