England thrashed Belgium 3-0 at Molineux in their opening friendly ahead of 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro.
Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses ensured a frustrating opening hour until the deadlock was broken in the 62nd minute, as Chloe Kelly curled in their opening goal via a glancing deflection from Amber Tysiak.
Rachel Daly doubled the hosts’ lead in the 66th minute as she smashed in from close-range after a corner was poorly cleared.
Belgium’s Nicky Evrard who had made fantastic saves throughout the match eventually nodded in England’s third goal into her own net in the 83rd minute, after Leah Williamson’s strike had rebounded off the crossbar.
This victory also meant that the Lionesses remain unbeaten under Wiegman who took over as manager in September 2021.
Following yesterday’s (15 June) squad announcement for this summer’s Women’s Euro, Wiegman’s Lionesses quickly settled into firm control of the match, as Lucy Bronze quickly got herself involved in attacks which ultimately came to nothing.
Georgia Stanway soon afterwards produced England’s first chance as she met Lauren Hemp’s pullback pass, yet dragged her ninth-minute shot wide of the top right corner.
Ellen White and Hemp then saw shots denied by Evrard who made excellent punches to clear the ball away from goal, as Belgium sat in and robustly defended hard against their hosts.
Ives Serneels’ Belgian Red Flame eventually launched their first attack in the 20th minute as Marie Minnaert drew a foul from Stanway, although the consequent free-kick ultimately came to nothing.
England soon settled back into control as Stanway fired wide in the 27th minute before Williamson, White and Beth Mead all saw chances denied by Evrard, as neither team broke the deadlock before half-time.
Minnaert meanwhile launched Belgium’s only decent chance of the opening half in the 33rd minute as she squared a pass across the edge of the box towards Feli Delacauw, although the Gent midfielder eventually flicked her shot wide.
Both teams rung the changes at half-time as England’s Lotte Wubben-Moy, Demi Stokes and Beth Mead were substituted for Alex Greenwood, Rachel Daly and Kelly, as Kelly made her first international appearance since recovering from a serious knee injury suffered in May 2021.
Serneels meanwhile dropped Sari Kees and Laura De Neves and brought on Charlotte Tison plus Tysiak respectively for Belgium.
Wiegman’s Lionesses however continued to dominate early in the second-half, amidst several attacks ultimately coming to nothing as the visitors held firm defensively with numerous blocks and clearances.
Keira Walsh eventually produced England’s first proper attempt of the second-half as she picked up Stanway’s on-turn lay-off, only for her shot to be saved by Evrard who was in the right place to safely gather the ball in her arms.
Hemp saw a 57th minute appeal denied after she was clipped and sent tumbling to ground just inside the box by Laura Deloose, although referee – Sara Persson decided to ignore her appeals and let play continue with Video-Assistant Referee (VAR) not in use in this friendly.
England’s resilience ultimately paid off as Walsh curled a 62nd minute cross towards the right which was met by Bronze, who found Kelly to cut in with the 24 year-old’s effort curled in via a deflection from Tysiak to put the hosts in front.
Belgium’s resistance however was once again broken just four minutes later as Williamson won a corner, with the delivery sloppily cleared, as the ball soon fell for Daly to smash in from close-range to double England’s lead.
Substitute, Bethany England headed wide twice for the Lionesses in the closing stages either side of a wasted curled effort from Williamson in the 75th minute.
Williamson’s pressing talent in this match eventually paid off in the 83rd minute as Alex Greenwood’s corner found substitute – Nikita Parris, who headed upon goal but was cleared to Williamson to fire her shot onto the crossbar but the ball bounced in off the head of a helpless Evrard.
In the end, England cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory to extend their unbeaten head-to-head record against Belgium, with no defeats in their last 11 meetings since the Belgian Red Flame won 2-1 in a friendly in May 1980.
Speaking post-match to ITV, Kelly who made her first international appearance since April 2021 following a lengthy knee injury described her substitute appearance as “brilliant”, whilst she also added that it “was an amazing experience” to also score for the first time under Wiegman’s reign.
Kelly went on to explain that featuring in the Euros squad on home soil was her main motivation over the last 13 months, as she said: “Definitely not. I said from the start I wanted to be at the Euros. I worked hard each day. I realise how much hard work I put in in my rehab.”
What’s Next?
England will continue their preparations for 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro with a friendly against Wiegman’s former team – Netherlands at Elland Road on Friday 24 June, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm BST followed by an away friendly to Switzerland in Zurich on 30 June (5pm BST).
Serneels’ Belgian Red Flame will host Northern Ireland, Austria and Luxembourg in three friendlies in five days between 23-28 June, ahead of facing Iceland, France and Italy in Group D at this summer’s Women’s Euro.
Wiegman also spoke to ITV post-match as she praised her players for how they “dominated” across the entire match, as she revealed that she told her team at half-time to create more runs in behind the ball whilst maintaining patience and score goals.
The ex Netherlands manager also spoke about how confident she is with her squad in terms of quality and experimentations as she commented: “It shows how the depth in the team is. We wanted to win but we wanted to try other things.
“They gave us loads of information we can continue working on tomorrow.”
Teams
England: Mary Earps, Lucy Bronze, Demi Stokes (Daly 46′), Millie Bright, Lotte Wubben-Moy (Greenwood 46′), Leah Williamson, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway (Kirby 61′), Beth Mead (Kelly 46′), Ellen White (England 61′), Lauren Hemp (Parris 81′)
Substitutes: Rachel Daly, Hannah Hampton, Fran Kirby, Ella Toone, Alex Greenwood, Nikita Parris, Chloe Kelly, Bethany England, Jill Scott, Ellie Roebuck, Alessia Russo, Jess Carter
Belgium: Nicky Evrard, Laura Deloose, Sari Kees (Tison 46′), Laura De Neve (Tysiak 46′), Davina Philtjens (Missipo 61′), Julie Biesmans (Vanmechelen 73′), Marie Minnaert, Feli Delacauw (Dhont 61′), Sarah Wijnants (Vangheluwe 73′), Tine De Caigny, Tessa Wullaert
Substitutes: Diede Lemey, Jody Vangheluwe, Amber Tysiak, Lenie Onzia, Davinia Vanmechelen, Charlotte Tison, Hannah Eurlings, Ella Van Kerkhoven, Jill Janssens, Elena Dhont, Kassandra Missipo
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