The Lionesses kicked off their homecoming campaign with a hard-fought loss against Brazil. A 10-player Brazil side scored two early goals against the double-European champions, claiming a 2-1 victory at the City of Manchester Stadium. It was a battle of the champions, where the South Americans emerged victorious in front of 37,460 fans.
As it happened
With the news that regular goalkeeper Hannah Hampton would miss the game through injury, 21-year-old Khiara Keating made her senior debut in her childhood stadium; the Manchester City keeper was given the nod to start by Sarina Wiegman over Anna Moorhouse.
England went into this international break with some big names missing on the squad list due to injury. Two early goals, by Bia Zaneratto, and then Dudinha, put Brazil 2-0 up, rocking a frustrated Lionesses side.
Two minutes after the second goal, however, Ella Toone was brought down just outside the box by a shirt-pull that denied a goalscoring opportunity. Angelina, who challenged Toone, was then disciplined with a red card, putting Brazil down to 10 players.
From then on, England were the better team. Alex Greenwood took the free-kick following the challenge on Toone but hit the crossbar, before Keira Walsh hit the roof of the net just seconds before halftime.
Soon after the restart, the Lionesses were awarded a penalty when Beth Mead was brought down inside the box by Zaneratto. Georgia Stanway stepped up, and capitalized from the spot.
Despite England being in control of possession and the overall run of play, they could not find a second goal. Brazil continued to play one on one, making it hard for Wiegman’s side to find the space they needed, as well as dealing with a physical Brazil side, who spent most of the last part of the game playing for time.
All in all, it was a game where the Lionesses have both positive takeaways and enough to learn from, and they will now be looking ahead to their fixture against Australia on Tuesday.
The line-ups
ENG: Keating; Le Tissier, Morgan, Greenwood, Carter; Walsh, Stanway, Toone; Kelly, Russo, Mead
BRA: Lorena; Taciane, Mariza, Haas; Luany, Angelina, Sampaio, Yasmim; Dudhina; Ludmilla, Zaneratto