England thrash Italy as two Lionesses send message to Wiegman - 5 talking points
England rounded off their friendly double-header in Spain with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Italy courtesy of goals from Lotte Wubben-Moy, Lauren Hemp, Ella Toone and Rachel Daly.
Sarina Wiegman made five changes from Friday's starting XI, with Mary Earps handed back the No 1 shirt and the previously injured Chloe Kelly reinstated out wide. Grace Clinton's impressive midfield display meant she was handed her second senior start alongside Georgia Stanway, though Ella Toone was forced to make room for Barcelona midfielder Keira Walsh.
Despite Italy being billed as a more exacting challenge, the Lionesses needed less than 60 seconds to put their opponents on the backfoot as Wubben-Moy headed home Alex Greenwood’s cross. With 33 minutes gone, the Lionesses were three goals to the good, Hemp’s brace making light work of a disjointed Italian defence looking increasingly vulnerable in set-piece situations.
Italy had their fair share of chances on the counter as England committed bodies forward, not least as Sofia Cantore was presented with a glorious one-on-one with Earps late in the first-half only for the two-time FIFA best to smother the chance without much alarm. The moment was epitomising of Italy, who would ultimately rue their dearth of finesse in the final third, though Le Azzurre were able to grab a goal back just before the interval as Michela Cambiaghi slotted home from a counter.
Wiegman dipped into the depth afforded her as she brought on Chelsea duo James and Jess Carter for the second-half, along with Jess Park and Toone. And it was substitutes James and Toone combining shortly before the 70-minute mark which restored England's three-goal advantage. Substitute Daly added the gloss with a fifth 10 minutes later, pinching a poor back pass from keeper Laura Giuliani and comfortably slipping the ball into an empty net.
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Below are the talking points from Tuesday's victory.
1. Another quick start defined by intensity
If this is to be the prelude to England Women's Euro2024 title defence, the signs are positive that the reigning champions might continue to reign. The Lionesses opened the scoring with just three minutes gone against Austria but on Tuesday, they proved they could go one better as Wubben-Moy met Greenwood's header and nodded it beyond Giuliani with just 60 seconds gone.
With 33 minutes gone, England were three goals to the good, revelling in a performance which followed a similar script to that of Friday: England dictating the tenor and tone of the match, though Italy offered their own threats on the counter which England did well enough to nullify.
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Lauren Hemp celebrates scoring England's second (Photo by Fran Santiago - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)The necessary caveat is that both of these matches are friendlies. Yet, Lucy Bronze spoke ahead of the match of the team's intensity in training sessions, a sign that even the friendly-nature of the encounters doesn't mean manager Wiegman, nor the players, will allow standards to slip.
Perhaps this is the natural response to losing some of that intensity and ruthlessness during a challenging Nations League campaign. Whatever simmering ghosts from that campaign still clinging onto this squad seemed to have been banished by the half-hour mark.
If there are to be criticisms levied, it's that England struggled to convert their dominance in open play for over an hour. Not until James, scintillating yet nonchalant as always, skipped down the by-line and cut back to Toone making a late run in the box did such a goal emerge. The Lionesses continued to dominate and threaten, and Daly eventually showed why having her on the bench is an absurd flex of depth that will make selecting the strongest starting XI quite the challenge for Wiegman.
2. England find joy in set-pieces
On Friday, Austria's only threat arrived through set-pieces and England, conspicuously without the towering aerial threats of Millie Bright and Rachel Daly, showed their silver of vulnerability here. Tuesday saw the roles reversed with the Lionesses the ones supplying the threat from set-pieces, courtesy of Greenwood and Kelly's wicked deliveries.
Arsenal defender Wubben-Moy deserves plenty of credit for the first, with the 25-year-old doing well to direct Greenwood's looping cross into the bottom far corner.
Lotte Wubben-Moy of England celebrates scoring the opener (Photo by Fran Santiago - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)The Gunner could've had a second minutes later from another set-piece had Guiliani not pushed her header wide. But it didn't long for England to once again show their threat in these spaces as Guiliani made a mess of punching away Greenwood's cross and Hemp, through a forest of legs, poked home the Lionesses' second.
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And Hemp once again found joy from set-pieces, this time making the most of the chaos ensued by Kelly's cross and floating a header into the top corner.
Wubben-Moy's early goal was a well-deserved boon for an otherwise splendid defensive performance. Arsenal legend Ian Wright has been one of the defender's loudest supporters in recent weeks and her display could cause Wiegman a few headaches as she considers the future of her backline.
3. Decision to play abroad called into question
Wiegman fielded questions ahead of Tuesday night's game regarding the FA's decision to play both friendlies away from home soil, thus ostensibly limiting the number of fans who would be in attendance. When played in England, Lionesses games tend to be overwhelming in their show of support, often record-breaking.
Yet Friday evening saw a crowd of roughly 700 and Tuesday evening followed a similar story.
And ITV commentators Karen Carney and Eni Aluko voiced concerns ahead of Tuesday's clash that the FA missed a trick by not capitalising on already impressive "development plan" for women's football support. Carney asserted that the decision to play abroad might have even been a "backwards step" in terms of normalising sell-out matches for women's football in the country.
Mary Earps denies Italy a chance (Photo by Naomi Baker - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)The defence for the location selection focussed on the optimal conditions offered in Spain. “What we wanted to do was play good friendlies in good circumstances," the head coach said. "We have very good pitches here, the weather is also good. We did know there probably wouldn’t be as many fans here as we had hoped.
“We will be back in England. We have games in April, June and July and the rest of the season we’ll be playing a lot in England. I hope that connects us with the fans enough.”
4. Clinton makes early Euro case
The Spurs midfielder, on loan from Manchester United, stole the show on Friday night and deservedly found herself amid the starting XI once again. It was more of the same with Clinton, who seemingly needs no patience for bedding in when it comes to honing a dynamic with the senior players around her.
Grace Clinton produced another performance which belied her age (Photo by Naomi Baker - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)The midfield three of Clinton, Walsh and Stanway worked well together, with Clinton particularly enterprising in England's attack, showing her pluck and quality in front of goal. It takes conscious reminding that this is only Clinton's second appearance for the England senior team, but the calls for Clinton, and Wubben-Moy, to be included in Wiegman's Euro2025 squad will be loud and ceaseless, as will the confounded bemusement that Clinton is somehow on loan from a Manchester United side notably struggling for the poise and incisiveness she showed in Spain.
5. Walsh wears captain's armband
The England captaincy has been a topic of discussion since the return of Leah Williamson to the competitive fold. Williamson's withdrawal from the squad meant that the mooted speculation would remain ongoing, with some suggesting her return would not mean an immediate return to captaincy. Alex Greenwood and Mary Earps have often shared the armband in Williamson's absence, but on Tuesday evening it was Barcelona midfielder Walsh who had the honours.
Keira Walsh wore the captain's armband in England's victory over Italy (Photo by Naomi Baker - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)Walsh was her usual suave and composed self in midfield, linking the defence and attack seamlessly and demonstrating why she's considered one of the best in her position. Whether Wiegman opts to make the captaincy's a shared honour, similar to that of the USWNT, remains to be seen.
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