England 1-2 Brasil
By Catherine MacKenzie (25/10/25)
Above: the England starting eleven. Photo: @Lionesses on X.
It was a battle of Champions in Manchester as the Euros-winning Lionesses hosted the Copa América victors Brazil in a friendly. Brasil ended with the win, after scoring two early goals against a makeshift England defence.
Context
Fresh off the back of their victorious run at the 2025 Euros, England billed the match as the start of their Homecoming series. With the World Cup two years away, the Lionesses are in a relatively quiet period, which brings with it the opportunity for friendlies. Brasil are fresh from success themselves, a Copa América victory in hand – a final that was also won via penalties, against Columbia.
Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman called this camp a ‘new cycle’, a phrase which certainly feels apt: the team is undergoing a period of transition, with retirements (Millie Bright, Fran Kirby, Mary Earps), and injuries (Leah Williamson, Lucy Bronze, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Katie Reid, Jess Park, Grace Clinton). New players have been embedded, and there is a sense that the new tournament cycle will signal a changing of the guard.
The action
Fast counter-attacks saw Brasil easily take an early lead. Exploiting England’s lack of pace through the middle, Dudinha passed to Kansas City’s Bia Zaneratto who slotted home with little resistance from the home side. Dudinha made it two ten minutes later, just before captain Angelina was sent off for denying Ella Toone a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Following the red card, England took control of the game. They created a flurry of chances – the best being Alex Greenwood’s free-kick which hit the bar – but were not clinical enough in the final third. They struggled to find star striker Alessia Russo, particularly in the first half.
England regained their focus for the second half and dominated from the restart, with 79% of the possession and 13 shots to Brasil’s one, with two on target. The Lionesses also hit the woodwork and forced Lorena in the Brasilian goal into a number of saves. Despite a typically strong penalty from Georgia Stanway, the hosts’ late onslaught was not enough to seal the win.
Post-match thoughts
Ahead of the match, Wiegman said she wanted the Lionessses to stay out of duels and avoid getting pulled into a physical competition. Whilst they managed this well for large parts of the game, the opening period saw the home side struggle to cope. It is perhaps unsurprising – a new goalkeeper and a backline that have rarely played together will always take time to gel.
Going forward, England were frustrated. The front three of Russo, Beth Mead and Chloe Kelly all play for the same club, and have had a tendency at club to play one too many passes in the opposition box, giving their opponents time to clear the ball. This seemed to be at play here: when there were opportunities to shoot, the ball was instead passed, as the Lionesses tried to walk the ball into the goal.
Overall, whilst there tends to be panic whenever England lose, it was not an altogether poor performance. The Lionesses dominated the entire second half, however the visitors’ shift to a defensive back five ensured they saw out the win. Where England will be most frustrated is in conceding early once again – two goals within the opening twenty minutes. This has become a trend over the last year; one that Wiegman will be eager to iron out before their next competitive fixture.
The Lionesses return to action on Tuesday against Australia.
TEAMS: ENGLAND (4-2-3-1): Keating, Le Tissier, Morgan, Carter, Greenwood, Walsh, Stanway, Kelly, Toone, Mead, Russo. Substitutes: Moorhouse, Baggaley, Bronze (for Carter 63′), Fisk, Hinds, Charles, Hinds, Blinkilde-Brown, Kendall, Kearns, Beever-Jones (for Kelly 63′), Naz, Agyemang (for Stanway 83′).
Scorers: Stanway 1-2 52′
BRASIL (3-4-2-1): Leite, Haas, Mariza, Tarciane, Ribeiro, Sampaio, Angelina, Rosa, Dudinha, Zaneratto, Silva. Substitutes: Carla, Claudia, Lima, Bruinha (for Yasmin 63′) , Ferreira (for Haas 62′), Calhau, Borges (for Zaneratto 63′), Estevam, Amanda, Isabela (for Luany 62′), Caroline, Jheniffer, Maranhao.
Scorers: Zaneratto 0-1 9′, Dudinha 0-2 18′
Attendance: 37,460
Referee: Natalie Simon (USA)
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