England put on a clinic under the arch of Wembley Stadium, flying past Portugal to secure a 6-0 victory in the UEFA Women’s Nations League.
An emphatic display saw the Lionesses take a 5-0 lead heading into half time, before Chloe Kelly added the sixth in the later stages of the game. “I think it was a very good performance,” praised head coach Sarina Wiegman.
“What we wanted to do tonight is press very early and high and with the ball back as soon as possible, and then make it possible for a great chance score goals. I think we did that really well first half, and also they [Portugal] changed their shape. We adapted really well, we stayed connected and kept the energy in the game too. I thought that was really good to see.
“We had to find the space, that was a little harder, although the goal we scored, I thought was really good by skipping play and a good concert coming from the goal, and then at those moments, we want to be switching real quick, keep having one team behind overall.”
Five Arsenal players arrived at international duty off the back of a historic weekend that saw the club lift the UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy, defeating Barcelona 1-0 in Lisbon. Beth Mead secured a goal and an assist, combing with Chloe Kelly for the sixth goal of the evening. Leah Williamson also grabbed an assist after a visionary ball set Aggie Beever-Jones up for her hat-trick.
“[They brought] so much energy,” Wiegman said on the Arsenal players. They were, of course, so happy, and you could see that on the pitch too. They are in a very good mood too. It’s absolutely brilliant that they won it. It’s incredible, and they came in that way too. They got a little longer break to celebrate a little bit, and it’s incredible- it was very enjoyable.”
The head coach praised the group’s ability to switch their focus onto the Nations League despite the historic achievement:
“They just switched when they switched on for England, when they came in. Of course, we said it [Champions League] was celebrated. We were all very proud of them and and we all knew we had a big game tonight. So yeah, they said we’re all back to business and think that’s what they did.”
21-year-old Beever-Jones stole the show at Wembley, securing a hat-trick in the 33rd minute against the rattled Portugal defence. With Russo waiting in the wings, a calf injury ruling her out of this game, as well as Michelle Agyemang, Lauren James, Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead and Chloe Kelly, England are certainly not short of forward power.
“We have so many options for forwards in the squad right now,” Wiegman said. “We also know of course that LJ [Lauren James] is coming back too, she’s still in rehab and is doing good so trying to be here very soon. We will see what the competition will be, but I hope every striker will be fit in the squad, that’s going to make it really hard for me to make decisions for the squad, for the Euros squad, and we have many options in the tournament.”
