England ended 2025 on a high by defeating Ghana 2-0 in the first ever meeting between the countries.
Aston Villa (formerly Southampton) midfielder Lucia Kendall’s first senior international goal put the Lionesses ahead within six minutes against St Mary’s.
However, despite their overwhelming superiority, and despite hitting the wooden box four times, Alessia Russo sealed the victory from the spot in the 95th minute.
England’s win over Ghana was Sarina Wigman’s 51st win as manager
England put pressure on from the start and it looked like the floodgates were going to burst when Kendall scored the Lionesses’ first goal.
That was the case when they beat China 8-0 at Wembley four days earlier, leaving Ghana 51 places below their previous opponents in the FIFA rankings.
However, Chloe Kelly was sent off injured after 23 minutes, and a combination of a lack of ruthlessness and Cynthia Conlan’s underwhelming goalkeeping meant the hosts went into half-time with a 1-0 lead.
However, just before the whistle, Kendall’s header ricocheted off the ground and flew over the crossbar.
Lucy Bronze has won 144 England caps, making her joint third all-time with Karen Carney.
England struggled to win the match after suffering a scruff injury early in the second half, but he hit Kibe again twice in quick succession. First Lucy Bronze hit a header against the crossbar, but shortly after Aggie Beaver-Jones hit a looping header.
They had another shot at the end of second-half stoppage time, but only after Russo’s header on goal hit Comfort Yeboah in the hand. The referee looked at the monitor to see what had happened, then turned and pointed to the spot.
And then the ever-reliable Russo fired home powerfully from 12 yards to go, finally adding to England’s second goal, which they should have scored long ago.
Wiegmann: I should have scored more!
England manager Sarina Wigman told ITV:
“I was hoping we could have scored more. If we had taken more chances, we could have scored more. Actually, I was a little disappointed.”
“We played with other players that we knew were really good individually, but we have to find those connections again. If we had scored earlier, it would have been a little easier on the team.”
“We had some big chances, but they just hit the post or the other side of the crossbar, so we didn’t have any lucky moments either.”
Kendall: I felt like today was written to score.
Lucia Kendall’s goal was her first senior goal for England.
England’s Lucia Kendall told ITV:
“It was a really special moment for me to be able to do that here where I grew up. This place made me the player I am today. It felt like something that was written today.”
“It was so special. It took me a few seconds to really get emotional. I was really overwhelmed with emotion. It was really special.
“I’m learning little by little from the players who are coming back here and at the club, but how can I continue to be consistent and produce more? I look at players like Kyra (Walsh) and see not only how consistent she is, but also how capable and forward-thinking she is.
“I want to be that way too. I want to take the team forward and be effective in the final third.”
Russo: Ghana provided the type of testing we wanted.
Russo’s goal was his 27th for England.
England’s Alessia Russo told ITV:
“Ghana posed a completely different threat (to China). They were really good and put on a great show, so it was a really difficult situation for us.”
“That’s what we want in pre-World Cup and pre-qualifying games. We want to test ourselves against a lot of different styles of play and we definitely achieved that tonight.
“We had a good camp and built a lot, and we’re really looking forward to the next few years.
“You can tell it’s a new England. I say that after almost every cycle, but we have a lot of young players and many more are making their debuts in this camp. It’s a really exciting time.”
What’s next for England?
Sarina Wiegmann has been given three months to prepare for the Lionesses’ next match, which begins their 2027 World Cup qualifying campaign.
They will first play against Ukraine on March 3rd, then play at home against Iceland on March 7th.
