Match report as Sam Kerr fired Australia ahead in the first half after an error from Leah Williamson; The England captain then saw Charlotte Grant's header deflect off her and into the net; The Lionesses 30-match unbeaten run under Sarina Wiegman ended
Wednesday 12 April 2023 00:25, UK
England lost their first game under Sarina Wiegman as a series of errors saw them beaten 2-0 by Australia, bringing their 30-match unbeaten run to an end.
It was a performance that reflected the gloomy conditions at the Gtech Community Stadium, where the Lionesses were unable to follow up their dramatic Finalissima win with a victory in their final game before the Women's World Cup squad is announced.
Australia had England's game plan figured out at every turn and went ahead through star forward Sam Kerr (32). England skipper Leah Williamson's error allowed the Matildas captain through to slot home past Mary Earps - although replays showed she was offside.
It was Williamson again involved in Australia's second. Charlotte Grant's header (67) hit the defender on the way through before nestling into the back of the net. It is the first time England have conceded more than one goal in a game under Wiegman.
The Lionesses never really responded and struggled to break down a well-drilled Matildas side, finding it tough to deal with their aggressiveness that forced plenty of errors.
But Williamson does not view the result as a setback, telling ITV Sport: "Absolutely not a setback. Sometimes you have to take blessings in disguise and I think maybe that's not the worst thing that could've happened to us.
"We wanted to learn this whole time, we wanted to be pushed to our limits and we need to take it up a new level. In the past we won those games, we turned them around but actually, tonight to lose it gives you a bit of fire."
In a match that marked 100 days until the start of the World Cup, England dominated possession early on, but some superb play from Mackenzie Arnold - which she demonstrated throughout - kept the hosts at bay. Australia looked dangerous on the break, especially with Chelsea forward Kerr in their ranks.
The Lionesses' best chance of the half came just before the half an hour. Chloe Kelly played a lovely ball into the area, but Alessia Russo's acrobatic effort just lashed wide of the target.
Australia went ahead shortly after. Williamson fluffed her headed clearance with Kerr lurking, with the Matildas captain racing through on goal before slotting past Earps. Although replays showed she was offside, there was no VAR in play to review it.
The visitors could have added to their tally early in the second half as Kerr sent an effort just wide, before being smothered out of a potential shot at the post. At the other end, Clare Hunt nearly sliced a Lauren James cross into her own net, but it went wide.
England had a short period with half chances, but were soon undone again by some sloppy play as Australia doubled their lead. A superb Kerr ball to the back post was met by Grant, with her header deflected off Williamson and into the back of the net.
The Lionesses could have pulled a goal back shortly after, but substitute Rachel Daly nodded wide of the target. Stanway and Kelly too lashed efforts wide, but England ultimately did not have enough to save their unbeaten record.
England manager Sarina Wiegman:
"I'm not worried. I don't worry very quickly. We know we have to be at our top level and that's when we go into the World Cup too.
"Every game we get some warnings - against Brazil we got some warnings in the Finalissima. We know where we want to go to and what we have to do.
"I don't think we're losing momentum, I think it's building. There's 100 days to go and everyone's really excited to go to Australia and this is just a very big learning moment for us that we need to get to a higher level to win these games."
Questioned about the 30-game unbeaten run being over, Wiegman responded: "I haven't been focused on that ever.
"We just want to win every next game and you remind us all of the time [about the unbeaten run] but we don't talk about that in our camp.
"We talk about the next game and we want to improve every game and try to adapt to the opponent.
"I would've loved to have had a 31st win but sometimes you win and sometimes you lose."
England captain Leah Williamson to ITV Sport:
"We were lacking ideas on the ball, definitely could be better and we got punished. Obviously my mistake for the first goal and they were pretty ruthless on the counter. I think we could've had a little bit more about us tonight.
"Sometimes you're going to have those games. They were well organised. Efficiency was the word Sarina used, we weren't as efficient as we usually are. We need to figure out why.
"That first goal probably made it worse for me than everybody else but the whole team feels really, really rubbish about losing. It hurts."
"I thought we nullified the threat [of Kerr] pretty well as a collective and a back four. Obviously, I gifted her that goal. The top teams you expect to play against the best players and when they're on form, they punish you and that's what happened to us tonight."
There was an aura of invincibility that came with this England side going into this game, which is to be expected after a 30-match unbeaten streak.
Ask any national team coach and they're quick to tell you England under Sarina Wiegman are the team to beat this summer.
But impotent in attack and error-strewn at the back, England were quite simply bad against an Australia side missing almost 500 caps of experience.
Senior players like Leah Williamson and Lucy Bronze failed to cope with the one World Class opponent in Sam Kerr, while inexperienced Esme Morgan dealt with the frustrations that come with a game of struggles.
Chloe Kelly was quiet, Ella Toone couldn't find space and all of England's build-up play was predictable and ineffective.
There's no need to panic, World Cup challengers Germany also lost on Tuesday. But improvement is needed when up against the best.
Anton Toloui
England were always going to lose under Wiegman, it was just a case of when. It turns out, it was a wet April evening in Brentford against a very impressive Australia.
This international break has perhaps been England's most effective yet. They have won their first penalty shootout and also lost their first game under Wiegman. For a side that has always focused on learning and improving as much as possible, both games offered those real-world opportunities.
Let's start with the downside. This was the last game before Wiegman chooses her World Cup squad and it is never ideal having lost for the first time so close to a major tournament. No player covered themselves in glory and Wiegman's squad still largely picks itself.
But in some ways, it could be perfect timing. While all of the games since the Euros have been classed as World Cup preparations, they will begin in earnest in June. There will likely be more games to come before the tournament opener on July 22, giving England the chance to work on their issues and make amends for an error-strewn performance.
Wiegman told Sky Sports News that she was "disappointed, but not frustrated", and that sums it up nicely. It's not all doom and gloom, but it is disappointing to see England fall so flat and not be able to find the answer to the problem in front of them.
But while the 30-match unbeaten run was nice, there is plenty more to come from this special Lionesses group. If a loss now leads to glory at the World Cup, England players, staff and fans would take that in heartbeat.
Charlotte Marsh
England's next scheduled match is at the World Cup as they get their tournament underway against Haiti on July 22; kick-off 10.30am.
Australia take on France in a friendly on July 14 in their next scheduled match before their World Cup campaign gets under way against Republic of Ireland on July 20; kick-off 11am.
The group stage will begin on July 20 and run over a two-week period finishing on August 3 and see group winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16, which takes place from August 5 to August 8.
The quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, are scheduled for August 11 and 12.
The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.
A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.
