Just over a month on from the World Cup Final in Sydney, England earned an edgy 2-1 victory over against a reinvigorated Scotland. In a game littered with controversy, goals from Lucy Bronze and Lauren Hemp were enough to see the Lionesses through, despite Kirsty Hanson narrowing the deficit just before the break.
“Sometimes you just have to get through,” Sarina Wiegman remarked after the game. “Sometimes if it doesn’t look beautiful, you can still win the game.”
“I’m very happy with three very important points”, she continued. “In the first half, we played much better than in the second. We scored two good goals. Unfortunately, we also gave away a couple of counter-attacks and Scotland showed they were really dangerous in those moments. It was our own mistakes to give them those opportunities. In the second half we were struggling with the right decision-making, and kept playing short when we should have gone a little further.”
A packed out Stadium of Light welcomed the Lionesses home under the lights. Football waits for nobody and whether anyone was ready for it or not, it was time for a new international season to get underway. England have their sights firmly set on the Nations Legue and an Olympic spot; Scotland the same with the former but also with the focus on putting themselves in the best possible position for Euro 2025 qualification.
The Lionesses were still hampered by injury. In addition to Beth Mead and Leah Williamson still being in recovery, Keira Walsh was ruled out of this camp with a calf issue whilst Bethany England has recently undergone hip surgery. In addition, Sarina Wiegman announced earlier this week that Alessia Russo was given extra time off to recuperate and was, therefore, unavailable for their first match. As a result, this saw three changes from those that started against Spain. Katie Zelem took up the defensive midfield role, Lauren James went in at number 10, and Chloe Kelly came into the attack with Rachel Daly leading the line.
Scotland, in comparison, had a relatively quiet summer although they were involved in two friendlies at the start of July. They would have been buoyed by the announcement last week that an agreement had been reached with the Scottish FA, meaning their legal dispute had come to a close. Pedro Martínez Losa was without Erin Cuthbert through injury but was able to name a relatively strong squad for their first outing of the campaign. Claire Emslie and Rachel Corsie returned to the starting line-up while Martha Thomas led from the front.
The Lionesses started brightly, bringing the game to a deep-lying Scotland in the early stages. They were finding space down either side with Lucy Bronze supporting the attack on many an occasion. She almost instigated an opener for England but Daly could not adjust her feet quickly enough to find a shot. Play was positive but it lacked quality with the final ball as chances for Georgia Stanway and James fell by the wayside. They had to be ever wary of Scotland on the counter as well and Mary Earps denied the effervescent Caroline Weir with a stop that clearly stung.
The game’s first moment of contention in came in the 24th minute when Daly soared high to power home Katie Zelem’s delivery. There was confusion as the referee Maria Ferrieri Caputi pulled the game back for a supposed infringement by Chloe Kelly on Lee Alexander. Replays showed it was soft at best.
A spell of Scotland pressure followed. Kirsty Hanson, the visitors’ brightest spark throughout, left England’s defence stranded with a burst of pace. Her ball towards Thomas was pinpoint but the forward agonisingly couldn’t get there to poke it home. The second moment of contention followed when Millie Bright clearly went through the back of Thomas in the box. Caputi waved away the appeals with the striker and Losa making their feelings known.
It seemed inevitable, however, that England were going to make Scotland pay for the space they were being afforded. The breakthrough came in the 39th minute with Zelem given all the time to lift her head and sweep the ball over towards Bronze. The wing-back timed her run to perfection, beating the offside trap to send home a header. The second came from a similar lack of press and Daly was allowed to maraud down the right side. It took one glance for her to pick out Lauren Hemp at the far post.
It will have be frustrating to have conceded in the manner that they did just before the break, and changed the complexion of the game. In the final minute of first half injury time, Alex Greenwood’s error presented the ball to Weir. England failed to clear their lines and Hanson was able to beat Bronze at the back post to send it in off the upright.
The second half started positively enough for England as Hemp and James both came close but an early substitution removed the potency from their attack. With Ella Toone on for Kelly, Daly was shifted to left wing-back leaving the Lionesses with out a recognised striker leading the line.
It gave Scotland confidence as they began to control possession with Hanson growing into the game. She successfully pegged Bronze back in the latter stages, flashing a dangerous ball across the face of goal before volleying off the crossbar. Earps was then called into action to deny Weir once more.
With the game drawing to a close, the third contentious moment occurred. With James lurking on the defensive line, Hemp sent her away. She forced Alexander into a good initial stop before heading the rebound into the back of the net but the offside flag had gone up on the far side. Replays showed that she was on.
In the end, it mattered little as the Lionesses held on to a narrow victory. All that counts in these early stages is the result but Wiegman and her side will expect their performances to improve over the coming months.
