Grace Clinton scored on her worldwide debut and Alessia Russo and Beth Mead every struck twice as England hammered Austria 7-2 in a pleasant.
Twenty-year-old Clinton, the Man Utd midfielder on mortgage at Tottenham, seized her probability with a standout efficiency in a rain-soaked Marbella, heading in from Lauren Hemp’s cross, moments after smashing a shot towards the within of a put up.
By that time, England had been already a purpose to the nice, due to Russo reacting quickest to tuck within the rebound to Mead’s cross-shot from shut vary with simply three minutes on the clock.
That quick begin was undermined when Virginia Kirchberger headed in from Austria’s first nook of the sport on the half-hour and she or he would nod in a late comfort, too. However England’s reply to that first setback was good, with Mead bending in a swift response.
Russo’s second of the night time – courtesy of England successful the ball again excessive up the pitch – underlined the European champions’ dominance as they stored the stress on within the second half earlier than Jess Carter flicked in a beautiful fifth.
There was a late flurry of objectives with Mead and Rachel Daly putting on the counter-attack after Kirchberger’s second of the night time gave Wiegman one thing to consider on the coaching floor forward of England’s subsequent pleasant with Italy on Tuesday.
However after a irritating 2023, which noticed England lose within the last of the Ladies’s World Cup and miss out on Olympic qualification with their Nations League efficiency, this win and efficiency was a great addition, with qualifiers for Euro 2025 to come back later within the yr.
How England put seven previous Austria…
Neither of those sides will likely be on the Olympics however England’s superior high quality was plain to see from the primary whistle, with Mead charging into the world earlier than forcing Austria and Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger to parry the ball into the trail of the on-rushing Russo.
Their second got here from the opposite flank, with Hemp beating her marker too simply earlier than standing the ball up for Clinton to move in. It capped an excellent begin to her first England look for the teenager, who had drawn gasps from the small crowd in attendance within the south of Spain when she crashed a shot towards the woodwork quickly after the opener.
With the rain starting to fall onerous, although, Austria struck again with an sudden response. Alex Greenwood’s mistake gave them the chance from the set-piece and Wiegman’s frustration was evident as Kirchberger bought in between Russo and Clinton to move house.
England stepped it up one other stage. Pictures from Ella Toone and Russo (twice) stung the fingers of Zinsberger earlier than Mead latched onto a free ball within the field after Russo’s miscue to transform her nation’s third.
The Lionesses stored the stress on after the break, with Toone prodding broad, Le Tissier and sub Lotte Wubben-Moy seeing headers from corners saved, and Stanway forcing Zinsberger to tip over.
That relentlessness ultimately instructed when Stanway dispossessed Sarah Zadrazil as Austria tried to play out from the again and put it on a plate for Russo.
Carter’s end was maybe one of the best of the night time, an aesthetic clip together with her backheel to show in Wubben-Moy’s header from a nook. Her celebration was modest. It was all too straightforward for England. However the scoring was removed from over.
Set-piece defending will certainly be on the agenda for the Lionesses within the coming days – Kirchberger ultimately bought above Esme Morgan to move in from a brief nook with two minutes of regular time remaining.
However England’s attacking prowess was the story of the night time, with sub Lauren James racing previous three defenders earlier than her shot deflected into the trail of Mead seconds after Austria’s purpose, and one other substitute, Rachel Daly, made certain she wasn’t overlooked, beating the offside entice to blast in a seventh in Spain.
Wiegman: It regarded easy however we performed very well
England supervisor Sarina Wiegman to ITV Sport: “I’m just really happy with this game. The way we played, the intentions we had, the dominance we wanted to get on the pitch. The defence were high press and tried to win the ball as much as possible and then played the game. Most of the game we did that.
“We scored seven objectives which had been actually good and created a variety of possibilities. I am proud of the seven objectives, however in fact there are little stuff you aren’t proud of. We conceded two objectives out of corners, we do not need to do this on Tuesday, there’s at all times one thing to be taught.
“It’s a dream debut for [Clinton], she played well too. She had done really well in training. She was enjoying herself. It’s a very good goal so I’m happy for her.
“We glance ahead. After all it [the Nations League and missing the Olympics] is a disappointment, you need to go to main tournaments. Everybody was gutted about that however it’s a must to transfer on and also you attempt to flip that round. We play these friendlies to see many gamers right now, we noticed new combos too. We have now one other one which will likely be a troublesome one towards Italy. Then the complete focus is on the Euro qualifiers and the Euros subsequent yr.
“They [the newer players] all did well. A lot of the times, it looked simple to them, but we played really well. Austria is a tough team and we didn’t give them the space. When we did, they did look dangerous. Everyone played their part on the pitch.”
Clinton: It is what goals are fabricated from
England debutant and goalscorer Grace Clinton to Sky Sports activities: “It’s what dreams are made of. I can’t believe it but I’m really happy. She told me she was going to try me in a different position this week but the support of the girls really helped me out.”
She added to ITV Sport: “Definitely [the best moment of my career], going into the game, it was probably the biggest game of my career so far. For it to go like that, I’m very happy.
“It is so aggressive, there are such a lot of nice gamers within the squad. To be round them is an unbelievable expertise. To be competing in there may be what you need to be doing.”
What’s subsequent?
England will play one other pleasant on this worldwide break, going through Italy on Tuesday; kick-off 5pm.