- England were stunned by three first half Germany goals in the Wembley friendly
- Sarina Wiegman’s side battle back into the match but fell short in a 4-3 defeat
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England suffered their first Wembley defeat under Sarina Wiegman with Germany claiming a 4-3 victory on Friday night.
The visitors stormed into a 3-0 lead after 29 minutes through a Giulia Gwinn double and an effort from Klara Buhl.
Georgia Stanway reduced the deficit with two goals in three minutes before half-time to give England hope.
Sara Dabritz extended Germany’s lead from the spot after the third penalty of the match, before Lucy Bronze capitalised on a goalkeeper error to net England’s third.
MAIL SPORT’S Tara Anson-Walsh and Kathryn Batte assess five things we learned from England’s Wembley defeat.
England leaky at the back
They say a football match is a game of two halves, but England tonight looked like a team of two halves.
Offensively, they were incredibly exciting and every time the Lionesses’ triumvirate of Beth Mead, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo came on the ball, the backs of seats would start to bang.
Defensively, however, it was completely different story, with every Germany attack slicing through the Lionesses’ back line and individual errors leading to the visitors’ opening two goals.
First, a poor back pass from England captain Leah Williamson was pounced upon by Germany’s Linda Dallman, who was taken down in the box by Chelsea captain Millie Bright. The referee pointed to the spot, and Germany captain Giulia Gwinn coolly converted.
Then just a few moments later, Jess Carter was pulled out of position and a well-placed ball found Gwinn in acres of space on the right flank, who tore into Hannah Hampton’s box and slotted past the Chelsea goalkeeper.
By the end of the match, Hampton’s goal had been on the receiving end of eight shots on target and the Lionesses will need to sort out this chaotic defensive line-up if they hope to defend their Euros title next summer.
Hampton wears the gloves, for now…
Hannah Hampton was once again Sarina Wiegman’s preferred option between the sticks, meaning Mary Earps missed out again.
Earps – who moved to PSG from Manchester United in the summer – has had a difficult start to life in the French capital. After suffering a shot exit from the qualifying stages of the Champions League, the 31-year-old goalkeeper then lost her spot to Katarzyna Kiedrzynek.
While she has since fought her way back into PSG’s starting XI, this hasn’t been enough to turn Wiegman’s head, with Hampton having now started England’s last three games.
And the shot-stopper had a mixed evening in front of goal, with possibly her lowest point coming during Germany’s third goal where she was beaten at her near post.
The camera flashed to a deadpan Earps after Hampton failed to save Gwinn’s early penalty, and the Chelsea goalkeeper was beaten again from the spot in the 72nd minute to concede her fourth of the night.
The jury’s still out on who will wear the No 1 shirt for England going forward, but there’s no doubt that Earps will have to keep getting the nod from her PSG head coach Fabrice Abriel if she wants to remain in the fight.
Stanway cool as ice
After enduring a humiliating opening half-an-hour by going three goals down, England were fortunate to receive a penalty when Lauren Hemp’s swinging cross hit the arm of Germany captain Gwinn in the penalty area.
With 55,000 expectant fans beginning to think their Friday night trip to Wembley could have been better spent elsewhere, the ball was handed to Georgia Stanway.
With ice in her veins, the Bayern Munich midfielder slotted it past Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger’s outstretched palm to finally give the home crowd something to cheer about.
And it was Stanway who popped up again less than five minutes later to bury home Beth Mead’s selfless cross and reduce the deficit to one.
If England supporters were left disappointed, fans of Bayern Munich would have felt quite the opposite – all five of the opening goals were scored by one of their own.
No 10 spot in doubt
The last time these teams met here at Wembley two years ago, Ella Toone scored a sublime opener to send the Lionesses on their way to a historic Euros victory.
Tonight, though, the question about who occupies the No 10 role is more up in the air.
After being picked to start, Toone had a quiet first-half and missed a good opportunity to draw the game level before being hooked at half-time for Manchester City’s Jess Park.
Whether it would be Park or Toone’s Manchester United teammate Grace Clinton – who has enjoyed an excellent start to her season in the WSL – to replace her only serves as a reminder of the current strength in depth Wiegman has in that area of the field.
Wiegman stays loyal to familiar faces
Sarina Wiegman is not afraid of making bold decisions, as evidence with her decision to play Hampton over Earps. But there were a number of players in her starting XI who are out of form.
Leah Williamson is her captain and was always likely to play, but Manchester City defender Alex Greenwood has been in better form in the WSL.
Greenwood can also play at left back, a position she arguably knows better than Jess Carter, who started in that role instead. Greenwood, who was one of England’s best performers at the World Cup, would have every right to feel hard done by.
These friendlies provide Wiegman with the perfect opportunity to experiment, but whether any of the youngsters will be given enough of an opportunity in the bigger games remains to be seen.
