England vs Austria LIVE: Result and reaction after Russo and Mead strike twice and Lionesses score seven
Follow all the live action from the Lionesses match in Marbella
England bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on Olympic qualification in their last match with a 7-2 thrashing of a sub-par Austria.
In the first match of their February training camp in Marbella, the Lionesses stormed to victory, with Alessia Russo and Beth Mead both finding the net twice in the emphatic victory.
Russo opened hers and England’s account after just three minutes when she capitalised after the goalkeeper did not deal with the niitial shot and she was ideally placed to tap the ball home.
Grace Clinton then capped off her debut with a goal in the 19th minute. Austria briefly threatened to turn the tide of the game when Virginia Kirchberger headed one back for Austria, but Beth Mead’s first goal of the evening soon restored England’s advantage.
In the second half it was all England, first Russo’s second, then Jess Carter’s improvised backheel established a strong lead.
Kirchberger left England puzzling over how they had allowed the forward to score twice from set pieces, but Mead hit back almost straight away before Rachel Daly’s stoppage-time strike in a one-on-one situation wrapped up the win.
Follow all the live updates in the blog below and get the latest odds and tips here.
England 0-0 Austria
1 min: Austria get the game underway after both sets of players took the knee.
England vs Austria
After all that build up, kick off is just moments away, but first it’s time for the national anthems.
England vs Austria
Karen Carney was saying on ITV commentary that Hannah Hampton is good enough with her feet to play outfield, and that she has done so before for Chelsea in training, it’s always good to get an insider’s insight into young players.
England vs Austria
The match will get under way in less than 15 minutes’ time.
England vs Austria
Less than half an hour to go now until kick off, and there is an expected crowd of 700 for the match in Spain.
It is a far cry from what the Lionesses have become accustomed to in recent years, but the nature of the match as a friendly and taking place on neutral ground will have had a big affect on ticket sales.
The players have arrived at the stadium
Here are some photos of the players arriving at the stadium:
Lionesses training
Here are some photos from the Lionesses training sessions in Spain:
England team
Sarina Wiegman has handed a debut to midfielder Grace Clinton, while Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton starts in place of the England number one and Sports Personality of the Year winner Mary Earps.
Alex Greenwood will captain the side, while Lucy Bronze and Kiera Walsh were among the substitutes.
England team
England XI: Hampton, Le Tissier, Charles, Stanway, Morgan, Greenwood, Mead, Clinton, Russo, Kirby, Hemp.
Subs: Carter, Keating, Toone, Wubben-Moy, James, Bronze, Walsh, Daly, Park, Earps, Turner, Beeves-Jones.
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