A clean sheet and five goals from five scorers in front of a sellout crowd of 23,202 fans in Bristol. It does not get much better than that for England, who top their Nations League group.
“We made football look a little bit simple,” manager Sarina Wiegman told reporters after the thrashing of Belgium. “That’s hard to do.”
Wiegman’s England team produced free-flowing attacking football, reminiscent of the 2022 European Championship, and her team is starting to take shape 91 days before their 2025 Euros opener against France on July 5.
Hannah Hampton, who started in England’s 1-0 win against world champions Spain in February, put in another assured performance to reassert her claim to be Wiegman’s No 1. The back four looked solid and worked well as a unit with captain Leah Williamson and Millie Bright rekindling their centre-back partnership.Where will Manchester City’s Alex Greenwood will fit in, however, when she returns from her knee injury?
Lucy Bronze, 33, a self-confessed lover of ice baths and protein shakes, looked as fresh as ever on her 130th appearance, surging down the right wing with her buccaneering runs. She demonstrated the hunger and desire this England team needed as shown by her header for England’s first goal and her near-post run to flick the ball onto Millie Bright for their second in the first half.
What an assist, what a header! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hkD6qGI8kZ
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) April 4, 2025
Chelsea provided six of England’s 11 starters (Hampton, Bronze, Bright, Niamh Charles, Keira Walsh and Lauren James) and those strong dynamics forged among players who train with each other everyday are evident to see. Equally substitute Aggie Beever-Jones, the Chelsea forward who made an impact off the bench, scoring her first international goal in the 67th minute for England’s third, said those club partnerships made her feel at home when she came onto the pitch.
The Lionesses had great joy, especially down the right side with the metronomic Walsh, Bronze and Beth Mead connecting well. In the No 9 role Alessia Russo’s hold-up play was brilliant as she dropped deep to stitch the play while getting into good goal-scoring positions and was unlucky to hit the post twice.
Wiegman has several options on the wing with James, who looked threatening once again before being taken off at half-time with a suspected hamstring tweak, Mead, Beever-Jones and Nikita Parris as well as Chloe Kelly, who had to withdraw from this camp because of a foot injury. Let’s not forget Lauren Hemp either, out since November with a knee injury, but who was seen back on the grass kicking a ball with Manchester City this week.
But there are still hefty question marks surrounding midfield, the team’s weakest area. It was a similar story three years ago when England played Belgium in a friendly before Euro 2022. So much so Wiegman pushed up Williamson alongside Walsh in midfield and chose Georgia Stanway in place of Fran Kirby and Ella Toone for the No 10 role. That experiment did not last, however, as Wiegman pushed Williamson back into defence and opted for a successful midfield trio of Walsh, Stanway and Kirby, for the entirety of the tournament.
Walsh, who scored her first England goal on her 83rd appearance, is a nailed-on starter, but England look less balanced in the absence of Stanway who is out with a knee injury. The expectation is that the 26-year-old will be fit in time for the Euros but it is doubtful how many competitive minutes she will have played before the tournament. There is no one quite like the no-nonsense, dogged and disciplined Bayern Munich midfielder who runs from box to box, providing defensive security as well as creativity moving forward.
Grace Clinton has stepped into that role in the last three games but she is less defensively-minded and Wiegman has previously asked for the 22-year-old to improve her defensive understanding and assess the bigger picture rather than her own individual tasks. She was neat and tidy in tight spaces and made good connections on the right, aided by Bronze pushing up higher on that side, but at other times the Manchester United midfielder’s passes were misplaced or mistimed. Those details can be ironed out with time and experience but the Euros will be less forgiving.
Clinton shoots at goal against Belgium (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Toone started in the No 10 role and occupied more of the left side but too often her passes went astray and she conceded possession. The 25-year-old struggled to impact the game and there was a disconnect between her and Clinton, her United team-mate.
“We kept the ball better on the right, we lost it a couple of times,” said Wiegman, when asked about those connections.
Toone was substituted in the 60th minute for City’s Jess Park, who looked sharp and pounced on Belgium’s defence to score England’s fourth with a well-taken finish.
Determined finish from JP. 👊 pic.twitter.com/RQo1DVrvHM
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) April 4, 2025
James can play in the No 10 role too but she seems to be thriving with more space on the wing and likes cutting inside. But where does that leave Wiegman’s wingers, especially when Hemp returns?
Another option for the No 10 role is Kirby, who picked up a niggle before Friday’s game but could still play on Tuesday in the reverse fixture, and a trusted player who delivered in Euro 2022 under Wiegman.
Key parts of the midfield jigsaw-puzzle will depend on Stanway and Hemp’s returns and as Wiegman said: “Things can change quickly.” Wiegman wants to have a balanced team for the summer but the midfield is a gap that is yet to be addressed.
(Top photo: Wiegman addresses her squad after the win over Belgium. Harriet Lander – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)