European II Women's Hockey Championship: France 3-1 Wales
- Published
Vice-captain Izzie Howell won her 50th Wales cap in the loss to France
Wales lost 3-1 to France in their second European II Women's Hockey Championship Pool B game in Prague.
Eve Verzura and Paola Le Nindre scored within a minute of each other in the opening quarter.
Olivia Hoskins hit back in the third period, but Delfina Gasparie sealed victory for France in the final quarter.
Vice-captain Izzie Howell made her 50th Wales appearance while Izzy Webb must wait to reach that mark.
Wales next play Lithuania in Prague on Wednesday, 2 August (11.15 BST) in Europe's second tier.
France face also-unbeaten Austria later in the day with the top of the pool at stake.
Wales drew 0-0 against Austria in their opener on Sunday and their tournament progress will depend on their meeting with Lithuania, who lost 8-0 to France in their first game.
Kevin Johnson's side warmed up for the tournament in a Tri-Nations competition in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Johnson said: "Despite the defeat we have continued to improve areas of our game and it feels we have pushed on again from our performance yesterday [against Austria] against a strong opponent.
"We now must keep this arc going and deliver both the performance and the result in our final group game.''
Wales squad: Beth Bingham (Wimbledon, captain), Hannah Cozens (Reading HC), Rebecca Daniel (Durham University), Emily Drysdale (Clifton Robinsons), Millie Holme (ISCA/University of Exeter), Livvy Hoskins (Clifton Robinsons), Izzie Howell (Zehlendorfer Wespen, vice-captain), Xenna Hughes (Bowdon HC), Ella Jackson, (Swansea HC, GK), Sarah Jones (Wimbledon, vice-captain), Eloise Laity (Clifton Robinsons), Megan Lewis-Williams (Buckingham), Molly Munro (Clifton Robinsons), Lauren Roberts (East Grinstead, GK), Emily Rowlands (Hampstead & Westminster), Phoebe Richards (Clifton Robinsons), Betsan Thomas (University of Birmingham), Izzy Webb (Clifton Robinsons).