England’s first match since lifting the European Championship ended in defeat. The Lionesses losing 2–1 to Brazil at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
A crowd of 48,000 were in attendance to welcome the European champions home, yet England looked half-asleep from the start. It took Brazil just nine minutes to break through – Kansas City forward Bia Zaneratto collecting the ball 20 yards out, drifting past a static defence and placing a precise finish into the bottom corner.
Nine minutes later, it was Zaneratto again – this time driving from just inside England’s half, unchallenged, before teeing up Dudinha, who finished brilliantly with the outside of her boot via the post. England were caught napping once again, and Brazil found themselves 2–0 up before the hosts had settled.
Just three minutes after the restart, Brazil were down to ten. Captain Angelina was shown a straight red card for hauling down Ella Toone, who was clean through on goal. From the resulting free-kick, Alex Greenwood smashed the crossbar and Jess Carter somehow headed the rebound over an open net – a moment that might have changed everything.
From the red card onwards, England dominated but lacked precision in the final third. It took until the 52nd minute for their pressure to finally tell. A slick passing move found Beth Mead via a deft flick from Alessia Russo. Mead went down, the referee pointed to the spot. Soft, perhaps, but England weren’t complaining.
Georgia Stanway stepped up and buried the penalty with trademark composure to make it 2–1, sparking belief among the 48,000 inside the Etihad.
The Lionesses continue to push for an equaliser. Russo headed over from close range, Esme Morgan flashed a long drive wide, and Stanway smashed the bar from distance. Yet for all their possession, they lacked the quality to draw level.
England ended with 18 shots, but only three on target – a frustrating return after playing against ten for nearly seventy minutes. It wasn’t for lack of effort, but for lack of precision in the final third. They’ll need to start quicker if they’re to turn this sort of dominance into wins. Still, after the summer they gave us, a little forgiveness feels fair.
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What’s next
The Lionesses won’t have to wait long for a chance to respond. They face Australia on Wednesday night at Pride Park – a fixture that, on paper at least, should offer an easier test. After that, England host China on 29 November and Ghana on 2 December, rounding off their post-Euros schedule before the year ends.
It will be interesting to see whether Sarina Wiegman uses the upcoming games to experiment – perhaps giving fresh faces a chance to inject new energy and sharpen England’s attacking edge.
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