{"id":31124,"date":"2025-10-28T19:19:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T19:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=31124"},"modified":"2025-10-28T19:19:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T19:19:31","slug":"england-v-australia-womens-international-football-friendly-live-friendlies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=31124","title":{"rendered":"England v Australia: women\u2019s international football friendly \u2013 live | Friendlies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n
<\/p>\n

Key events<\/p>\n

<\/span>Show key events only<\/p>\n

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

16 min:<\/strong> Good play from the left between Hinds, Toone and Beever-Jones but the latter can\u2019t keep the ball in play.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

13 min:<\/strong> Beever-Jones finds the back of the net \u2026 but the flag is up. We do have VAR but the replay shows she just mistimed her run off of Carpenter and no complaints from her. It was a well-worked chance after a ball from Mead. Sigh of relief for the visitors.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a015.15 EDT<\/p>\n

10 min:<\/strong> England enjoying a long spell of possession. Earlier Morgan was walking with the ball, waiting \u2013 asking \u2013 to be pressed, but the Australia front line stayed flat. Clear plans from the visitors to counterattack when the chance comes. Sweet Caroline is already being played out by the band in the crowd.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a015.12 EDT<\/p>\n

7 min:<\/strong> Another chance for England. Mead wins the ball back on the right, finds Russo who does well to dig out the cross for Beever-Jones but her header goes wide.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

5 min:<\/strong> Hampton just gets her pass away as a scampering Kerr runs at her. England go forward as Russo lays it off to Bronze. The ball then lands to Kendall who lets a shot fly over the bar.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

3 min:<\/strong> Australia play out from the back but the ball is won high up and Toone\u2019s shot from just inside the box is blocked. The ball comes back out and after some patient buildup, Mead crosses the ball for Beever-Jones. The Chelsea forward comes just off the shoulder of Carpenter and sticks her toe out but just can\u2019t get a strong shot away.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Kick-off: England 0-0 Australia<\/h2>\n

The teams are out, the anthems have been sung and the referee has blown the whistle. England are in their traditional white tops and blue shorts while Australia don their all-black kits. Here we go!<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

The England squad<\/strong> are in the tunnel saying hello to Grace Clinton and Lauren Hemp, who are out injured but are here to show the Pride Park crowd in Derby the Euro 2025 trophy that was won in the summer.<\/p>\n

Mary Fowler is also in attendance despite her injury, here to support the visitors. Kick-off less than 10 minutes away.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s crunch some numbers<\/strong> and take a look at the match stats:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    England\u2019s last clean sheet was during the Euro 2025 group stages \u2013 their second match of the tournament. Since then they have conceded Wales, Sweden, Italy, Spain and Brazil.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    England have lost four of their 14 matches in all competitions in 2025 (W7 D3), last suffering more defeats in a single calendar year in 2019 under Phil Neville (7).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    After losing to Brazil, England will be aiming to avoid losing back-to-back matches for the first time under Sarina Wiegman \u2013 the Lionesses last lost two in a row in their final two matches prior to the Dutchwoman\u2019s appointment, in April 2021 (v France and Canada).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    England have scored in each of their last 15 games in all competitions, since a 0-0 draw with USA in November 2024 \u2013 the Lionesses could score in 16 consecutive matches for the first time ever.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Sam Kerr has been directly involved in each of Australia\u2019s last three goals against England (2 goals, 1 assist) \u2013 the Chelsea striker is the Matilda\u2019s all-time leading scorer (69).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Kyra Cooney-Cross created the most chances of any player against Wales; three of the four she created were for shots taken by Caitlin Foord, including the winning goal.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Share<\/p>\n

    Reminder of how it went down<\/strong> the last time these sides met \u2026 the stakes were a bit<\/em> higher two years ago.<\/p>\n

    <\/span>Sam Kerr wheels away after scoring Australia\u2019s equaliser against England in the semi-final of the 2023 World Cup after Ella Toone\u2019s opener. <\/span> Photograph: Rick Rycroft\/AP<\/span>Lauren Hemp responded with the winner before Alessia Russo capped England\u2019s 3-1 win, booking their spot in the final \u2013 which they went on to lose. <\/span> Photograph: Abbie Parr\/APShare<\/p>\n

    Team news<\/h2>\n

    England XI (4-3-3):<\/strong> Hampton; Bronze, Le Tissier, Morgan, Hinds; Walsh, Kendall, Toone; Beever-Jones, Mead, Russo<\/p>\n

    Subs: <\/strong>Keating, Moorhouse, Charles, Stanway, Greenwood, Carter, Kelly, Kearns, Agyemang, Blindkilde Brown, Fisk, Naz<\/p>\n

    Wiegman hands two debuts to Kendall and Hinds. Hampton makes her return from injury, while it seems Le Tissier has earned her start at centre-back tonight after much fan drama.<\/p>\n

    Australia XI (4-2-3-1):<\/strong> Arnold; Carpenter, Hunt, Heatley, Catley; Gorry, Kennedy; Cooney-Cross, Sayer, Foord; Kerr<\/p>\n

    Subs: <\/strong>Micah, Aquino, Nevin, Vine, Wheeler, Torpey, Raso, Grant, McNamara, Siemsen, Rankin, Heyman<\/p>\n

    Only two changes from the Matildas win against Wales, with Torpey and Wheeler making way for Kennedy and Sayer. Kerr handed another chance to get more minutes in her legs. Her last goal for Australia was on 1 November, 2023 \u2013 almost two years to the day.<\/p>\n

    Share<\/p>\n

    Updated at\u00a014.21 EDT<\/p>\n

    As for Australia,<\/strong> their late winner against Wales was surely a welcome one but the Matilda\u2019s dominance drifted during the game. Joe Montemurro\u2019s side started strong but the misplaced passes and errors crept in allowing the hosts some good spells of possession.<\/p>\n

    Much of the buildup to the match was around Sam Kerr\u2019s return. The captain and star striker was making her first international appearance since 2023 and while it was a subdued performance, her return ignites a lot of buzz \u2026 and a lot of questions.<\/p>\n

    Once the excitement of her return settles, there are pertinent questions as to how she will fit into this team. She is a freak athlete, but also one who is 32 and coming off a near two-year-long recovery. She was injured while Tony Gustavsson was national-team coach \u2013 the Swede having landed on a 4-4-2 that got close to the best out of her and Foord \u2013 but Montemurro will have his own ideas on how to fit her into what he wants to do. Part of this will be figuring out her place in an attack also featuring Foord (arguably the Matildas\u2019 most important player now), Raso, McNamara, Amy Sayer, Mary Fowler, Michelle Heyman and any other forward that emerges.<\/p>\n

    Joey Lynch\u2019s full analysis is below.<\/p>\n

    Share<\/p>\n

    So what happened against Brazil?<\/strong> The Canarinhas came out at the Etihad Stadium quickly and they were 2-0 up within 18 minutes as the Lionesses\u2019s makeshift defence struggled with the pace of Ludmilla, Zaneratto and Dudinha. Angelina was sent off in the 21st minute and naturally, the visitor\u2019s gameplan changed, approaching the rest of the match more timidly.<\/p>\n

    Despite the player advantage, England struggled. They registered three shots on target and four big chances, both stats the same as their opponents despite having 70% possession.<\/p>\n

    Both Suzanne Wrack and Sophie Downey were in Manchester to see England\u2019s loss first-hand and both voiced that there is little cause for concern \u2026 yet.<\/p>\n

    But continuing weaknesses have to be a focus for Wiegman and her new cohort of assistants to try to rectify before qualification begins for the 2027 World Cup next spring. This game may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, a red flag against complacency and a reminder that lifting silverware on the international stage does not automatically fix endemic problems. If England can figure out that side of their game, there is no doubt that with the quality of personnel available, this team could push the levels of their success even higher than they have previously done.<\/p>\n

    Read Sophie\u2019s full analysis below.<\/p>\n

    Share<\/p>\n

    Preamble<\/h2>\n

    Sound the alarms, England are in crisis mode \u2026 is what we would say if we were to take the Lionesses 2-1 loss to 10-player Brazil on Saturday at face value (and even then, saying the above would be quite the stretch).<\/p>\n

    But, as Sarina Wiegman has repeatedly stressed, England are in experimental mode as early ground work begins for the 2027 World Cup. The manager knows the squad she relied on to win back-to-back European Championship titles will be different in 18 months\u2019 time and is using these friendlies as a chance to see what works and what does not.<\/p>\n

    With all that being said, Wiegman and the players have also said that the habit of winning is important to maintain. It did not work against Brazil but a new test awaits today at Pride Park in Derby.<\/p>\n

    Australia have had a rocky few months and this England match is part of their preparation for their home Asian Cup in March. Joe Montemurro was hired four months ago after a string of disappointing results, including at the Paris Olympics. Sam Kerr returned after a 725-day absence and the Matildas will surely be a big vengeful. The last time the sides faced each other was at the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup, a 3-1 England win.<\/p>\n

    Much to look forward to and discuss. Kick-off is at 7pm GMT \/ 6am AEDT. As always, feel free to send your thoughts, questions, predictions and judgments on Wiegman\u2019s tactics my way via email.<\/p>\n

    Share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature 16 min: Good play from the left between Hinds, Toone and Beever-Jones but the latter can\u2019t keep the ball in play. Share 13 min: Beever-Jones finds the back of the net \u2026 but the flag is up. We do have VAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[346,311,1413,7674,6743,531,132,1214],"class_list":{"0":"post-31124","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-friendlies","12":"tag-friendly","13":"tag-international","14":"tag-live","15":"tag-womens"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}