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England have far trickier tests ahead of them when they kick off their European Championship title defence in Zurich against France in six days’ time, but they put on a thrilling show for the fans who came to wave them off in Leicester, with a 7-0 win against Jamaica.
This was Sarina Wiegman’s final opportunity to see her team in front of fans and with tournament conditions in place before they head to Switzerland to defend their 2022 crown, and although it was a dress rehearsal the signs were good. Ella Toone stepped up, scoring twice, Lauren James returned to action and provided an assist within eight minutes, there was a cohesiveness to England’s play and the substitutes contributed.
It was deafeningly loud before kick-off; fans in the Midlands, and those travelling from farther afield, had read loud and clear the message that this was a sendoff game. Huge cheers accompanied the names of the starting XI as they were read out, with the captain, Leah Williamson, and the forward Alessia Russo eliciting the loudest chorus alongside the low and distinctive boo-like “Tooooooone” that echoed around the stadium when her name came over the loudspeakers.
There had been some theorising over what sort of starting XI Wiegman would resort to for the visit of Jamaica. Would this be the opportunity to give those on the fringes a final chance to impress, or would it be much closer to the likely starting XI for England’s Euro 2025 opener against France? It was, in reality, always going to be the latter. Facing a tough group, with no easy games, this was England’s chance to warm up into competition mode.
Jess Carter was given the nod over Niamh Charles at left-back, Beth Mead started ahead of Chloe Kelly and Toone beat Grace Clinton to fill the No 10 role. It would be remiss to not expect some tweaks for the game against France, James’s appearance off the bench was down to her return from injury, for example, but they will be minimal.
Toone repaid the faith of the England manager within 10 minutes, the midfielder collecting a loose ball after it was forced from the feet of Georgia Stanway and curling into the corner from the edge of the D. After opening the scoring the 25-year-old poignantly kissed her hands and pointed to the sky, a tribute to her father, who died in September.
There was always going to be a big gulf between these two teams: the European champions ranked fifth in the world, and Jamaica ranked 35 places below them. Emblematic of that gap was the 20-year-old Liya Brooks goalkeeper, one of four players in the Jamaica squad who plays for a university team in the US.
England were stunned 10 minutes later, though, when a corner was sent in low by Allyson Swaby, Amelia van Zanten dummied and Kayla McKenna swept in past Hannah Hampton, with a deflection off Alex Greenwood wrongfooting the keeper. However, with the video assistant referee system in use to get the Lionesses ready for tournament conditions, McKenna’s effort was ruled out, with Kalyssa van Zanten in an offside position and interfering with Hampton’s line of sight.
Their one-goal advantage still in place, England played some lovely football, Keira Walsh moved the ball wonderfully and Carter appeared to be benefiting from being match fit, with the National Women’s Soccer League season in full swing. The second was inevitable and Carter was the architect; her cross from the left found Lucy Bronze in the middle and the 33-year-old headed in.
Lauren Hemp hit the post and Russo the bar minutes apart as the Lionesses sought to put on a show for fans at the King Power Stadium, but it was Toone who added the third, Bronze battling the ball to her before she curled it into the corner.
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England’s dominance continued into the second half and the fourth goal came just before the hour, when Stanway fired in after a string of shots were blocked by the visitors. Changes came soon after, with Esme Morgan, Kelly and James on for Greenwood, Toone and Hemp.
The sight of James back on the pitch was welcome, making her first appearance since April, after her recovery from a hamstring injury. The 23-year-old forward is critical to England’s present and future and she had looked sharp in training before her first minutes in three months. Her first effort was less impressive, sailing high over the bar from distance, but this was the time to get any rustiness out of her system. As it turned out, that did not take long: James’s clipped effort to the far post was pinpoint and all Russo had to do was nod her head forward slightly to convert.
Charles, Clinton and Aggie Beever-Jones were given a chance to show what they can do with 15 minutes remaining and they injected a lot of energy into the game as Jamaican legs tired. They inspired the sixth, Williamson’s ball from deep met by Charles who sent it into the middle for Beever-Jones to turn in. Kelly set up Mead in added time, the Arsenal forward firing in shortly after she had been down with a worrying looking knock to her knee.
Jamaica are not of the level of the victors’ Group D opponents France or the Netherlands, or Wales for that matter, but the Lionesses did the job that was in front of them. This was a mature England, a confident England and an increasingly tournament-ready England.
