England defeated Austria 7-2 in the first of two friendlies during their warm-weather training camp in Marbella.
Grace Clinton starred as she marked her debut with a goal, while Alessia Russo and Beth Mead both scored two. Jess Carter and Rachel Daly were also on the scoresheet for the Lionesses.
It was a pleasant evening for boss Sarina Wiegman, who was able to experiment with her team and hand out more experience to younger players.
The manager will be hoping for more of the same when England play Italy in their second friendly on Tuesday.
Mail Sport’s Kathryn Batte lists five things we learned from Austria’s victory.
England defeated Austria 7-2 in the first of two friendlies during their warm-weather training camp
Grace Clinton starred as she marked her debut with a goal, while Alessia Russo and Beth Mead both scored two. Jess Carter and Rachel Daly were also on the scoresheet for the Lionesses
Clinton ready to step up:
This may have been Grace Clinton’s first performance in England, but she felt more than at home on the international stage.
Despite playing in a slightly different position to the one she is used to at Tottenham, the midfielder was calm and composed on the ball and linked up well with Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone.
Clinton was inches away from scoring a spectacular goal early in the first half, but her moment came shortly afterwards when she headed in Lauren Hemp’s cross to mark her debut with a goal.
England have needed more depth in midfield for some time now and this is certainly the first of many caps for the youngster.
This may have been Grace Clinton’s first performance in England, but she felt more than at home on the international stage
Stanway effective in role No. 6:
Georgia Stanway has been in impressive form for Bayern Munich and she carried that into a more unfamiliar role in Friday’s match.
Stanway was used in the No. 6 role, usually filled by Keira Walsh, and excelled. The midfielder was everywhere, breaking Austria’s lines with her passing and also breaking down their attacks.
There was a maturity to Stanway’s performance in that her positioning was exemplary and she was the leader of the three midfielders.
She was given the captain’s armband when Alex Greenwood left the pitch at half-time, almost eight years after her first England call-up, on 24 February 2016.
Georgia Stanway has been in impressive form for Bayern Munich and she carried that into a more unfamiliar role in Friday’s match
Hot weather not the best for fans:
England’s failure to make the Nations League knockouts meant they had to play friendlies during this international window.
They had to weigh the benefits of a warm-weather training camp, away from the spotlight, against playing these matches in England, where they could have packed stadiums.
About 900 tickets were sold for Friday’s match at the Estadio Nuevo Miranda, which was in a remote location and far less glamorous than some stadiums the Lionesses have played in before.
The stand where the fans were housed had no roof, meaning many were standing on it when torrential rain hit during the first half.
Mead gets a shock:
Alex Greenwood’s withdrawal at half-time gave Beth Mead an expected surprise: she was the oldest English player on the field.
Mead, 28, scored in each half as she returned to her best form for club and country after returning from a cruciate ligament injury.
Despite it being an enjoyable evening for the Arsenal striker, she jokes that she was shocked to discover she was the most experienced player returning for the second half.
‘How did that happen?’ Mead said when asked if he was the oldest player on the team at the start of the second half.
The attacker joked that she had asked Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly, both 32, to take the title away from her.
Alex Greenwood’s half-time withdrawal gave Beth Mead an expected surprise: she was the oldest English player on the field
England need to improve defensive corners:
England was far superior to Austria on Friday, but still conceded two goals, which Wiegman admitted to being disappointed about.
The Lionesses switched out on a corner for the first and also lost concentration on another set piece for the second.
The defense was missing Leah Williamson, Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze and perhaps lacked some leadership at times.
“I am of course happy with the seven goals, but there are also a few small things that we are not happy with,” said Wiegman.
‘We conceded two goals from corner kicks, once we didn’t block well and secondly we didn’t get the header. We could have done better on both, there are always things you want to improve.’
