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In a rematch of the 2022 Euros final, Germany secured a 4-3 victory over European Champions England in a chaotic seven-goal thriller in front of 47,167 at Wembley.
The last time these two sides met, England defeated the visitors 2-1 to lift their first major trophy in front of a sold-out crowd.
However, some shocking England defending and poor form in front of goal created more questions than answers for manager Sarina Wiegman in the Lionesses’ first friendly in preparation to defend their crown next summer.
“The 30 minutes is 30 minutes we want to try and forget,” England midfielder Georgia Stanway said. “Obviously, I’m sure the fans enjoyed it, but in the game, it wasn’t really the best for us.
“We have to look at the bigger picture. It’s a process. This is a step forward and we know that we’ve got things to learn. We know we’ve got things to work on, and we know that we’ve got to do.”
New manager Christian Wück began his era as Germany’s head coach with three goals in 30 minutes to put England on the back foot from the start, continuing their sold form following their Olympic bronze medal in Paris.
Captain Giulia Gwinn netted from the spot in the fourth minute after Chelsea defender Millie Bright brought down Linda Dallmann in the box. The lead-up to the goal exposed weaknesses in Wiegman’s back line as out-of-form captain Leah Williamson gave away the ball.
Alessia Russo had the ball in the back of the net five minutes later, but the flag was swiftly raised for offside.
The Lionesses began building into the game, with Russo shattering a chance off the post and Bright sending a header inches wide of the goal.
The difference between the sides was that Germany were able to finish their chances, illustrated when Klara Bühl beat Lucy Bronze following some well-worked team build-up to secure the third goal within half an hour.
Again, Williamson was caught out of position, leaving Bronze and Bright as lone defenders against the clinical German forwards.
“I think there’s still a lot of work for us to be done,” added Stanway. “We need to get better defensively, we need to get better attackingly. We need to keep the ball better, which allows us to not be in the transition moments as much. So, I feel like everything kind of counteracts each other sometimes.”
England fans breathed a sigh of relief as Stanway, who plays alongside many of the German national team at Bayern Munich, scored twice in three minutes to give England a fighting chance.
A handball review on Gwinn allowed Stanway to net first from the spot. The second was created through Russo’s pinpoint pass to Beth Mead, who laid her pass perfectly for Stanway to rifle into the top of the net.
Ella Toone soon had a perfect chance to level the match but she sent her shot wide after Sara Doorsoun sloppily lost the ball.
To start the second half, Bright was caught out as England’s defensive issues continued. Jule Brand charged down, forcing a huge block from goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.
A contested penalty shout on substitute Pia-Sophie Wolter following Russo’s trailing boot allowed the visitors to claim an extended lead as Sara Däbritz converted from the spot.
Defensive issues had not alluded the visitors either, as a hashed clearance from Ann-Katrin Berger allowed Bronze to fire home from close range after Lauren Hemp, the Lionesses only bright spark in attack, had her goal ruled out for offside, ending a poor evening for the defending European Champions.
England face South Africa on Tuesday in Coventry, in what will be the side’s last chance to fix their issues before facing the United States women’s national team in November.
“We just need to be calm. It’s a process,” Stanway said. “Of course, we’re disappointed. Of course as a nation we’re disappointed, but I think going forward we just need to remain calm and allow this process to happen.”
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