Sarina Wiegman suffers first defeat as England Women are beaten by Australia in Brentford ahead of Women's World Cup
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Updated 11/04/2023 at 21:30 GMT
It was a frustrating evening for England, who were beaten by Australia on a soggy night at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium. It was the first time that the Lionesses had been beaten under Sarina Wiegman, ending a 30-match unbeaten run dating back to April 2021. Rachel Daly and Georgia Stanway both came close to halving the deficit, but the Matildas held on for a 2-0 win.
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England’s 30-match unbeaten run came to an end after a 2-0 defeat to Australia at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium.
It was the Lionesses’ first defeat under manager Sarina Wiegman, as their preparations for the World Cup finals hit a bump in the road.
Their last defeat came back in April 2021 under interim head coach Hege Riise, and this result could be a wake-up call for Wiegman’s side ahead of this summer’s finals.
Sam Kerr broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute after capitalising on a rare error from skipper Leah Williamson, intercepting her attempted headed clearance back to Mary Earps and chipping the ball over the Manchester United goalkeeper.
Chelsea striker Kerr turned provider for the second goal when her perfectly-weighted cross from the right was nodded in by Charlotte Grant to score a first senior Matildas goal.
The reigning European champions were uncharacteristically sluggish in west London, but came agonisingly close to halving the deficit when Rachel Daly headed wide from Lucy Bronze’s cross.
Georgia Stanway had two late chances to add her name to the scoresheet, the first saw her flash a long-range attempt wide before firing a free-kick straight at Mackenzie Arnold.
England's first match at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is against Haiti on July 22.
They also face Denmark and China in their group at the tournament.
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