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An experimental England side recorded a slender win over next summer’s European Championship hosts Switzerland as Sarina Wiegman gave youth a chance to impress in the Lionesses’ last friendly for at least six months.
The Manchester United midfielder Grace Clinton’s early goal proved enough to earn England their second victory in this autumn’s four friendly fixtures, as Wiegman locked her eyes firmly on next summer’s major tournament and her potential squad selection.
On Friday Wiegman had declared she would be making “a lot of changes” for this fixture and she was true to her work, making no fewer than 10 alterations to her starting lineup compared to Saturday’s goalless draw with USA, to such an extent that this was one of the most youthful teams the Lionesses had seen for multiple generations.
With an average age of 23.9, significantly lower than the average for all teams participating at the most recent Women’s World Cup (26.8), this was a side that included four 21-year-olds, two of whom – Ruby Mace and Laura Blindkilde Brown – were making their senior international debuts.
Before tonight’s game, England’s starting XI had accumulated just 127 senior international caps between them, 83 of which belonged to the Chelsea centre-back Millie Bright. The second-most experienced player in the team was the Manchester City playmaker Jess Park, who was earning her 13th cap on Tuesday.
Park’s eighth-minute free-kick from deep was headed onto the post by the Manchester United centre-back Millie Turner, with the rebound pounced on first by an instinctive Clinton, who netted her third England goal on the night she won her fifth cap. The home side all ran to celebrate in a circle with her immediately.
Not only was Wiegman trying out a new-look team, she was also testing out an alternative formation, with England using a distinct back three and very attacking full-backs in the Manchester United duo Maya Le Tissier and Gabby George, whilst Clinton and Park appeared to have almost free roles in the front three.
Despite both making their debuts, youngsters Mace and Blindkilde Brown were holding the centre of the midfield together and did so impressively early on against a Switzerland side ranked 25th in the world.
The Lionesses’ most recent previous appearance at Bramall Lane was their emphatic 4-0 victory over Sweden in the semi-finals of Euro 2022. Bright was the sole survivor from the starting team from that win but she was joined by Alessia Russo when the Arsenal striker – who scored an infamous back-heel goal in that semi-final – was introduced as a half-time substitute to give Park a rest.
The Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was forced into a save by Iman Beney shortly after during a rare counterattack from Switzerland, but England were seeing most of the ball and Blindkilde Brown’s effort was well palmed away by the RB Leipzig shot-stopper Elvira Herzog. Nonetheless, the crowd were scarcely on their feet, as the hosts appeared to prioritise tactical tweaks with an eye on next summer.
England had put in a solid defensive display against the US at Wembley and it had been hoped this performance might be rather more entertaining and adventurous. In reality it was still a game relatively low on goalmouth action and clear-cut chances.
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Wiegman had made it clear before this camp that her team might not necessarily look at their best and it was all a work in progress towards next summer’s tournament. Perhaps we will only know that in July but what was certainly encouraging was the performances of the youngsters.
In Le Tissier and Clinton in particular, England have clearly got two stars of the future, whilst the Chelsea striker Aggie Beever-Jones showed good energy and movement. Leicester’s Mace was calm and steady in possession, despite being given the crucial task in the holding role, and Blindkilde Brown demonstrated herself to be useful in linking between the lines.
Tottenham’s Jessica Naz, on as a late substitute, also showed some good touches but England were notably the stronger from the returns of senior players such as Barcelona’s Keira Walsh and Bayern Munich’s Georgia Stanway in the closing stages, and the latter struck the post with a good low strike in second-half stoppage time.
The result saw England round off their calendar year with a seventh win from 12 games in 2024, with the reigning European champions having drawn three of the other five, losing twice, at home to France and Germany.
A set of six competitive fixtures await in the first half of 2025 when the Nations League returns, including two tantalising meetings with the world champions Spain, before the chance to defend their European title arrives in July. The draw for the Euros will be made on 16 December.
