England Defeats France 4-1 to Open 2018 SheBelieves Cup
The England Women’s National Team put together an excellent performance in a deserved 4-1 victory against France during the opening game of the 2018 SheBelieves Cup.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (March 1, 2018) – The England Women’s National Team put together an excellent performance in a deserved 4-1 victory against France during the opening game of the 2018 SheBelieves Cup.
On a chilly night at MAPFRE Stadium, forward Toni Duggan scored in the 7th minute, midfielder Jill Scott added a second in the 28th and forward Jodie Taylor of the NWSL’s Seattle Reign added another in the 39th as England outplayed France to earn a commanding victory. Fran Kirby scored about a minute into the second half to effectively put the game away.
France outshot England 12-10, but the real story was England’s efficiency inside the penalty area. The Lionesses had six shots on goal to France’s one. The win was only England’s second against France since 1974. The first came last summer at the UEFA Women’s Euros in the Netherlands.
The match was the opening game of the first doubleheader in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup with the nightcap featuring the United States vs. Germany at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
England’s first goal came after a throw-in from the right sideline. Midfielder Nikita Parris received the ball, spun towards the middle and played it to Fran Kirby who quickly found the unmarked Toni Duggan in the left side of the penalty area. Duggan finished smartly, bending her hard, right-footed shot into the lower right corner for the early lead. It was her 20th international goal.
Kirby hit the underside of crossbar with a blast a few minutes later and the ball pounded the ground near the line but didn’t cross into the goal.
England doubled its lead in the 28th minute after Lucy Bronze darted down the right flank and played a pass back to Jill Scott that was dummied by Parris at the top of the penalty area. Scott then hit a somewhat innocuous first-time shot on the ground, but it found a way through traffic inside the penalty area and skidded off the wet turf to sneak just inside the right post. It was Scott’s 19th international goal.
England made it 3-0 in the 39th minute after Jodie Taylor timed her run well to get behind the France back line and Parris played a perfectly-weighted through ball. France goalkeeper Karima Benameur, playing in just her fourth international game, hesitated, giving Taylor the chance to poke the ball past her and into the net for her 16th goal for England.
England wasted no time getting on the board just over a minute into the second half as Scott did well to get off a cross from the right side of the penalty area. Kirby made a darting run deep into the penalty box and got to the rolling ball first, pushing it past the goalkeeper with a first-time shot to make it 4-0 and set a record for most goals scored by a pair of teams in a SheBelieves Cup match.
England’s three goals in the first 45 minutes set a record for most goals in a half at the SheBelieves Cup.
As freezing rain began to fall, France pulled a goal back in the 77th minute off a shot from distance by substitute Gaetane Thiney that took a significant deflection off an England defender and flew into the net. It was her 56th international goal in her 142nd cap.
England lost defender Anita Asante early in the game to an apparent knee injury and she was replaced by Abbie McManus, who earned her first cap.
The SheBelieves Cup continues on Sunday, March 4 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. as the USA takes on France (Noon ET on ESPN2) followed by England against Germany (3 p.m. on ESPN3). The final pair of games takes place on Wednesday, March 7 in Orlando, Fla., when Germany plays France at (4 p.m. ET ESPN3) followed by the USA vs. England (7 p.m. ET on ESPN2).
2018 SheBelieves Cup Standings
|
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts. |
|
England |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
+3 |
3 |
|
United States |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Germany |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
France |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
-3 |
0 |
– 2018 SheBelieves Cup Match Report –
Match: England Women’s National Team vs. France Women’s National Team
Date: March 1, 2018
Competition: SheBelieves Cup
Venue: MAPFRE Stadium; Columbus, Ohio
Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
Attendance: 7,566
Weather: 58 degrees; rainy, windy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
ENG 3 1 4
FRA 0 1 1
ENG – Toni Duggan (Fran Kirby) 7th minute
ENG – Jill Scott (Lucy Bronze) 28
ENG – Jodie Taylor (Nikita Parris) 39
ENG – Fran Kirby (Jill Scott) 46
FRA – Gaëtane Thiney 77
Lineups:
ENG: 1-Karen Bardsley (21-Carly Telford, 83); 2-Lucy Bronze (capt.), 5-Anita Asante (15-Abbie McManus, 14), 6-Millie Bright, 3-Demi Stokes (14-Alex Greenwood, 87); 7-Nikita Parris (19-Mel Lawley, 61), 8-Jill Scott, 22-Keira Walsh, 10-Fran Kirby (16-Izzy Christiansen, 71); 9-Jodie Taylor, 11-Toni Duggan (18-Ellen White, 71)
Substitutes: 13-Siobhan Chamberlain, 4-Fara Williams, 12-Hannah Blundell, 17-Rachel Daly, 20-Georgia Stanway, 23-Gabby George
Head Coach: Phil Neville
FRA: 1-Karima Benameur, 3-Eve Perisset, 19-Griedge Mbock Bathy, 4-Laura Georges, 22-Sakina Karchaoui; 10-Aminata Diallo; 9-Eugénie Le Sommer, 14-Faustine Robert (12-Gaëtane Thiney, 61), 6-Amandine Henry (capt.), 20-Kadidiatou Diani (18-Viviane Asseyi, 61), 11-Ouleymata Sarr (13-Valérie Gauvin, 74)
Substitutes: 16-Sarah Bouhaddi, 21-Solène Durand, 2-Aïssatou Tounkara, 5-Estelle Cascarino, 7-Amel Majri, 8-Maeva Clemaron, 15-Marie-Charlotte Leger, 17-Marion Torrent, 23-Grace Geyoro
Head Coach: Corinne Diacre
Stats Summary: ENG / FRA
Shots: 10 / 12
Shots on Goal: 6 / 1
Saves: 0 / 2
Corner Kicks: 4 / 3
Fouls: 10 / 5
Offside: 4 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
ENG – Millie Bright (caution) 52nd minute
Officials:
Referee: Christina Unkel (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Jennifer Garner (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Alicia Messer (USA)
4th Official: Karen Abt (USA)