Thursday, March 28

Rachel Daly’s volley lights up England win over Belgium in Euro 2022 warmup | women’s football


A volley from Rachel Daly and two own goals ensured England eventually eased past Belgium in the first of their three pre-Euros friendlies.

Their manager, Sarina Wiegman, has demanded ruthlessness from the Lionesses since taking charge in the summer but at Molineux she was forced to rely on her substitutes to inject the cutting edge into the team after a frustrating first half.

Chloe Kelly’s deflected strike and Daly’s impressive goal were the difference in the second half, before Leah Williamson’s shot ricocheted down off the crossbar and in off the back of the goalkeeper, Nicky Evrard.

There were few surprises in Sarina Wiegman’s starting XI. The Arsenal centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy lined up alongside Millie Bright in defence, with Alex Greenwood still being eased back in after having Covid and Jess Carter working her way to full fitness after a heavy season. Georgia Stanway, who recently joined Bayern Munich from Manchester City, was given the nod ahead of Fran Kirby and Ella Toone at No 10.

With that position providing the only real question mark ahead of England’s opening game of the Euros at Old Trafford on 6 July, it was interesting to see the Arsenal defender Williamson striding forward to swap places with Stanway or play alongside her, with the manager exploring her options beyond the expected trio of Stanway, Kirby and Toone.

Wiegman had warned that Belgium would be tough opponents, despite the 12 places separating them in the Fifa rankings. “Belgium has developed a lot and is also going to the Euros,” she said. “They can do a couple of things. They can play a little opportunity, but they also want to play a possession game and they have good players. I think it’s going to be a competitive game and what we want is competitive games.”

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Belgium open Group D of the Euros against Iceland at the Manchester City Academy Stadium, with Italy and France completing their group.

In the previous meeting between England and Belgium in August 2019, Phil Neville’s team threw away a two-goal lead and were reliant on a 75th-minute Nikita Parris penalty to salvage a 3-3 draw in the team’s first game after the third place play -off defeat to Sweden at the World Cup. However, for a team hopeful of winning a major tournament, Belgium, a side they have not lost to in 10 games since 1980, should be small fry.

Chloe Kelly after her shot was deflected past the Belgium goalkeeper to give England the lead. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

At half-time the stats told a story of dominance. The Lionesses had enjoyed 66% possession and 14 shots on goal. Yet they struggled to find the ruthlessness that had seen them score 72 goals in 11 games under Wiegman prior to kick-off.

Lucy Bronze caused problems for Davina Philtjens and Marie Minnaert on the right and got the ball into the box a handful of times, but her crosses lacked accuracy. Evrard did well to tip away Ellen White’s header from close range after Beth Mead’s cross. The 27-year-old also pushed aside a near-post effort from Lauren Hemps after a mazy run on the left, and was then saved by the defender Sari Kees, who denied England’s captain, Williamson, a first goal with the armband on by clearing off the line after she had clipped the ball over the keeper.

On the captain’s other arm, and every England player’s, was a black band worn in tribute to Wiegman’s sister after her recent passing.

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Wiegman and her counterpart, Ives Serneels, were clearly frustrated with the slightly stale first half and switched things up at the break. Daly came on for Demi Stokes at left-back, Greenwood replaced Wubben-Moy and Kelly took the place of Mead. The Belgium defenders Kees and Laura De Neve made way for Amber Tysiak and the midfielder Charlotte Tison.

Beth England and Kirby would also join the fray with an hour gone as Wiegman searched for the key to unlock the organized Belgium defence.

Unfortunately for Belgium, England’s key would be the foot of the substitute Tysiak, who deflected Kelly’s strike in at the near post after the winger had collected Bronze’s pass and skated into the box.

The crowd of 9,598, an underwhelming number for a friendly building up to a home tournament, breathed a collective sigh of relief as the ball hit the back of the net. England were rewarded for their patience with a cleaner goal not long after: a corner pinballed around the box before falling to Daly near the penalty spot, and the versatile Houston Dash forward volleyed in to extend her side’s lead.

Williamson did not get on the scoresheet herself but played a big part in England’s final goal. The ball rebounded to her feet after Evrard had pushed away the substitute Nikita Parris’s header from a corner, and the midfielder powered a shot down off the crossbar which deflected off the back of the keeper and in.


www.theguardian.com

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