England 3-0 Australia
Above: The England side that lined up to face Australia. Photo: The Lionesses on X.
By Ava-Marianne Elliott at Pride Park (28/10/25)
The back-to-back European Champions claimed a dominant 3-0 victory at Derby County’s Pride Park after an early red card from Alanna Kennedy left Australia with ten players, but two second-half injury concerns to Michelle Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones dampened the win.
The teams
Last weekend brought a loss for England against a ten-player Brazil in the first game of their ‘homecoming series’ after winning the Euro’s for the second time on the trot. Despite the game not being as negative as it seemed, it felt largely crucial that the Lionesses achieved a win this time out.
Reflecting the experimental nature of this window, Sarina Wiegman named six changes to the starting lineup from the weekend, notably introducing debutants Taylor Hinds and Lucia Kendall, who both received their first Senior call up this window.
Fresh off the back of a win in Cardiff against Wales, a second win for Australia would add another positive to their international window. Under Joe Montemurro the side are still largely finding their feet, searching for combinations that achieve the best outcome before the Women’s Asian Cup in March next year.
To match a side with quality attack, the Matildas had four changes introduced, all of which coming in defensive positions.
The action
The first-half consisted largely of the Lionesses’ dominating the field. The opening minutes saw opportunities for both sides, with Kennedy taking an early ambitious shot and England facing disappointment as Beever-Jones’ early goal was chalked off for offside.
It was Beever-Jones’ who claimed the first viable goal of the evening, after pressure badgered Kennedy into a misstep that led her to drag Alessia Russo down just outside the box. The defender was shown a straight red and the visitors were down to ten just 20 minutes in.
Beever-Jones’ initial shot from the freekick hit the bottom of the wall, but bounced back for a second chance which she cleanly sent into the top left-hand side of goal.
A chance shone through for Australia when Ellie Carpenter made a clever run on the counter down the right-hand channel, sending a cross to Sam Kerr who forced Hannah Hampton to push the ball out for a corner. Just as the energy picked up, the momentum was killed when the flag went up for offside after Steph Catley’s corner.
England’s second goal came towards the end of the half. Despite some excellent initial defending from the visitors in a box overcrowded with England shirts, Lucy Bronze struck a low shot past Arnold into an uncovered bottom left corner, doubling their lead before the break.
The second half was a relatively quiet affair, with the visitors doubling down on their defensive efforts. As the game crept into extra time it looked as if the last 45 would remain goalless, until misfortune struck again in the final moments of extra time, when VAR granted England a penalty.
Georgia Stanway, despite being denied by an incredible save from Arnold earlier in the half, stepped up to the spot and confidently buried the third before the whistle signalled full time.
Post-match thoughts
England’s presence on the pitch tonight was top-notch. Everything seemed to align and the dynamic the team produced ensured all the connections across the pitch clicked. In the end, it just proved to be a code that the visitors were unable to crack. Overall, the performance was a huge positive, especially when there were a few new partnerships and players on the field.
Wiegman’s side were relatively untested, dominating the possession. England were largely on top, even before Kennedy’s mishap that made the rest of the match more difficult and put the Matildas in a position of disadvantage.
Despite the negatives in Australia’s performance, one positive shone through in the form of Heatley. Although one of the younger, less experienced players on the pitch, her performance today radiated composure and maturity.
TEAMS: ENGLAND: Hampton (GK), Bronze, Hinds, Walsh (C ), Le Tissier, Morgan, Mead, Kendall, Russo, Toone, Beever-Jones SUBS: Charles (46’), Keating (GK), Stanway (62’), Greenwood (62’), Carter, Kelly (80’), Kearns (62’), Agyemang (62’), Blindkilde Brown, Moorhouse (GK), Fisk, Naz.
AUSTRALIA: Arnold (GK), Heatley, Hunt, Catley, Foord, Kennedy, Sayer, Gorry, Kerr (C ), Carpenter, Cooney-Cross SUBS: Nevin, Vine, Torpey, Wheeler (70’), Micah (GK), Raso (70’), Aquino (GK), Grant (70’), Mcnamara, Siemsen (90+3), Rankin (90+2), Heyman.
REFEREE: Luliana Demetrescu
ATTENDANCE: 26,544
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