Euro 2025 hero Michel Agyemang was carried off on a stretcher during England’s 3-0 win over Australia at Pride Park.
After an early red card for the visitors, the Lionesses controlled the flow of the match and were on their way to an easy victory, but Agyemang was sent off just minutes after coming on in the second half, and the match took a turn for the worse.
The Brighton loanee was seen collapsing and crying as he went to retrieve the ball. The striker was treated by physiotherapists as he grabbed his knee and was eventually taken onto a stretcher more than five minutes after collapsing, but Sarina Wiegman admitted after the match that he was “not in a good condition”.
Wiegman called for an improved performance and a faster start, and with the Lionesses starting on the front, she did just that, leading to a costly mistake for Australia that would change the course of the match.
England’s pressure was already looking for a breakthrough after 20 minutes, when London City’s Alana Kennedy was sent off for bringing down Alessia Russo after losing the ball in front of her own penalty area.
Alana Kennedy was sent off for a kickstart before England took the lead.
If the red card wasn’t bad enough, Aggie Beaver-Jones scored her seventh international goal after a free kick was spilled to her to put the hosts in the lead.
England maintained their advantage throughout the remainder of the first half, eventually doubling their lead when Lucy Bronze gave herself a 34th birthday present with a fine finish.
Lucy Bronze doubles England’s lead
Australia tightened their defense in the second half and it looked like the game was coming to a whimper until Agyemang suffered a gut-rending injury.
Play was halted for several minutes due to Agyeman’s injury.
Beaver-Jones was also sent off by knockout soon after, and England were forced to play the remaining 10 minutes with 10 men as they had no replacements.
That didn’t stop them from adding a third goal, with Georgia Stanway scoring from the penalty spot to seal the Lionesses’ first win since the Euros.
Wiegman: “Agyeman’s injury doesn’t look good”
Michel Agyeman cried as he was carried away on a stretcher.
Asked about Agyeman’s injury, England manager Sarina Wigman told ITV Sport: “It’s not in yet, but of course it was bad.”
“It’s not good to be carried away on a stretcher. But it certainly doesn’t look good. It’s not confirmed, but it looks bad.”
In a press conference, Wigman was satisfied with his team’s performance, saying: “We got off to a very good start and dominated the game.
“They were down to 10 points, but that changed some things. We wanted to maintain the pace of the game. We created a lot of very good moments in the final third.”
“I saw a lot of good things, but we need to get better at matching the execution and the last pass and the last cross. That’s what we want to do next year. I want to see this team grow.”
“You actually want to play 11-on-11 because that’s the biggest challenge for you and that’s what you practice for. They drop even deeper, so the spaces are much smaller.”
Beaver Jones: “I’ll play wherever I’m needed”
Aggie Beaver-Jones takes the lead in England vs Australia
Aggie Beaver-Jones told ITV:
“Playing soccer brings out the best in you, no matter where you’re playing. I don’t really look at the stats. I’m just trying to come here, stay focused and show Salina what I can do.”
“You saw it today. I was on the wing a little bit, which is something I haven’t done for a while. But again, I love playing for England wherever I am.”
“It’s nice to be on the scoresheet again. It was a great performance today so I hope we can take some good points from it and be ready for the next camp.”
