England vs Switzerland LIVE: Grace Clinton gives Lionesses slender win at Bramall Lane
England 1-0 Switzerland: Clinton’s strike ends Lionesses’ year on a high
England ended a ‘tough’ 2024 with a victory as they defeated Switzerland 1-0 at Bramall Lane in an international friendly.
Coming off the back of a 0-0 draw with Emma Hayes’ United States, Sarina Wiegman decided to switch things up and made 10 changes to the starting line-up and handing a debut to Laura Blindkilde Brown. Aggie Beever-Jones also made a first start for the Lionesses and was effective at the top of the pitch.
Elsewhere, Jess Park and Grace Clinton showed off their credential as they look for spots on the plane for next summer’s Euros. Park delivering a fine free kick and Clinton finishing off the move to score the only goal of the game.
In the second half, Switzerland bounced back and created plenty of chances to test Hannah Hampton in between the sticks but the goalkeeper was up to the task and kept a clean sheet. It was far from the dominant display of Wiegman’s early reign but the signs are strong that the new generation can live up to their experienced counterparts.
Relive the action from Wembley with our live blog below as England take on Switzerland:
Kick off! England 0-0 Switzerland
Aggie Beever-Jones gets the ball rolling in Sheffield as England’s fresh line up look to impress Sarina Wiegman tonight.
They work the ball around the back line before coming forward through Millie Bright on the left side. There’s no urgency from the Lionesses as they attempt to draw Switzerland out of a low block.
Walsh approaching landmark
Keira Walsh (49 currently) could become the fourth player to make 50 appearances for England under manager Sarina Wiegman after Lauren Hemp (53), Georgia Stanway (53) and Ella Toone (51).
England vs Switzerland
The players make their way out onto the pitch at Bramall Lane. Qualification for the Euros next summer is secured now it’s all about preparing for the tournament.
The national anthems are played and kick off is up next...
Wiegman’s new approach
In their goalless draw with the USA on Saturday, England recorded their fewest shots (4) and expected goals figure (0.07) in any of their 56 games under manager Sarina Wiegman.
But, England have recorded two clean sheets in their last four games (vs. Sweden & USA), as many shutouts as they managed across their previous 10 matches across all competitions.
Switzerland’s heavy defeat
Switzerland lost 0-6 to Germany last time out, their heaviest defeat in friendly since a 0-7 defeat to the Germans in June 2022 – back then, the Swiss lost their following game after that loss, 0-4 to England.
England’s tough year
England have won just six of their 11 games in all competitions in 2024 (drew three, lost two).
It gives them their worst win-rate (54.5%) in a calendar year when they’ve played 10+ games since 2007 (50% - Played 14, won seven, drew four, lost three).
Park on competition for places
“That’s the best way a team needs to be,” said Jess Park when asked how it feels to be competing for places in the line-up. She added: “If there’s no competition, it’s not going to bring out the best in you and I think that’s the important thing.
“It’s nice to be around a lot of the younger girls that I know as well and that I’ve grown up with and played with before. That’s really nice to have them in and around camp. They kind of look to me to help them out now as well, so that’s really nice.”
Park on becoming a Lioness regular
Jess Park spoke about what it feels like to be brought into the national team and playing regularly for the Lionesses. She said: “I’ve learnt a lot from playing at club level and obviously, I’ve had a lot more experiences now internationally.
“I feel like I’m getting there. I’m really getting comfortable in the environment with my team-mates and coming onto the pitch and being on the pitch. I feel like it’s really progressing.
“Sustaining the attacks for a bit longer and creating them really clear-cut chances will be a really massive part in our development. I think that’s something we need to focus on.”
Sarina Wiegman happy to make England players ‘uncomfortable’ in bid to improve
England boss Sarina Wiegman is happy to make life “uncomfortable” for her players as they attempt to force their way into her team for the Euro 2025 finals.
Arsenal defender Leah Williamson, who captained the Lionesses to European glory in 2022, admitted in the wake of Saturday’s 0-0 friendly draw with world numbers ones the United States that the last two camps had been far from comfortable.
Sarina Wiegman happy to make England players ‘uncomfortable’ in bid to improve
The Lionesses will defender their European title in Switzerland next summer.
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