England Women vs Belgium Women. Arnold Clark Cup.
Ashton GateAttendance26,169.
Match report as Leah Williamson, Chloe Kelly, Lucy Bronze and a Julie Biesmans own goal give England a 6-1 win over Belgium to retain the Arnold Clark Cup in Bristol; Elena Dhont scores late consolation for Belgium
Thursday 23 February 2023 09:04, UK
Chloe Kelly and Leah Williamson both scored twice as relentless England thrashed Belgium 6-1 to retain the Arnold Clark Cup.
The Lionesses only needed a point to secure victory by virtue of their superior goal difference over Belgium - who had also won both of their games prior to the finale at Ashton Gate.
But they put on a display of dominance and demolition to register their biggest victory of the tournament, and extend Sarina Wiegman's undefeated run - both in games and tournaments - yet again.
Kelly's tap-in and Williamson's header from a corner gave England a 2-0 half-time lead, before Kelly moved clear as the tournament's top scorer with another close-range finish after Nicky Evrard's fumble.
It was four and then five from Julie Biesman's own goal and a composed Lucy Bronze finish from a free-kick, before Belgium - from their only shot on target - ruined Mary Earps' clean sheet through Elena Dhont's late consolation.
Even then, there was still time for England to grab a sixth through Williamson, whose calm finish from the edge of the box added the final gleam to a near-faultless tournament for the hosts.
"It was a good week for the teams, we saw many things on the pitch and it was a big step forward in our preparations for the World Cup," said a beaming England manager Sarina Wiegman afterwards, with five months to go before she leads her side to Australia and New Zealand. "We're in a good place."
An early Belgium corner was a false dawn for the trophy hopefuls that they may cause the Lionesses problems in what was essentially a winner-takes-all final game.
Once England broke and fired just wide from that set play with barely a minute gone, it was one-way traffic with only one side ever in danger of lifting the Arnold Clark Cup.
The Lionesses toyed with their visitors as Kelly and Lauren James beat their full-backs time after time on ether flanks.
After the two combined for the latter to sky over the bar from close-range, a role reversal led to the opening goal with James' low cross bundled home on the line by Euro 2022 final heroine Kelly.
Millie Bright should have added to the advantage with a powerful header from a corner which landed on the roof of the net, but another dead ball did bring England their next goal.
The hosts racked up 14 shots before the break but only two on target - the second, from Lionesses captain Williamson, doubled their advantage after Bronze had floated a cross from a corner to the back post.
James was taken off to rest at half-time with England's domination on the scoreline and the statistics telling a clear story that the game was already won.
Her replacement was Lauren Hemp, showing the Lionesses' increasing strength in depth and competition for places, and the Man City winger was at her free-flowing best to play a major part in their third goal.
Her driving run fed Georgia Stanway who was denied by Evrard but dropped the ball straight at the feet of Kelly, where she was never going to miss from a couple of yards out to double her tally - and put her in line to be come the tournament's top goalscorer.
A flurry of substitutions from either side took the sting out of the game, but not out of England's domination. Some 28 minutes after their third they had another, with Stanway again provider for the unlucky Biesmans to slide into her own net when trying to deny Rachel Daly a tap-in.
It was testament to England's attitude that they still did not let up. Lucy Bronze added a late fifth when Daly's header from a free-kick sat up for her to half-volley home. Belgium then finally registered a shot on target in the final minute when Dhont's ambitious effort had the beating of a frustrated Earps, but still the Lionesses were not done.
If England do not lift the World Cup in Australia this summer, it will not be through a lack of determination.
Even with time almost up and the game long won, they still had to have the final say as Williamson latched onto the rebound from Stanway's blocked effort to sidefoot into the corner and double her tally for the night, with what proved the last kick of the game.
Sky Sports' Ron Walker:
"England have given 19 different players starting berths in this tournament, and come up trumps on every occasion.
"You sense Sarina Wiegman has a strong idea of her best line-up; there was only one change between the sides who thrashed South Korea and Belgium, so logic would dictate there is a reason for that consistency.
"Even then, the battling victory of England's second string against Italy showed what they have in reserve, and a number of positions do remain up for grabs for the Lionesses.
"Hemp's performance from the bench was exemplary against Belgium, running the show and looking like a player with a point to prove, as the entire squad does with places at such a premium.
"There are players who have not started games, or played few minutes - Jordan Nobbs in particular, who was not in Wiegman's initial squad - who will be concerned about their prospects. But five months is a long time and a lot can change.
"If England go all the way in a gruelling World Cup they will need their full squad, such a vital part of any successful team, and some of the players Wiegman will be able to call on from the bench led her to glory in Euro 2022 less than a year ago. That is something most nations will be dreaming of.
"There must be a minor, pedantic word of caution too though. Belgium have not even qualified for the World Cup, and with some better build-up could have punished England's occasionally patchy pressing more often.
"But that really is looking for negatives. Five months on from a trip down under, Wiegman and her side will fear no one."
England manager Sarina Wiegman told ITV Sport:
"It was very nice in front of a full stadium to score lots of goals, we conceded one too - it was a pretty good shot though.
"It was a good week for the teams, we saw many things on the pitch and it was a big step forward in our preparations for the World Cup.
"[Chloe Kelly] has done well. You see so much joy in this team, she's in good form and so dangerous when we get into the final third. Scored two goals and it's good for the team - as well as her.
"I think there's a lot more to come from [Lauren James]. We've said it a couple of times during the week, she's a big, big talent. She's very powerful, and she's consistent.
"We need to get her a little fitter so she can keep up to the same level for 90 minutes, but I just hope she keeps playing as well as she is now.
"We're in a good place. The competition in the team is really high, you'll hear us saying that all the time but it is very tight. We have still got five months to go, but the games were good.
"We'll have a lot of talks with the team about football, we know we have to step up more."
England's players will now go back to their clubs, with their next match taking place at Wembley against Brazil on Thursday April 6; kick-off 7.45pm.
Belgium's next game is on Tuesday April 11 at home to Slovenia in Leuven; kick-off 7pm (UK time).
