FROM ESTADIO NEUVO MIRADOR – England started 2024 with a 7-2 victory featuring five different scorers against well-known foe Austria as part of their warm weather training camp in southern Spain.
England touched down in Marbella earlier in the week to kick-start their preparations for the Euro 2025 qualifiers which begin in two months.
Ella Toone replaced Fran Kirby in the lineup following the warmup after the Chelsea midfielder was ruled out as a precaution.
Grace Clinton marked her first England start with a goal as Sarina Wiegman heavily rotated her squad. Alessia Russo and Beth Mead netted braces while Jess Carter added further gloss with a nifty flick at the near post and Rachel Daly completed the evening with a powerful stoppage-time strike.
Virginia Kirchberger was able to get on the scoresheet twice for Austria to soften the blow.
England will round off their warm weather training camp with another friendly against Italy on Tuesday.
How the game unfolded
Within three minutes, England broke the deadlock after Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger parried Mead’s initial shot and club teammate Russo tapped home.
Clinton, making her senior England debut, was agonisingly denied by the woodwork before marking her first cap with a superb header in the 19th minute to double the lead.
Half an hour in, Austria nipped one back against the run of play as Kirchberger got a head to a looping cross and beat Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton – making only her third Lionesses appearance – in the England goal.
Lauren Hemp broke into the box to tee up Russo, but the Arsenal striker failed to get her initial shot to take flight. Mead was there to gather, turn and send a lofted shot into the top corner with plenty of time to secure England’s third.
Mead was unhappy that referee Ainara Acevedo Dudley did not grant her cries for a penalty after reaching to meet a cross on the stroke of half-time.
By the beginning of the second half, England were looking comfortable as the rain relented. Maya Le Tissier forced a big save from Zinsberger as her header looked to dart into the back of the net. But as Georgia Stanway, donning the captain’s armband, pounced on a skewed ball, she teed up Russo expertly to complete her brace before being subbed off for Daly.
Mead’s looping corner found Arsenal teammate Lotte Wubben-Moy, who headed the ball into Carter’s path and the defender scored her second England goal with a nifty flick into the bottom corner.
In the final minutes, Esme Morgan was beaten by Kirchberger at the back post who headed home. In an instant response, substitute Lauren James hit the post before Mead collected the rebound and finished with aplomb.
Daly rounded off the scoring with a stoppage-time rocket to close a productive evening for England.
GK: Hannah Hampton – 6/10 – Did well to read and collect Austria’s minimal chances but generally had little to do throughout the game.
RB: Maya Le Tissier – 7/10 – Read and anticipated her opponents’ movements exceptionally.
CB: Esme Morgan – 7/10 – Made some impressive tackles to deny a composed Eileen Campbell careering down on goal.
CB: Alex Greenwood – 7/10 – Controlled her side well and whipped in set pieces in with ease. Was let down by a lacking end product.
LB: Niamh Charles – 7/10 – A less productive night for the Chelsea defender but did well to provide an alternative attacking option.
CM: Georgia Stanway – 9/10 – Excellent in the eight role and orchestrated the tempo of the game. After a rocky run of form, the midfielder massively stepped up.
CM: Grace Clinton – 8/10 – Excellent on debut, keeping composure in midfield and taking a pop at goal, scoring on her second chance. A bright England future lies ahead of the Manchester United starlet.
CM: Ella Toone – 7/10 – Called in at the last minute due to an injury to Kirby and did well to drop deep, collect the ball and progress play.
RW: Beth Mead – 9/10 – Was able to get on the end of skewed chances but lacked a clinical finish at times despite scoring twice.
LW: Lauren Hemp – 8/10 – Sent numerous crosses in where the end product was lacking from her compatriots but did well to continue to break down the Austrian defence.
ST: Alessia Russo – 8/10 – Popped up at the right time to finish chances but failed to stick to her player at the other end, leading to Austria’s first goal.
Substitutes
SUB: Lotte Wubben-Moy (46′ for Greenwood) – 7/10.
SUB: Lauren James (46′ for Hemp) – 5/10.
SUB: Jess Carter (62′ for Charles) – 7/10.
SUB: Rachel Daly (62′ for Russo) – 6/10.
SUB: Jess Park (62′ for Clinton) – 7/10.
SUB: Keira Walsh (78′ for Stanway) – N/A
Unused subs: Keating (GK), Earps (GK), Bronze, Turner, Beever-Jones.
Manager
Sarina Wiegman – 9/10 – Rotated the squad to give fringe players vital minutes while showing faith in her younger members to grant them pivotal experience ahead of a busy series of high stakes camps.
GK: Manuela Zinsberger – 5/10 – Failed to anticipate shots well and parried clearances rather than claiming them.
RB: Katharina Naschenweng – 5/10 – Struggled against Hemp’s pace and astute reading of the game.
CB: Virginia Kirchberger – 8/10 – Did well to score both of Austria’s goals to soften the blow of the loss.
CB: Marina Georgieva – 6/10 – Was far too easy for England to carve out the backline to send crosses in.
LB: Katharina Schiechtl – 6/10 – The Austrian defender made it far too easy for Mead to shake her off and move into space.
RM: Lilli Purtscheller – 7/10 – Managed to break into space on the counter to try and tee up her teammates but England usually foiled her plans.
CM: Sarah Zadrazil – 6/10 – Caused issues in the midfield for England, keeping calm under building pressure.
CM: Sarah Puntigam – 6/10 – Found some composure after the first half but was struggling to string passes together against England’s speed.
LM: Barbara Dunst- 5/10 – Failed to make much impact on the game.
AM: Marie Hobinger – 7/10 – The Liverpool midfielder did well in the face of England’s aggression.
CF: Eileen Campbell – 7/10 – Put England’s back line under pressure consistently and tried to engineer chances from few options.
Substitutes
SUB: Laura Feiersinger (63′ for Puntigam) – 7/10.
SUB: Verena Hanshaw (63′ for Schiechtl) – 6/10.
SUB: Nicole Billa (77′ for Campbell) – 7/10.
SUB: Annabel Schasching (77′ for) – N/A
SUB: Lisa Kolb (88′ for Dunst) – N/A
Unused subs: Kresche (GK), Pal (GK), D’Angelo, Klein, Pinther.
Manager
Irene Fuhrmann – 4/10 – Her side were outclassed by England and she was unable to rejig her plans to combat their pace and composure.
