England’s defence of the Arnold Clark Cup has well and truly begun with the Lionesses having recorded a 4-0 victory over Korea Republic in their opening match in Milton Keynes last night.
Georgia Stanway, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo and Lauren James were all on target for the Lionesses at Stadium MK. James’ goal was her first at senior international level and she shone continuously throughout the match.
When speaking in the post-match press conference, England head coach Sarina Wiegman praised the youngster. James only made her senior international debut in the second half of last year.
“Last season, she was still building but this season, she is playing more and more,” Wiegman said. “She plays really well. We have so many attacking players playing really well so we have a lot of opportunity with the starting line-up.
“She has worked really hard at Chelsea and now, she can take the next step with the national team. I hope she gets consistency, stays fit and keeps enjoying herself.”
Wiegman has made it quite clear that she will be using the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup games to rotate her squad to see where her players are at ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023. Bringing on players like Katie Zelem, Laura Coombs and Katie Robinson last night allowed Wiegman and her coaching team to see how different players play in new combinations.
She said “I want to try out things. This tournament is a big step in our preparation for the World Cup and we need to see a couple of things to see where we are as a team and also as individuals.
“I don’t like to have headaches but in this case, I do.”
England will now prepare for their next 2023 Arnold Clark Cup fixture against Italy in Coventry on Sunday.
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