Match report
That is all from me. Suzanne Wrack’s report will be winging its way very soon. Thanks for joining me.
Bright on goals: “I feel like the curse has been lifted. My first and second goal for England, so ecstatic.
On Rachel Daly following the death of her father: “I am delighted for Rachel, my best friend, after all she’s been through.
On performance: “I felt like we pushed on from the previous side, we are eager to win.
On new manager; “We are on a new journey under Sarina and we’ve implemented new things already.
England for England.
Rounding off the night.
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) September 21, 2021
Love it, @Bethany_Eng15 🙌
Watch the #Lionesses on @ITV4. pic.twitter.com/w7M6ZNfUQY
Can you learn much from a night like this? I am not sure. England adapted well to the change of formation after the break from Luxembourg but that’s about it.
Full-time: Luxembourg 0-10 England
England beat what was put in front of them, which was a very poor side.
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-10 England (England, 90+4)
I think that might put Luxembourg out of it. England heads home a cross from Parris.
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-9 England (Daly, 90+3)
Daly waits in the box to net from six yards out.
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-8 England (Bright, 90+1)
Daly sends in a beauty of a cross, which Bright is happy to head home.
90 mins: Stanway gets the ball out of her feet and fires a rising shot off which goes just over.
Four minutes added on.
88 mins: Stanway sends in the 3842nd corner of the match but Daly heads wide.
86 mins: Scott tries to slip the ball into England but the goalkeeper slides out to claim. Wiegman looks very frustrated on the sidelines.
84 mins: Can England match their score against North Macedonia?
82 mins: Parris controls a pass inside the box and is bundled over for what looks like a penalty but the referee is having none of it. Scott is on for Toone.
80 mins: England are just passing the ball around slowly with little ambition to up the tempo.
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-7 England (Bright, 78)
Mead sends in a free-kick from a central position for Bright to attack and head across the goalkeeper, who gets a hand on it but cannot keep it out as the ball drifts into the corner.
76 mins: England enjoy some patient buildup, which ends with Daly whacking a shot straight at the ‘keeper from 20 yards.
74 mins: Mead is the next one to shoot from distance but her effort flies a yard or so above the bar.
72 mins: Luxembourg’s challenges are certainly committed still, no sign of morale dropping. England are struggling to make good chances, possibly proven by Bright stepping out of defence and whacking a shot from 30 yards with her left foot which goes well over.
70 mins: Daly sends a cross right onto England’s head but she directs her effort well wide. Stanway is on for Kirby.
68 mins: England had 26 shots on target to Luxembourg’s zero.
66 mins: Kirby hits a low free-kick into the box which is cleared by the hosts but any counter is stopped by a Mead foul who is somehow booked for her indiscretion.
64 mins: Kirby sends in the corner for Bright to flash across goal with her head.
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-6 England (Berscheid og, 62)
Mead slings a cross into the six-yard box which the defender feels she needs to deal with but she can only turn it into her own net with England lurking behind for a tap in.
Updated
61 mins: The change in formation has helped Luxembourg who look more sturdy at the back.
59 mins: Bright drills a shot form 30 yards, which is deflected behind. The subs are made for England, as White, Greenwood and Hemp depart.
57 mins: England, Mead and Wubben-Moy and readying themselves to come on for England. It is possibly a sign that Wiegman thinks the pace has dropped from her side.
55 mins: Greenwood is down injured. Not good news for Manchester City and their long injury list. She does not look like she will continue.
53 mins: Luxembourg are naturally pretty tired after a long day of chasing the ball and they will soon get some very talented players coming off the bench to try and stop, too.
51 mins: England are well into double figures for corners now. Grennwood swings in the latest one from the right. Bright volleys at home but it is blocked and cleared all the way upfield to Earps who gets a rare touch.
49 mins: Luxembourg are now playing with five at the back, which might help them not concede 10.
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-5 England (Greenwood, 47)
The defender lines up a shot from 20 yards out, which deflects off a Luxembourg player, deceiving the ‘keeper in the process and ending up in the back of the net.
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Second half
Here we go again!
A good way to mark 50 caps.
What a way to mark your 50th game for @England!
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) September 21, 2021
👏 @AlexGreenwood
Watch the #Lionesses live on @ITV4. pic.twitter.com/chs0DJECLN
A few other scores from elsewhere:
L: Scotland 0-0 Faroe Islands
HT: Northern Ireland 0-0 Latvia
FT: Estonia 0-1 Wales
Half-time: Luxembourg 0-4 England
Hemp is unhappy after being tackled just outside the box. It looks like it should be the corner but the referee is having none of it.
Moments later she gets the ball on the left, cuts in and fires a shot off but it goes just wide.
The referee calls time bang on the 45-minute mark.
43 mins: Just a reminded that Mary Earps is in net for England but she hasn’t touched the ball in living memory. The ball hasn’t been in the England half for more than 10 seconds.
Luxembourg try to counter but it comes to an end before the halfway line. Captain Miller is tackled by Williamson and ends up in pain on the ground.
41 mins: Daly comes off a challenge with a little limp. Hopefully the Luxembourg players do not take their frustrations out on the opposition.
39 mins: England are playing well, it has to be said, but it is not a tricky one for them.
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-4 England (Greenwood, 37)
Kirby pings in another corner from the right which is headed up in the air and lands on Greenwood vicious left peg, allowing her to volley home from the penalty spot.
35 mins: More of the same as England control possession but a couple of poor passes end the attacks.
33 mins: White flicks the ball to Kirby in the area, who gets it out of her feet but her shot curls over the bar.
31 mins: Parris again goes down the the right and lifts a cross to the back post where Hemp is beaten to it by a defender, who sends it behind. Greenwood gets the ball after a short corner, sends a dangerous cross into the box but it skims off White’s head and away from goal.
29 mins: Some free-flowing football down the middle of the pitch ends with Toone being slipped into the box by Kirby but the midfielder’s effort is blocked by the goalkeeper.
Emma Hayes points out that there is a “global problem” with the disparity between the best teams in the world and the rest. This game is not a test for England nor a useful learning curve for Luxembourg, it would seem.
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-3 England (Parris, 27)
Kirby takes England’s sixth corner of the day which is flicked into the six-yard box by a defender a the front post and calmly nodded home by Parris.
Updated
25 mins: Daly lifts a cross into the box but Hemp is beaten to it in the air.
23 mins: There should be a third for England but Kirby’s effort at goal from six yards out is straight at the ‘keeper who smothers it.
England are still camped in the Luxembourg half. England’s centre-backs are operating as midfielders.
The home fans are making plenty of noise, which is great to hear.
21 mins: Parris beats the full-back and swings in a cross for Kirby but she fails to make decent contact and it dribbles behind. Moments later Parris puts in another dangerous cross for the onrushing Toone to head towards goal but it is a poor one, which goes well over.
19 mins: It is not going to get any better for Luxembourg are we are now need to consider if England could get to double figures.
Here is the opener.
Poacher's instinct 🎯@ellsbells89 scores her 42nd goal for @England!
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) September 21, 2021
Watch the #Lionesses live on @ITV4. pic.twitter.com/SWUavIyfNX
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-2 England (White, 17)
Some patient buildup play brings the second, as Kirby slips the ball into White who has earned herself a lot of space inside the box, allowing the striker to jab home from 12 yards.
16 mins: A very simple plan from England to play the ball out to the flanks and use the width as much as possible. Luxembourg are unable to cope with the likes of Hemp and Stokes on the left and Daly and Parris down the right.
14 mins: Hemp wins England a corner on the left, which Greenwood comes over to take. It is sent low into the box, where there is a touch on pinball until it is cleared out to Toone who pings a shot towards the corner from 25 yards only to see it pushed behind. The subsequent corner is headed over by Williamson.
GOAL! Luxembourg 0-1 England (White, 12)
Manchester City duo Hemp and White combine once more, as the winger puts in another dangerous cross from the left for the striker to flick across the goalkeeper into the corner.
Updated
11 mins: England are playing at a high tempo but they are not looking to push it, biding their time as they look for the opener. Parris takes aim from 25 yards but it lacks pace and Schlime gobbles it up.
Updated
10 mins: I wouldn’t like to guess the possession stats here but I suspect it’s around 90% to England. Luxembourg’s players are mainly based in the country, so it is unsurprising they are being bested by a team of professionals.
8 mins: Stokes gets down the left on the overlap but her cross goes just over White’s head. That is not the end of the danger as Dos Santos gets in a muddle and jabs the ball towards her own goal but the ‘keeper grabs hold.
White gets her foot on the next cross, this time from Hemp, but her shot is stopped by Schlime are deflecting off a defender.
6 mins: Very much a case of when England will take the lead rather than if. Luxembourg are doing their best but even when they do win the ball, they clear it only to see it come straight back at them.
Daly has takes a horrific foul throw which is pretty embarrassing for her.
4 mins: England get a free-kick on the left touchline as Hemp is taken down. Greenwood swings straight towards the goalkeeper who makes a hash of it as she flicks it away for corner while under no pressure.
2 mins: Luxembourg with a 4-4-2 offering as they look to stop England, who have had all the ball thus far. England almost open the scoring as Parris gets to the byline down the right, before pulling it back to Stokes who fires a shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Kick-off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The teams are primed in the tunnel, readying themselves to be met by a boisterous crowd.
Strength in depth.
Raising the bat.
Joining the 5️⃣0️⃣ club! ✨
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) September 21, 2021
Congrats, @AlexGreenwood. pic.twitter.com/7lHNyevjnL
Two changes for England as Parris and Kirby replace Mead and Stanway. I thought there could be a few more adjustments considering the nature of the fixture but it is, arguably, the strongest team available.
Sarina Wiegman offers her view on a World Cup every two years.
Starting lineups
Luxembourg: Schlime, Albert, Kremer, Berscheid, De Lemos, Marques, Abreu, Miller, Soares Marque, Dos Santos, Kocan, Estevez Garcia
Subs: Krier, Kremer, Becker, Schon, Mendes, Besch, De Bruyn, Derbisevic, Tiberi, Have, Raths, Thill
England: Earps, Daly, Bright, Greenwood, Stokes, Williamson, Toone, Kirby, Paris, Hemp, White
Subs: Charles, MacIver, Zelem, Stanway, Wubben-Moy, Mead, Staniforth, England, Scott, Telford, Salmon, Carter
Updated
Good evening
England started their World Cup qualifying campaign with an 8-0 win over North Macedonia last week and will be optimistic they can add a similar amount of goals in Luxembourg tonight. Despite the rampant scoring, there should have been more on the night as England has 48 shots, leaving head coach Sarina Wiegman very unhappy with her players.
Luxembourg will be hoping England do not make up for their failings in front of goal tonight. They shipped four against Northern Ireland on Friday but are a stronger side than North Macedonia, as they currently sit 122nd in the world rankings nine places above England’s previous opponents.
Fran Kirby is available once more after missing out at St Mary’s on Friday, while Leah Williamson will continue to wear the armband in Steph Houghton’s absence. It will be interesting to see if Wiegman makes a few changes to see how other players perform or if she wants to put her faith in what she thinks is her first XI.
Here is to a great game and plenty of goals!
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