Talking points and team guides
Here’s Suzy Wrack’s report from the Amex. That’s enough from me: farewell, and we’ll see you again soon.
England have now lost two of their last four games, without scoring in each of those, against teams they should theoretically beat. Again, these are just friendlies, and this is still a squad stacked with talent, but it may well be a concern.
Here’s a wild swing at a possible team to face Scotland:
Bardsley: Bronze, Houghton, Bright, Greenwood; Scott, Walsh; Carney, Kirby, Parris; Taylor.
Of course I could be, and probably am wrong.
Phil Neville speaks:
“It was frustrating. I thought we played some really good football but we found it difficult to break them down. I think the disappointing thing is we have an unbelievable crowd here and we didn’t get the result to send us off. Certain players needed to play minutes, and I needed to see certain combinations in different areas. All along that was our plan and a bad result isn’t going to change that. Today was a jolt. We got punished, and that’s what happens sometimes in football.”
Hmmmm. What to make of that? Ultimately the result has no tangible importance and England dominated possession, often playing some nice stuff, particularly after Carney came on. But they not only didn’t get a goal, they didn’t really create many clear chances, and that will surely be the biggest concern. A few players, like Duggan, Parris and Taylor, looked a bit sluggish, and none of those perhaps on the fringes of the team presented a hugely compelling case to be included against Scotland next Sunday.
Full-time: England 0-1 New Zealand
Peeeeeeeeep.
Updated
90 mins +4: Greenwood hoops over a terrific cross from deep on the left but it goes right in the middle of two England attackers and it’s cleared.
90 mins +2: Chance has a...erm...chance for New Zealand, but slips over just as she shoots and sends it wide.
90 mins: The ball breaks to Stanway on the edge of the box but by the time she takes her shot she’s slightly off-balance, and hoofs it over. Four minutes of added time to come.
Updated
88 mins: Scott slides a pass through to White, but Erceg is there again to tackle. Georgia Stanway comes on to replace White.
86 mins: England attack down the right, as Ellen White does well to dig out a cross, but it’s headed behind at the near-post by Erceg. Play then stops as Moore goes down, possibly with a knock to the bonce.
83 mins: Substitution for New Zealand: Bott is off, Paige Satchell is on.
82 mins: Kirby spread s a nice pass for Mead, who pops up on the left. She tries to dribble into the box but is tackled well by Stott.
81 mins: A bit of a lull in the game. Neville looks pensive on the sidelines.
77 mins: Carney tries to lollipop her way into the box from the left, but loses control a little clumsily. That, however, is probably the first thing she’s got wrong since coming on: she’s been excellent, and while this isn’t exactly news, she’s made a case to start next weekend.
76 mins: England have a couple of corners and I can’t quite work out if the deliveries are bad or they were just unlucky: either way, they fell to places where England players weren’t, and were cleared.
75 mins: Subapalooza: Ellen White is on, and Jodie Taylor is off.
73 mins: Subs for New Zealand: Rosie White and Betsy Hassett off, Olivia Chance and Annalie Longo on.
71 mins: More good play from England, as first Taylor breaks behind the defence but a couple of slightly askew passes forces them to play it back and start again. Carney gets down the left, clips the ball to the back post where Scott arrives with a header, but the angle was too tight and it goes wide.
70 mins: A rare sloppy pass from Houghton gives White a chance to shoot, but she scoops it a little and sends the effort way over the bar.
68 mins: Double change for England: on come Beth Mead and Jill Scott, replacing Parris and Staniforth.
67 mins: Terrific play by England and Carney is at the centre of it again. She twists and turns, leaving a defender on her arse, before playing to Taylor, she lays off to Kirby who flicks it over the top back to Carney, but her shot at the near-post is saved by Nayler.
66 mins: Carney tries a shot from an ambitious range, but a little too ambitious and it sails over.
Updated
64 mins: Sub for New Zealand, as the goalscorer Gregorius is replaced by Hannah Wilkinson.
62 mins: A corner for New Zealand, which eventually drops to Stott at the back stick, she hits a half-volley towards goal but Bronze does well to block.
60 mins: Carney has made a difference since coming on. She collects the ball on the edge of the box, and smartly takes her time before shifting it square to Walsh, who shoots but without enough power and it’s saved.
58 mins: A band - I confess I don’t know if it’s that England band - has been playing for a lot of the game, and has now broken into a version of ‘Whole Again’ by Atomic Kitten. Absolutely not.
56 mins: Ali Riley goes into the book for absolutely ploughing through Parris, and bafflingly complains at enough length that she was in danger of an immediate second booking. A bold strategy.
Updated
55 mins: Carney makes an immediate impact with an absolutely superb reverse pass, threading the needle between two defenders to give Kirby the chance to cross, which she does and it’s deflected behind.
54 mins: Sub for England, with Toni Duggan - who has been quiet, but Neville has also been keen to conserve her energy after a long season with Barcelona - is replaced by Karen Carney.
52 mins: England really only have themselves to blame for this. They try to get straight back into it as Staniforth attempts an ambitious shot from a free-kick on the left corner of the area, but it goes just over the bar.
50 mins: And there you have it. Absolutely against the run of play, England go behind after not making the most of their possession. Greenwood doesn’t get enough on a headed clearance, it falls to Rosie White who shoots, it takes a slight deflection off McManus which messes with Telford a bit, and she spills it into the path of Gregorious. The forward, who has basically been a passenger so far, jumps all over it and slams the rebound home.
GOAL! England 0-1 New Zealand (Gregorious 50)
Well then.
Updated
48 mins: Another corner for England, another iffy delivery. It’s eventually brought back to Greewood, but she skims a pass down the left - I think meant for Duggan - out of play.
46 mins: England are on the attack straight away and win a corner, but again the delivery isn’t great and it’s cleared at the near post.
The players are back out for the second half. Don’t think there are any changes as yet...
A little tricky to know what to make of that. England have quite obviously been the better team but haven’t scored and actually haven’t created too many clear chances either, despite some incredibly altruistic defending by New Zealand. Maybe Neville doesn’t care, and this is just a run out, but a goal or two would be nice.
Half-time: England 0-0 New Zealand
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
45 mins + 1: That New Zealand player is Rosie White, who seemed to get a bang on the head. Quite rightly everyone is very conscious of that sort of thing, but she seems OK to continue.
45 mins: A chance for New Zealand! My days. They’re helped out when a shot hammers into Houghton’s stomach and takes her out completely, but the ball breaks to Hassett who shoots left-footed, but Telford - a complete spectator to this point - does well to stay alert and tip over the bar. One minute of stoppage time to be played, although that might be more as a New Zealand player needs some treatment.
43 mins: Greenwood plays a lovely pass down the left channel that seemingly causes Stott to have an existential crisis and tumble to the turf, but Duggan just can’t keep the thing in play.
42 mins: More neat passing for England, as Kirby, Parris and Bronze combine down the right side of the box, but again the attack breaks down when Staniforth’s backheel is blocked.
41 mins: White leaves one on Kirby, who objects to the foul very vocally, as if someone had just reached over and taken some chips off her plate. The free kick is given.
39 mins: England are given a chance when a New Zealand clearance hits Bott square in the face and rebounds to Kirby, but she can’t take advantage. Again, a decent chance donated to England isn’t taken.
36 mins: Again, England create a half chance, some neat work by Kirby and Parris leads to the Lyon-bound winger trying a curler from the left side of the box, but again it sails high and wide.
34 mins: That corner is cleared, but it finds its way back into the box where McManus, who had stayed up top, is just denied by a tackle from CJ Bott, who sounds like a PI in a film from the 1950s.
Updated
33 mins: Jonathan Pearce is the commentator, and it is slightly difficult to hear him without recalling his extended riff on the price of wet wipes during the last World Cup. Anyway, England have a corner.
30 mins: Bronze barrels into the box from the right and wins a corner, Greenwood flings it into the middle but it’s headed clear. I genuinely can’t remember the last time New Zealand were in England’s half.
28 mins: New Zealand create more problems where there were none with some poor passing. Again, this is partly down to England’s pressing, but the ball finds its way to Taylor who hits a cross-shot that ends up being neither, and is cleared.
25 mins: Everyone uses Betsy Hassett receiving some treatment on an ankle knock as a chance to have a drink. Everyone takes a good slug from the Gatorade bottles. I’m sweating just watching them play in this sunshine.
23 mins: After a short corner didn’t entirely work, the ball comes back out to Greenwood on the right who whips in a left-footed cross. It falls to Parris, who aims for the top corner but skews it wide, the effort fading left when it needed to curl right.
21 mins: Given this is a friendly you probably can’t really classify it as a ‘concern’, but England might be slightly worried not to have taken advantage of both this dominance of possession and territory, and the clownish defending on display. Parris and Duggan haven’t really got into the game yet from the flanks.
19 mins: More nice play from England as Taylor and Kirby combine, and the latter opens out her body to try curling in a shot from the left side of the area, but doesn’t get nearly enough power on the shot and it’s easily saved.
16 mins: Incidentally, the replays of that penalty claim in the 9th minute suggest it should certainly have been a spot kick. Taylor’s shins were taken out by the keeper, otherwise she would’ve been in.
15 mins: This New Zealand defence might as well be soundtracked with a swannee whistle. Yet another ludicrous pass - this time from Bowen, I think - along the ground, back into their own crowded penalty area, is jumped all over by Taylor who tries to clip over the keeper, but Nayler does well to dive at her feet and smother the chance.
14 mins: Another chance for England as Taylor absolutely rinses Moore for pace, she takes it around the keeper but nobody could keep up with her so her cut-back was mopped up by that wheezing defence. Erceg hoofs clear with the urgency of someone throwing a hand grenade out of a house.
12 mins: Sloppy as New Zealand have been with their passing at the back, England have made sure they’re in the position to capitalise on those mistakes. On the touchline, Neville seems keen to ensure the energy is high, that the players don’t slack even when taking throw-ins.
9 mins: More circus defending from New Zealand lets Taylor in. She takes a slightly heavy touch, tries to go round the keeper but goes to ground, with a hint of a foul from Nayler before the striker can get the shot away. No penalty given, and there’s no real protests of note either.
Updated
7 mins: England look lively so far. The passing is crisp, the movement is sharp. They get a free-kick out on the left, which is played short to Kirby who clips it into the box where Taylor flicks the header on, but straight at the keeper.
5 mins: Ooof, very nearly a calamity for New Zealand, as Moore underhits a backpass and Nayler is slow to come off her line: not a brilliant combo, and the scuttling Fran Kirby very nearly gets in to nick the ball, but the keeper eventually lumbers into the correct position and clears. Nayler miscontrolled a pass just before that too: nerves? Uncertainty? A sense they’d rather be kicking back on the beach with a beer?
3 mins: Bronze tries to clip a pass from deep on the right over the top, looking for the run of Taylor, but it’s just too far ahead of her.
1 min: New Zealand kick off, and knock it around at the back a bit. England stand off initially but press when they advance up the field a bit more. Someone in the crowd has a drum, which may get trying.
The players are out. Football is about to happen. Get involved.
England assistant Bev Priestman is being interviewed by the BBC, and she sort of suggests that this team won’t be the one to start against Scotland, at least partly because they don’t want to give any of their opponents a look at what that team might be. It is worth remembering that Neville has never named an unchanged team, so none of this is a particular surprise.
It looks bloody glorious at the Amex, by the way. Sun shining on the south coast, beautiful pitch, full house: magic.
And here’s Suzanne’s interview with Georgia Stanway, on the bench today but who should still play a good part in the tournament ahead.
At 16 Georgia Stanway upped sticks to pursue football. “‘Not many people leave Barrow’ – that’s what’s said,” says the forward. But that is what it took. And now, at 20, she is the youngest member of Phil Neville’s squad for the World Cup. She is no shock inclusion nor is she along for the ride. Stanway is determined to feature and will likely get game time in France.
But England, though. Here’s Suzanne Wrack’s scene-setter for the game ahead today:
While this is the last chance for some of the squad players to give their manager a starting XI selection headache, Neville has been frustrated with this latest round of friendlies and is desperate for the tournament to begin. “We’ve prepared for them for so long now that the talking is over,” he said. “Let’s just get out to France. There’s nothing more we can do on the training ground with them. They’re prepared, they understand the system, they have a clarity of everything.”
The Heraf affair turned pretty ugly, all in. The Austrian coach was accused of assorted sorts of bullying, intimidation and other forms of highly unprofessional behaviour, with no fewer than 12 players sending letters to NZ Football outlining concerns. He denied it all, claiming that the players simply couldn’t handle his “European” style of management and basically that they were a bunch of great big softies.
What of New Zealand, then. Well, they got absolutely hosed by the USA a few weeks ago, losing 5-0 but a 2-1 win over Mexico not long after that might have settled nerves a little. In any case, things are better than they were a year ago, when half the team refused to play under former head coach Andreas Heraf because of, among other things, his tactics that made Jose Mourinho look like Zdenek Zemen.
“You can see how I couldn’t stand to wear that fern on my chest any more when his vision was to cower in a corner and not get beat by too much,” said Abby Erceg, the former captain and one of the players who chose no international football over Heraf’s international football. However, since former USA and Australia coach Tom Sermanni took over last year, things have looked up rather, and they secured qualifications with a series of batterings over the admittedly modest competition in Oceania.
They actually have one more warm-up game after this, against Wales on Tuesday, before their tournament starts against the Netherlands a week later.
So that looks like Lucy Bronze will play at right-back, with Fran Kirby just behind Jodie Taylor in a 4-2-3-1. Jill Scott is on the bench, while Demi Stokes, Jade Moore and Rachel Daly are the three members of the squad not on the bench at all.
Team news
England
Telford; Bronze, Houghton, McManus, Greenwood; Staniforth, Walsh; Parris, Kirby, Duggan; Taylor. Subs: Bardsley, Brighton, Scott, Williamson, White, Stanway, Carney, Mean, Roebuck, Blundell.
New Zealand
Nayler; Percival, Erceg, Bott, Moore, Stott, Riley, Gregorius, Hassett, White, Bowen. Subs: Esson, Olla, Green, Kete, Longo, Morton, Duncan, Wilkinson, Skilton, Satchell, Cleverley, Chance.
Updated
Preamble
Here we go then. One more tune-up before the big dance. The general vibe about all of these games ahead of a big tournament is that the players would rather be doing anything else, itching to get started with the actual important stuff, which in England’s case is a week tomorrow against Scotland in Nice.
But this one might actually mean something. Phil Neville has been keen to mix things up a bit, to give as many players as possible a go so as to make sure everyone’s on their toes ahead of the World Cup, something made all the more convincing by the fact few know what England’s first-choice starting XI will be, the midfield in particular basically being three names thrown in the air and landing in whatever arrangement lands. There is a sense that there are genuinely players who have a chance of breaking into the team, or cementing their places...or perhaps that’s just what Neville wants us/them to think.
“I have trust in every single one of my players,” said Neville. “That means there are 23 players available for selection tomorrow and fighting for a place against Scotland, Argentina and Japan. They know their value and know their profile in certain positions and certain games that will help us become successful.”
Will this game offer any clues to his first-choice team? Does he even have a first-choice team? It will be a slightly curious occasion, a game which everyone would rather not be playing and where everyone is mainly trying not to get injured while at the same time attempting to make a good impression. Should be interesting, at least. Stick around.
Kick-off: 13.00 BST.
