PRIDE PARK, 28 OCT – A last-minute penalty for England in Tuesday’s international friendly against Australia saw midfielder Georgia Stanway seal the dominant 3-0 victory. After VAR awarded a penalty for Katrina Gorry’s foul, Stanway coolly slotted the spot-kick to the bottom right corner in added time to cement the win for the Lionesses.
After Australian midfielder Alanna Kennedy was red-carded in the 19th minute for fouling Alessia Russo, the Women’s Young Player of the Year, Aggie Beever-Jones, powerfully struck an ensuing free kick into the top right corner, putting England ahead 1-0.
In a pre-match interview, England manager Sarina Weigman reflected on her side’s loss against Brazil three days prior for ITV.
“This is a different game and we want to improve in every single game,” said Wiegman. “We have to be much tighter on the ball in their press and be quicker in decisions and execute that better.”
To extend the lead and having already assisted Beever-Jones earlier in the first half, veteran English right-back Lucy Bronze slotted the ball past Mackenzie Arnold in the 41st minute for her 130th cap which extended England’s lead to 2-0.
England took full control of the match, commanding the vast majority of possession in the first half and continuously testing Matildas’ reshuffled defence.
Joe Montemurro, freshly appointed Matildas head coach as of this June, spoke to ITV about his team’s identity.
“We’re resilient, we don’t give up, we don’t take getting bullied,” said Montemurro. “Modern teams have to have the ball, and if you can control the game with and without the ball that’s an important thing, so we’re trying to instill those ideas.”
After a sustained period of pressure from the Lionesses, including a free kick from Taylor Hinds in the 55th minute, Australia’s defence remained resolute with a wave of tactical substitutions.
At the final whistle, the changes for Matildas were simply not enough against England and not a single goal could be formulated for the Tilly’s.
“It was really nice to get back in the shirt,” said Beever-Jones. “It was a great performance today and hopefully we can take some good takeaways from it and get ready for the next camp.”
The 2025 Euro’s Champions welcome AFC Women’s Asian Cup winners China to Wembley on Saturday, November 29th, as the Lionesses seek to continue their strong run of form against the Asian powerhouse in this friendly.
