England vs Italy LIVE: Lionesses result and reaction as Lauren Hemp scores twice in five-goal win
England 5-1 Italy: Goals from Hemp, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Ella Toone and Rachel Daly completed an impressive win from the Lionesses
Lauren Hemp scored twice as England thrashed Italy in a friendly to conclude their February training camp in the south of Spain.
Hemp’s first-half double put England in total control after the Lionesses took the lead in the opening minute through Lotte Wubben-Moy.
The defender’s first international goal, a header from Alex Greenwood’s corner, gave England the perfect start before a fortuitous second from Hemp.
Hemp added her second with a thumping header from Georgia Stanway’s cross, before substitutes Ella Toone and Rachel Daly added to the score late on.
Toone converted Lauren James’ cross with a volley before Daly punished an Italy mistake to make it five.
Italy had pulled one back before half-time, when Michela Cambiaghi slotted past Mary Earps, but England were comfortable winners.
It rounded off a successful camp for the Lionesses after beating Austria 7-2 on Friday night. Follow live updates from England’s friendly against Italy in tonight’s match blog, and get the latest tips and odds on the fixture, here.
GOAL! England 1-0 Italy (WUBBEN-MOY 1’)
WHAT A START!
Alex Greenwood whips the cross to the front post and Lotte Wubben-Moy is there to flick a header into the far corner!
What a perfect way for Wubben-Moy to mark only her third England start, as the Arsenal centre-back grabs her first England goal!
England 0-0 Italy
1 min: A very early corner for England as Stanway gets down the right...
KICK-OFF! England 0-0 Italy
Keira Walsh captains England and leads the huddle before kick-off.
And we’re underway!
England vs Italy LIVE: Latest Lionesses updates
Not the usual crowd that the Lionesses have got used to, but still a few England fans out in force in Spain.
The anthems are next, and then it’s kick-off.
England vs Italy LIVE: Latest Lionesses updates
A reminder that tonight’s match is live on ITV 4 in the UK, as well as online on ITV X.
England vs Italy LIVE: Latest Lionesses updates
England manager Sarina Wiegman defended the decision for the Lionesses to play two friendlies in Spain, rather than in front of packed crowds at home.
There were only a few hundred fans in attendance as England beat Austria and Friday and a similar crowd is expected tonight.
The Lionesses have sold out Wembley and could now expect to fill grounds across the country, but Wiegman says a balance is needed.
“What we wanted to do was play good friendlies in good circumstances. We have very good pitches here, the weather is also good. We did know there probably wouldn’t be as many fans here as we had hoped.
“We will be back in England. We have games in April, June and July, and the rest of the season we’ll be playing a lot in England. I hope that connects us with the fans enough.”
England vs Italy LIVE: Latest Lionesses updates
Unsurprisingly, it’s looking quite a bit warmer in Marbella than it is in England as the Lionesses begin their warm-ups.
England vs Italy LIVE: Latest Lionesses updates
Grace Clinton will be hoping to build on Friday’s performance to show Wiegman that she can offer England competition for places ahead of Euro 2025.
England vs Italy LIVE: Latest Lionesses updates
England midfielder Keira Walsh, speaking about the importance of the Lionesses now starting to work with the Under-23s.
“It is the hope that they do [one day] come in and take our place. It is really nice for them to be in and around us. Four of them trained with us yesterday and they had a really good session.
“Us working closer with them gives us a chance to share ideas on football and the idea is that they will be coming in [one day] and taking our shirts off us.”
England vs Italy LIVE: Latest Lionesses updates
Wiegman on Italy: “They have had a great Nations League campaign. They play a little differently because they changed coaches. They have different shapes they have played in and they want to have a really high press on us, so that is something that we will have to be aware of tomorrow and a challenge for us, plus they really want to play the game.
“You can see the competition in Italy has really improved over the years already, the team is doing well and they did well in the Nations League, so we are really excited about tomorrow.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments