There were few fireworks, but six points from six meant “job done” for England in their first two World Cup qualifiers. They might have preferred to score more goals to boost their goal difference, but these victories were essential in England’s quest to top this qualifying group before they face Spain.
With a warmly anticipated meeting with the world champions in April at Wembley, what will they have learned from these two competitive yet ever-so-slightly experimental qualifiers, a 6-1 win against Ukraine in Turkey on Tuesday and a 2-0 victory over Iceland in Nottingham on Saturday?
Stanway playing further forward – tick!
Energetic, purposeful and driven, Georgia Stanway would take the player of the March camp award if any such prize existed, after two productive performances. The Bayern Munich midfielder scored three times, her volley against Iceland in particular demonstrating her ability to time a run into the box and attack the space. She was even confident enough to shout for Alessia Russo to leave the cross for her to volley it home behind her.
Stanway has been positioned further forward this week and the 27-year-old said after Saturday’s game: “This camp, I’ve been a lot higher in general. I’ve been a lot more in the pocket and my responsibility is to stand still a little bit more. Whereas I know in the past I feel like I’m the energy and I feel like I get around the pitch a lot whereas I can do that defensively. I feel like it was effective in both games. It’s nice to be able to be in the pocket because I do enjoy attacking and shooting and I do enjoy trying to be creative in that final third.”
Inverted wingers works for Lionesses
For most of Lauren Hemp’s senior England career, as at Manchester City, she has played as a left-winger, and she did so again for the first, goalless half against Ukraine. For the second half, though, and against Iceland, she was inverted on the right flank, cutting inside on to her left foot, and the results were impressive. She registered an assist and created six chances overall, as well as setting up Lucy Bronze for an overlap that led to England’s second goal in Nottingham.
Hemp seems happy to try adding more strings to her bow, saying: “I love playing on the left and getting crosses in, but equally I love playing on the right and cutting inside and adding to my toolkit.”
James remains England’s most talented star
The standout performer at the City Ground, though, was on the opposite wing, as Lauren James teased Iceland and appeared to glide around the pitch without breaking sweat, causing the defence all manner of problems. Her performance was good enough to justify keeping Chloe Kelly out of the team, which is saying something, and it is clear that James remains key to England’s best XI, when fit.
Sarina Wiegman said of the Chelsea forward: “I’m very pleased for her that she’s on the pitch, she looks like she’s enjoying herself, it brings us joy too. She’s still building. I hope for club and for country she can keep doing that and get some consistency in that because that gives us a lot more joy and quality.”
Taylor Hinds, who played at left-back behind James and linked up well with her former Arsenal youth teammate, said: “I know what LJ’s capable of; just give her the ball and let her do her magic.
“She was in loads of space, and when you give her the ball you let her be free and you let her do her thing. I think she could be more selfish and have those shots for herself as well but LJ’s a team player.”
Park has more impact out wide
Manchester United’s most in-form player coming into this international break, Jess Park shone bright for her country against Ukraine when playing as a winger but was much quieter at the City Ground, when deployed more centrally. She appeared to find it trickier to get into space, often crowded out when closed down by multiple, deep-lying midfielders. She was significantly more effective in a wide role, where she has thrived for her club, and that will probably be one of the key takeaways from this camp for Wiegman.
Bronze never seems to age
Bronze moved on to 145 caps for her country, headed in England’s opener against Iceland and then crossed for Stanway’s goal. As the 34-year-old was congratulated afterwards by a reporter on becoming the “most third-capped Lioness” she was very quick to reply: “England player!” and point out that no men’s players have more caps, with a smile.
The Chelsea full-back has made it clear that her target is to go to, and win, the World Cup. Asked about her importance to the team, Wiegman replied: “She plays a big role. As you can see, she’s also still building minutes, but if you can deliver this [performance] on the pitch even then, you’re still a really important player for us.”
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