Grace Clinton made a “dream debut'' for England by scoring in a friendly win over Austria, manager Sarina Wiegmann said.
Midfielder Clinton, who is on loan at Tottenham from Manchester United this season, had scored England's second goal with a header that hit the post minutes earlier.
“I think it was a dream debut for her,” Wiegman told ITV Sport. “She played well and she did really well in training. She had fun and she had a very good goal. I'm very happy for her.”
It was an impressive night for the Spanish Lionesses, with Alessia Russo scoring twice, Beth Mead also scoring and Jess Carter and Rachel Daly adding to England's tally.
Austria ended up frustrating England by scoring twice from set pieces, but overall it was a good game.
Having missed out on representing Great Britain at this summer's Olympics, meaning there were no matches scheduled this month, the Lionesses opted for a warm-weather training camp in Marbella.
They wanted to be tested by Austria. they won 1-0 Despite scoring in the opening game of Euro 2022, Wiegmann's side could have easily picked up more than the seven points they got.
Russo capitalized on a quick start with the opening goal, allowing Clinton to head home before rain began to fall at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador.
A momentary lapse in concentration caused Virginia Kirchberger to head the Austrian in the first corner.
But Russo made sure to make up for England's pressure in the second half with a cool finish from close range after chances were created by the likes of Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier and Ella Toun.
Carter's instinctive flick made it five points, and despite a header from Kirchberger, Meade's effort hit the post for Lauren James and Daly's late goal capped off a strong performance. .
England face Italy in a second friendly on Tuesday as they hope to qualify for this summer and continue their preparations for defending their European title in the 2025 final.
“Going into the fight, it was probably the biggest fight of my career so far, so I'm very happy for this result,” Clinton said.
“Sarina told me at the beginning of the week that she was going to try me in the number eight position. I'm open to the challenge. It would be great to go deeper and be on the ball more.”
“I can’t believe we played together over there.” [Georgia] Stanway and Toon – they really helped me. It's very competitive. There are so many great players, it's an incredible experience to be with them.
“My mom and dad flew out this morning to watch the game. I can't wait to see them.”
Clinton seizes opportunity as England show superiority
Wiegmann had always intended to make changes to the side, but injuries to centre-backs Leah Williamson and Millie Bright opened the door for young defenders Le Tissier and Esme Morgan.
They were keen to take the chance, as was Manchester City's Jess Park. He has performed well for the club this month, coming on as a substitute in a midfield role.
Toon was drafted into the starting line-up minutes before kick-off when Chelsea's Fran Kirby hobbled out of the warm-up with “mild knee inflammation”, but the medical staff did not want to take the risk.
Chloe Kelly, who suffered a minor injury during Thursday's practice, was also absent.
“Fran had a little bit of inflammation in her knee,” Wiegmann said. “At this point, we're not going to take any risks on anyone. We just said, 'We'll take you down and assess you tomorrow.'
“Hopefully it's just a minor irritation and we can move on. Chloe is feeling better and we hope she'll be back on Tuesday.”
However, there were no signs of confusion as England were fluid from the start, coordinating well across the pitch and exploiting the space left behind the Austrian defence.
Le Tissier had a golden chance from a corner kick in the second half, but her header was well saved by Austrian goalkeeper Manuela Sinsberger, while Morgan was comfortably playing as a centre-back.
Arsenal striker Russo was heavily involved in the start and end of the game, putting England 1-0 up and scoring their second goal after the break.
Mead also found himself in good position to take advantage of rebounds, and Clinton's goal was just reward for a strong individual play.
Clinton's form on loan at Tottenham this season has put her in the spotlight, with her hopes that her strong display over the past 12 months will help cement her place in Wiegmann's squad ahead of Euro 2025. you would expect.
Like Le Tissier, she has certainly performed well enough here to deserve another chance, which will please Wiegman and show England's untapped strength.
All in all, it was a very comfortable night for England as they look to shake off their disappointment in the Women's Nations League.
“I'm really happy with the game, the way we played and our intentions,” Wiegmann added.
“We scored seven goals, which was really good and created a lot of chances. I'm happy with the performance, but there are a few things I'm not happy about. We conceded two goals from corners.
“I hope to do better on Tuesday.” [against Italy] And there's always more to learn. ”
lineup
England
formation 4-3-3
- 1hampton
- 2Le Tissier
- Fivemorgan
- 6green woodReplacementUben Moiin 45 minutesminutes
- 3charlesReplacementcarterin 62 minutesminutes
- 8clintonReplacementparkin 62 minutesminutes
- FourStanwayReplacementwalshin 78 minutesminutes
- 14Tone
- 7mead
- 9RussoReplacementdailyin 62 minutesminutes
- 11hempReplacementjamesin 45 minutesminutes
substitute
- TenKirby
- 12carter
- 13keating
- 15Uben Moi
- 16james
- 17bronze
- 18walsh
- 19daily
- 20park
- twenty oneArp
- twenty twoturner
- twenty threebeaver jones
Austria
formation 4-4-2
- 1ginsberger
- 6SchchtlReplacementHanshawin 63 minutesminutes
- 11Georgieva
- 13kirchbergerBooked in 49 minutes
- 20Naschenweng
- 18Prutscheller
- 9Zadrazil
- 17PuntigamReplacementfire singerin 63 minutesminutes
- 8DunstReplacementkolbin 88 minutesminutes
- 12campbellReplacementflyerin 77 minutesminutes
- 14HebingerReplacementshashingin 77 minutesminutes
substitute
- 2D'Angelo
- 3Klein
- 7pincer
- Tenfire singer
- 15flyer
- 16shashing
- 19Hanshaw
- twenty onecreche
- twenty twokolb
- twenty threePal
- Referee:
- Ainara Andrea Acevedo Dudley
live text
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Game over, England 7, Austria Women 2.
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At the end of the second half, England 7, Austria Women 2.
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goal! England 7, Austria Women 2. Rachel Daly (England) shoots with her right foot from the center of the box and high into the center of the goal. Maya Le Tissier collaborated.
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Attempt saved. Laura Fiersinger (Austria) took a right-footed shot from outside the box that was saved into her bottom right corner.
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goal! England 6, Austria Women 2. Beth Mead (England) took a right-footed shot from the right side of the 6-yard box into the center of the goal.
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Attempt saved. Lauren James (England) fired a left-footed shot from the center of the box that was saved in the bottom left corner. Supported by Hannah Hampton.
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Replacement, Austrian women. Lisa Kolb replaces Barbara Dunst.
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goal! England 5, Austria Women 2. Virginia Kirchberger (Austrian Women) scores a header from the center of the box into the bottom left corner. Barbara Dunst assists with a cross from a corner kick.
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Corner, Austrian woman. Jess Carter concedes.
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Attempt failed. Nicole Vila (Austrian Women)'s header went from the center of the box to the left of the frame. Katarina Nashenwen assisted with a cross from a corner kick.
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Corner, Austrian woman. Lotte Uben Moi conceded a goal.
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Offside, England. Jess Carter was caught offside.
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Attempt saved. Nicole Vila (Austria Women's) shot with her right foot from outside the box was saved into her bottom right corner.
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Substitution, England. Keira Walsh replaces Georgia Stanway.
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Replacement, Austrian women. Nicole Vila replaces Eileen Campbell.
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Replacement, Austrian women. Annabelle Schashing replaces Marie-Thérèse Hebinger.
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Foul on Jess Carter (England).
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Lili Prutscheller (Austrian Women) wins a free kick on the right side.
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goal! England 5, Austria Women 1. Jess Carter (England) fired a shot from close range into her bottom left corner with her right foot. Lotte Uben Moi assists from the corner kick.
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Attempt blocked. Lotte Uben-Moy (England)'s header from the center of the box was blocked. Beth Mead assisted with a cross.