Here’s Suzanne Wrack’s report from Stoke.
Thinking about where England go from here, I imagine that Toone keeps her place and Bronze returns. But I wonder if they need a number 10, because assuming they stick with 4-3-3, whoever plays up front is going to bneed some help.
And it’s whatever the opposite of cooking is – freezing? – in Seville, where Chelsea-Porto is 0-0, Chelsea 2-0 up on aggregate.
It’s cooking in Paris, where Bayern lead 1-0 but trail on away goal. Check it here.
There’s a good team in this England squad, but Riise needs to find it. At the moment, there’s not much attacking cohesion because the right players aren’t in the right places.
Full-time: England 0-2 Canada
Two absolute gifts were the difference here; the teams are pretty evenly matched, both struggling to create, but Canada were solid where England were not. That’s a second straight defeat for England, who need a good sorting out.
90+4 min Again, England pump one into the box, but the ball drops to Beckie who merrily waheys clear.
90+2 min Huitema goes down and looks hurt, but she’ll be fine; the game will restart with an England corner, which hits Schmidt. England want a penalty, but instead the ball goes out and Bright sends it back with a shot which is plenty wide.
90+1 min Bronze, who’s made a minor difference, burrows down the right and tries a cross, but she’s right on the touchline and running out of pitch, making it an easy one for Labbe to collect at her near post.
90 min There’ll be four added minutes.
90 min Williamson flights one into the box but White is too far out to score, instead plopping a header straight at Labbe.
90 min Nobbs finds space outside the box so has a dig, but again her effort is saved easily enough.
88 min Karen Carney gives Stanway player of the match, which is generous. She had some good moments in the first half of the first half, when England were on top, but has done very little since. The best players on the pitch are all Canadian.
GOODNESS ME! GOAL! England 0-2 Canada (Prince 86)
This is brutal from England, Bright, under pressure from Prince, passing back to Bardsley who, in front of goal and not far off her line, just needs to get rid. But instead she takes a touch, opens her body to seek a pass out wide, and collapses in a heap as Prince nips in to apply the light poke that is necessary to score from a yard out. Eeesh.
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84 min “Having been born in Scotland and having lived most of my life in Canada,” emails Paul Connnelly, “there’s no doubt where my sympathies lie in a football match against England. I realise I’m probably jinxing them just by writing this, but it feels weird to be expecting my team to win at football. But the Canadian women’s team, even though they don’t seem to win enough respect in England, is good. Now watch them blow the lead…..”
It really does not look likely. There’s not much between the teams, with both struggling to create, so the difference - an unforced error - looks likely to sustain.
83 min Eesh! Hemp jumps with Gilles and heads her, hard. There’s claret above her eye, and there’ll be a break while she’s treated.
82 min Change for Canada, Schmidt replacing Quinn to win her 203rd cap. Effort.
81 min Gilles dawdles in midfield and Hemp does really well to nip and in scuttle away with the ball. inside her, White makes an angle for the through-pass, but she opts to go alone and just as it looks like she’s in, Gilles arrives out of nowhere to block brilliantly. That’s a colossal challenge.
80 min England send White on for the disappointing Parris before Labbe comes to claim Hemp’s corner.
79 min Bronze is getting forward now; she and Parris make space for Nobbs, who wins a corner.
78 min But this is better, England stretching the play by moving the ball across the width of the pitch before Lawrence intercepts a wayward pass.
77 min England move it across the back four but it’s all so slow and there are never enough options for the player on the ball.
75 min I said this earlier, but England’s midfielders need to get closer together so they can move the ball up the park more easily. And their wingers need to play as inside-forwards, with the full-backs supplying the width; they’re just not committing enough bodies forward to bother a defence this deep and well-drilled.
73 min But Toone has made a difference, sliding a pass into Hemp’s path, and she bousts past Prince then delivers a bazzer of a low cross her low cross which through the corridor of uncertainty ... but with no one available to stick it in. Two strikers, like I said.
72 min Canada are very comfortable, keeping possession and moving nicely.England
71 min Yes, I do think 4-4-expletive-two is required. I’m very sophisticated.
70 min England haven’t played badly, but they’ve been toothless. I wonder if they should go two up, because they’ve offered no threat through the middle.
67 min Bardsley comes a long way to collect a cross and gets naewhere near it, but again Bronze reads the situation to concede the corner ... which England clear, Nobbs driving forward down the right. This is a serious piece of running, and she does brilliantly to spot Toone on the far side, engaging in a lung-buster of her own, but he lofted pass is lacking just a little bit of pop and Canada clear.
67 min Canada send Riviere on for the captain, Scott. She’s had a decent game in midfield, stopping England from getting anything going.
65 min Parris has moved off the right wing to centre-forward but meanwhile England have some defending to do, Lawrence driving down the right and chipping to the back post, where Bronze thighs behind. The corner comes to nowt.
65 min Two more changes for England, Bronze on for Daly and Kelly on for England.
63 min Nice from Stanway, moving the ball infield as White dummies for Nobbs, but Chapman does just enough to usher her groundwards without conceding a foul.
62 min Again, two England defenders miss their headers when a cross comes in, Daly and Williamson this time. But Bright cleans up and England try to get something going.
61 min And immediately they combine, Huitema finding Prince down the left, but Bright is there to stick her cross behind.
60 min Canada make two changes, Huitema and Prince replacing Viens and Rose.
59 min Canada are starting to impose themselves now, playing much more of the game inside the England half.
57 min England give Rose time on the ball and her cross, though it comes from too far out, is a fair one, all the more so when both Bright and Williamson miss it. But Greenwood is there to tidy up.
56 min Nikita Parris is one of those players I know is good but don’t ever seem to see play well. This is no insult - I used to think it of Edinson Cavani who, it turns out, is alright at the old association football.
55 min But this is better, this being the ball worked from right to left before Hemp burrows down a blind alley.
55 min England have slowed down again.
53 min England press Lawrence who hangs onto the ball nonetheless, someone – Stanway I think – nailing her. But right as the ball breaks for England, the ref decides she was fouled.
51 min Better from England, Toone, Hemp and Parris combining before Toone digs out a dink into the middle, where England has a lot to do, forced to generate all the power herself, and Labbe catches her looping header easily enough.
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50 min For a moment, it looks like Parris has space down the right, but Chapman is over quickly to stick her and the ball behind; Labbe comes for Hemp’s corner and collects easily.
49 min Nobbs is playing higher up the pitch than in the first half; I wonder if England will chance her and Toone playing as eights, with Stanway the six. They need a goal – they need a chance - so it’s probably necessary.
48 min Canada win it in midfield and find Rose, who moves on to Gilles; her shot from distance floats over the top.
46 min At half-time, Casey Stoney noted that Canada are winning the numbers game in midfield with Gilles playing as false nine, dropping deep. She reckons a centre-back should go with her and England should move to back three when that happens.
46 min We go again.
England make a double change for the second half, Bardsley replacing Telford in net and Toone on for Kirby.
Elsewhere....
Half-time: England 0-1 Canada
The teams are pretty well-matched so it’s no great surprise that it took a huge individual error to separate them. England had plenty of the ball thereafter, but couldn’t create much, and in the last 15 minutes, Canada looked as likely to score a second as they did a first.
45 min There’ll be one added minute, which begins with Beckie swerving in a free-kick ... but Gilles misjudges the flight and Daly clouts clear.
45 min England need to get closer together and move the ball quicker. They’re struggling to unpick this Canada defence at the moment.
43 min Greenwood finds another decent ball out to Hemp, who cuts infield before Gilles nobbles her from behind ... only to poke through for England. She’s moving away from goal, though, so can only slice her shot wide of the near post.
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42 min Stanway charges at Chapman as she looks to belt clear, wearing a fair chunk of ball and boot. It looked sore, but she’ll be fine.
41 min England have created nothing, pretty much. I don’t think it’ll be long before we see Ella Toone.
40 min Canada are the better team now, and when they get a corner that’s cleared only as far as the D, Quinn bends a side-footer that forces Telford to tip over. The follow-up corner comes to nothing.
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37 min England don’t have much edge at the moment. Greenwood finds a decent ball down the side for Kirby, who’s been quiet so far, but Scott gets back to see her off.
36 min Fleming wins a corner off Bright and Canada get the flick at the near post, but Daly is there to clump clear.
35 min England did well in the period immediately following the goal but didn’t create much, and in the last few minutes Canada have found their second wind; the balance of play is pretty even now.
34 min Nice fro Rose, who glides then bundles around Daly far too easily, but doesn’t quite have her footing when she looks to cut back and Bright is there to intercept.
32 min England bring off Stokes – that was planned, she’s working her way back to fitness – with Greenwood replacing her.
31 min On the England bench, Bronze has a stretchy thing around her boot and is stretching.
30 min The corner finds its way to Williamson, on the edge, and she shepherds back for Stanway who hammers over the bar ... just.
29 min Nobbs looks favourite to strike this, while England stands offside in front of the keeper ... and she does, driving over the wall ... but Labbe tips onto the bar and over.
28 min Parris wins a corner off Chapman and it’s only half-cleared, Kirby nudging the ball past Zadorsky on the edge of the box and wearing a scythe; Zadorsky is booked.
26 min Stanway ploughs through Beckie, but escapes a caution.
26 min Hemp gets on it again and this time she does go on the outside, easing around Scott, but her cut-back goes directly to Zadorsky, who clears.
25 min England get it out to Hemp, who might look to go on the outside but instead scoops in behind for England, and the attack breaks down.
24 min Hemp gets a go at Lawrence, but she can’t get turned and face-on, so is seen away easily enough.
22 min Bit of possession for Canada, who aren’t looking to do all that much with it, until Chapman sticks a ball in behind seeking Rose, but Daly is there to tidy up.
20 min England’s full-backs have stayed pretty deep so far perhaps mindful of what happened against France, but it means that the team are struggling for width and overloads, which is what they’re going to need against this defence.
18 min Nice feet from Stanway in centrefield – she’s on it tonight - taking the ball off Bright and turning Fleming, who trips her. So when the pass out to Hemp doesn’t come off, the ref calls the play back for a free-kick to England.
16 min England are right on top here, popping it about nicely. They’ve not quite manufactured the overloads they need, but they’re playing at a smart tempo.
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15 min England win a corner and when it comes all the way back to Daly, she sticks a decent pass into the channel for England, down the right. She finds a decent cross too, but again Canada have enough bodies back to block the various shooting and passing lanes.
14 min Again, England try the big switch, Bright swinging out to Hemp, but Lawrence does just enough to flick away.
12 min England win a free-kick 35 yards out, right of centre, Nobbs and Stokes behind it. It’s Nobbs who teases it in, just too high for England, and when it bobbles back across, she can’t quite get a boot on it. Eventually, someone swipes it behind, for a corner which comes to nowt.
11 min Daly finds Kirby down the right and England are warming up. Canada are defending in numbers, but the ball goes into England who lays for Stanway, and she drills just wide.
9 min A bit of possession for England, who look to play out from the back and find Daly as the outlet before moving the ball back into midfield, where Stanway drives out towards Hemp. Chapman gets there first, but that was nicely played, and illustrates that England will look to keep things moving.
8 min Gilles gives it away in midfield and 40 yards out, Stanway collects the loose ball and espies Labbe off her line so has a shy ... and it’s not far off at all, bouncing a foot or two past the post.
7 min England haven’t got going yet, and another mistake by Stokes, slicing a nondescript pass directly to Lawrence, allows Canada some more possession.
5 min England will be naused with Stokes’ error, but that can happen; more telling for how the game might go is how easily Beckie strutted through midfield.
GOAL! England 0-1 Canada (Viens 3)
Gilles outjumps England on halfway and and Beckie collects, driving towards the box. She looks to slide Viens in, who’s offside, but rather than let the ball run, Stokes takes a touch and looks to play her way out of trouble, taking the ball close to goal, where she’s barged off it by Viens, who stretches into a flip over the diving Telford. She’s taken that nicely, but England, and Stokes in particular, will be spewing.
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2 min Rose stretches past Bright on the outside, but Williamson is on-hand to hump her cut-back clear.
1 min We see England run the channel down the right, but in general we can expect to see her between the posts, giving Parris and Hemp a target.
1 min Immediately, Millie Bright heads away a long ball. Ctrl C, ctrl V.
1 min Away we go!
The players take the knee. All black lives matter.
There’ll be a silence for Prince Philip.
We arrive at the Canada team too late to hear the out of tune singing, but get a good old dose of England’s dulcet tones. Lovely stuff.
Jonathan Pearce notes that England fell between two stools against France: trying to impose their possession game, and guarding against the counter. It’ll be interesting to see how she’s changed that, but my expectation is that she’s asked them to emphasise the former, not the latter.
Bev Priestman, the Canada manager, acknowledges the class that England have but has her team focusing on their own game, and how they can administer pain.
Riise tells BBC that she thinks the team played pretty well against France, they just lost, and says that she expects Lucy Bronze to play some part off the bench.
The extremely impressive Casey Stoney is with Alex Scott, likewise the Guardian’s own Rachel Finnis-Brown. Stoney’s excited to see Lauren Hemp start, who she thinks is a serious talent.
As for Canada, they won 3-0 in Wales on Friday night so will be feeling pretty happy with life.
You kind of wonder, then, if those who keep their places are, for now the nucleus of the first XI. In Ellen White’s absence, Millie Bright captains the side for the first time, so mazal tov to her.
So Hege Riise makes five changes from the weekend. In goal, Telford is in for Roebuck; at left-back, Stokes replaces Greenwood; in midfield, Stanway and Nobbs play with Walsh and Scott missing out; and up front, Hemp is on the left, not Mead, and England is in the middle, not White.
Canada, meanwhile, are without their best player and centre-forward, Christine Sinclair.
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Teams are here!
England: Telford; Daly, Bright, Williamson, Stokes; Stanway, Nobbs, Kirby; Parris, England, Hemp. Subs: Bronze, Bardsley, Walsh, Turner, Greenwood, Kelly, Scott, White, Toone, Roebuck, Maciver, Mead, Charles, Wubben-Moy, Morgan.
Canada: Labbé, Chapman, Zadorsky, Quinn, Rose, Lawrence, Beckie, Fleming, Scott, Gilles, Viens. Subs: Grosso, Riviere, Huitema, Schmidt, Carle, Prince, McLeod, Listro, Rose, Foster, Agnew, Chang, Lacasse, Straitigakis, Hellstrom.
In the absence of official team news, wrap your cochleas around this.
🎶 Today's match day playlist is here! Hand picked by @keira_walsh. 🤙
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) April 13, 2021
Go get yourself hyped. 😎
Preamble
We stand at an almighty moment for women’s football – worldwide, but most particularly in England. America has already proven that, if you give airtime then widespread passion will follow, and the new TV deal is going to make that happen over here, bettering not just the game but society as a whole.
In the meantime, and as befits a terrifically talented playing squad, the national side have a new head coach of the elite variety – one might wonder whether they’d be world champions, had that been done sooner – and look primed to catch this summer’s Olympic wave and next summer’s Euro wave. Things are looking good.
Except lately, results have been the opposite of good. Three defeats in three SheBelieves matches came over a year ago now and can be, at least to some extent, ascribed to the previous managerial regime. But just four days ago, England were well beaten by France, so will be hoping for a much better performance this evening. We shall see.
Kick-off: 7.15pm BST
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