Sarina Wiegman issued a rally cry after their European Championship title defence began in crushing fashion as France dominated the Lionesses in a 2-1 defeat in Zurich on Saturday night.
Despite Keira Walsh's late consolation goal from the edge of the box, the Lionesses were comprehensively outplayed throughout the match.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto opened the scoring for France, tapping home Delphine Cascarino's cross after England were caught out in transition.
Sandy Baltimore doubled the advantage moments later, driving past Lucy Bronze before unleashing a fierce strike past Hannah Hampton.
Sandy Baltimore produced a stunning finish from a tight angle to double France's lead
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The result marked the end of Wiegman's perfect European Championship record, spanning two tournaments, and leaves England facing an uphill battle to progress from their group.
The Lionesses failed to register a shot on target until the 80th minute, whilst France managed 14 attempts throughout the encounter.
Speaking to ITV after the match, Wiegman expressed her deep disappointment with the result and performance.
"I'm very disappointed about the result. We started well, scored a goal but it didn't count. We played ourselves out of the game," the England manager said.
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Sarina Wiegman cut a frustrated figure on the touchline
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"We started playing short passes and that's what they wanted because they wanted to press. When we were out of the press, we were too sloppy.
"I think we can do better. We know France is really good but we caused our own problems."
Looking ahead, she confirmed the team would quickly refocus and insisted the importance on regrouping ahead of their next match: "We have to step up and tomorrow we will review and recover and straight on to the games against the Netherlands on Wednesday."
England captain Leah Williamson provided an equally frank assessment of her team's shortcomings when speaking to ITV.
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"We lost the game poor defending one v one. We learnt from those mistakes in fairness. Not good enough with the ball, we weren't good enough," Williamson said.
"The positive is I've not seen us like in terms of turning over the ball so much for a while now.
"Everyone take responsibility for themselves and have a look. Tomorrow we have new game plan."
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She remained focused on the upcoming fixtures, noting there would be "different places available and different opposition" as England prepare to face the Netherlands.
The match began promisingly for England when Alessia Russo found the net early on, only for VAR to rule the goal out for a marginal offside in the build-up.
From that moment, France seized control of the encounter.
The opening goal came after Georgia Stanway surrendered possession in midfield, allowing Cascarino to surge down the right flank before providing Katoto with a simple finish.
Baltimore's goal saw the Chelsea winger outmuscle her club teammate Bronze before firing past Hampton, effectively ending the contest before half-time.
England's struggles had potentially been foreshadowed by a fraught pre-tournament build-up that saw international retirements from Mary Earps and Fran Kirby, whilst Millie Bright made herself unavailable.
The Lionesses now face group leaders Netherlands on Wednesday, who defeated Wales 3-0 in their opening fixture.
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