Five talking points from England 0-2 Australia

Toby Rathborne
LiveScore
Australia captain Sam Kerr celebrates breaking England's unbeaten run
Australia captain Sam Kerr celebrates breaking England's unbeaten run

Sam Kerr led Australia to a 2-0 win over England, snapping the Lionesses' 30-match unbeaten streak at the Gtech Community Stadium. 

The Matildas' captain opened the scoring, capitalising on Leah Williamson's weak header back to keeper Mary Earps by coolly lifting the ball over the stranded shot-stopper. 

Charlotte Grant then doubled Australia's lead in the 67th minute when her headed effort deflected off Williamson and into the back of the net. 

England's best chance came in the second half from substitute Lauren James whose curled strike was well saved by Mackenzie Arnold, sealing the victory.

Here are the five talking points from the highly-anticipated clash.

Clinical Kerr

Kerr showed why she is one of the most feared finishers in football with her ruthless opener. 

Australia's No20 saw little of the ball in the first half but only needed the one mistake from Williamson to hand the visitors the lead. 

Still, the Chelsea hotshot did well to remain alert to the situation, not give up chasing down the ball and was subsequently rewarded for her efforts. 

She then provided the assist for Australia's second with a pinpoint cross to Grant, securing victory for her side.

Sloppy Lionesses start

England started the match far too slowly, lacking intensity and made mistakes that kept them from threatening Arnold's goal. 

The Lionesses' tepid passing in the build-up allowed Australia to hold their 4-4-2 shape to stop Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh from dictating the tempo of the game. 

Subsequently, Sarina Wiegman was forced to give a team talk with her side trailing the opposition for the first time as England boss.

But ultimately, they were unable to mount any sort of comeback in the second half.

Night to forget for Williamson

Leah Williamson failed to keep Australia forward Sam Kerr quiet
Leah Williamson failed to keep Australia forward Sam Kerr quiet

It was a match to forget for England's captain Williamson, who struggled to contend with Australia's surging attacks.

She was at fault for the first goal and the ball cruelly deflected off her for the second ending a disappointing night for the 26-year-old.

After the loss, Williamson spoke of her and the team's disappointment.

She said: "We looked like we lacked ideas on the ball, and we got punished. It was my mistake for first goal, and they were ruthless on counter. 

"Sometimes in football you have those games. We weren't as efficient as we usually are, we need to figure out why. 

"I'm not one for dwelling on personal things, that first goal has made it worse for me but the whole teams feels really rubbish about losing. It hurts."

Staunch Australia defence

Australia showed their defensive resilience and did well to deny the Lionesses any clear cut opportunities.

Kerr and Mary Fowler set their intentions by putting pressure on Walsh to stop her from playing passes with ease, limiting her ability to pick apart the backline with her accurate deliveries.

When called into action, Arnold between the sticks executed her saves and actions with a cool confidence that frustrated England the entire night.

Unbeaten run snapped

Sarina Wiegman experienced her first loss as England manager
Sarina Wiegman experienced her first loss as England manager

England's unbeaten record was finally broken after a run of 30 games that consisted of 25 wins, five draws and 20 clean sheets under Wiegman. 

It proved an appropriate test for the Lionesses in the run-up to the World Cup and a wake-up call given the expectations after their triumph at Euro 2022 last summer.

Manager Wiegman was keen to use the loss as a learning point.

She said: "This is the first time we lose but we always learn. We see things done well and things we have to do better. 

"We have to improve to be at our best at the World Cup."

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