France women exit Euro 2026 after Greece defeat

France’s women have been knocked out of Euro 2026, ending their campaign in the last 16 after Greece secured a historic first appearance in the competition’s quarter-finals. The result came in Brno, Czech Republic, and leaves Cesar Hernandez’s team outside the tournament’s final eight.

France entered the knockout phase after finishing second in its group with four victories from five matches. That form did not carry into the meeting with Greece, who controlled the contest from the opening set and kept France from building sustained momentum.

Greece won 25-16 in the first set and repeated that margin in the second, taking the latter 25-18. France showed some resistance in the third, closing to 20-19 after trailing 11-5, but Greece claimed five of the final six points to complete a straight-sets victory, 25-20. Martha Anthouli led the Greek attack with 20 points, while Cyrielle Depie scored 12 for France and Lilou Ratahiry added nine.

The elimination marks a disappointing end to a group phase in which France had been among the stronger sides. Greece will now meet either Serbia or Croatia in the quarter-finals.