Thanks for your company. Here is Suzanne Wrack’s report.
Mead: “I am enjoying my football right now and obviously I am showing that on the pitch.”
On first goal: “Lauren did all the hard work, I was just in the right place.”
On performance: “We didn’t play well in the first half: we were sleepy and sloppy on the ball.
“These games are for learning but winning them is great going into the Euros.”
The minor negatives for Wiegman will come from Beth England’s lack of involvement as a central striker, in addition to the mistake that led to the opener and Greenwood’s poor challenge to give away the penalty.
Full time: England 5-1 Netherlands
No one saw this result coming when Spitse was at the start of her run-up before her missed penalty. England’s subs and tactical tweak in midfield completely changed the face of the match. The Dutch were unable to cope with the attacking prowess of Hemp, Mead and Toone but everyone played their part in the second half. Wiegman will be very pleased with the reaction from her team and the clinical finishing against a decent Dutch side.
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90+2 mins: We halfway through injury time.
GOAL! England 5-1 Netherlands (Mead, 90)
England have a few chances to make it five but it is Mead who does the honours with a shimmy before finding the corner from eight yards.
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88 mins: Mead swings in a free-kick from the left but it is cleared after bouncing around for a moment.
86 mins: England are still putting in the hard yards and Netherlands cannot get out of their half.
84 mins: Jansen loses a battle with Bronze and is caught above the eye by the England’s player’s boot by accident. Looks like she might need a little bit of treatment.
82 mins: Hemp has done her bit and is wrapped up in cotton wool to allow Parris a few minutes to terrorise the Dutch down the left.
80 mins: This is the first time England have gone behind in the Wiegman era and they have shown they can react, which is good.
78 mins: The team in orange is playing total football. On this occasion, however, that team is England.
76 mins: What a difference half an hour makes. England have gone from struggling to create chances to peppering the Dutch goal.
GOAL! England 4-1 Netherlands (Hemp, 74)
Hemp, arguably England’s best player, sends a first-time volley into the corner after some underwhelming Dutch defending.
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GOAL! England 3-1 Netherlands (Toone, 72)
The changes have done a lot of good for England, providing plenty of pace and energy to a flat team. Toone collects a pass from Hemp, cuts inside and curls the ball towards the back post. There is not much pace on the shot but Van Veenendaal misjudges it and lets it through her hands and into the corner. What a howler.
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70 mins: Walsh instigates an attack from the edge of her own box, dribbling beyond a couple of Dutch players. The ball eventually reaches Russo in the box, she twists and turns but her shot is deflected wide.
68 mins: Leeds fan Daly roams from left-back to collect the ball in midfield, she plays a quick one-two and lets fly from 30 yards - in hope of scoring at Elland Road - but it goes well over.
Moments later, Hemp almost recreates the second goal with a fine cross to the back post which Mead nudges towards goal but Van Veenendaal blocks and clears before Russo can slide in to score.
66 mins: Netherlands gift the ball back to England in their defensive third, Hemp takes control of it but her cross is a poor one and goes out for a goal-kick.
64 mins: There is a Mexican wave ...
62 mins: The Dutch seem to have given up on the press - they must be tired. Miedema is on, so is Brugts.
Stanway, Russo and Toone join the party for England. Greenwood, England and Kirby off.
59 mins: England are looking more confident going forward now; the passing is quicker and the ideas are more inventive. Kirby and Hemp combine to create a couple of chances in the box, culminating with Mead’s shot being blocked.
57 mins: Netherlands get two corners in quick succession but Beth England and then Earps do their bit to limit the danger.
55 mins: That was a silly minute or so. Spitse is still frustrated and takes it out on Kirby by bringing her down.
GOAL! England 2-1 Netherlands (Mead, 53)
Ninety seconds after the missed penalty, England have the lead. Hemp races down the left and sends in a perfect cross to the back post for Mead to sidefoot home from close range.
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Missed penalty! England 1-1 Netherlands
52 mins: On her 200th cap, Spitse steps up and sends the ball wide to Earps’ left.
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50 mins: Penalty to Netherlands.
49 mins: Greenwood cleans out Van de Donk in the box but the referee gives nothing. It looks like a penalty ... and VAR must be about to overturn the decision.
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47 mins: Hemp drives inside from the left and takes aim but her shot is deflected into the path of Mead; the sub tries to control the ball on her thigh, only to see it bounce out for a goal-kick.
Van de Donk and Dijkstra are on for Netherlands.
Second half
Here we go again!
Beth Mead is on for England in place of Kelly for England.
Will England look to make a change up top? England has had no service all night and struggled in the central role, replacing White who has Covid. How can Wiegman change it?
I suspect most of the second-half updates will be relating to substitutions.
I don’t think she meant this ...
Cross or shot? We don't care! ⚽️
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) June 24, 2022
👏 @LucyBronze pic.twitter.com/u3opracBnq
Half time: England 1-1 Netherlands
I am not sure Wiegman has learned too much from the opening 45 minutes. Kirby has looked bright behind the striker when she has got on the ball and playing out from the back against a team who can press isn’t very successful. England are lucky to be level thanks to Bronze’s fluke. I suspect we will see changes soon.
45 mins: Two minutes added on.
44 mins: Van Veenendaal controls a back pass poorly on her own goal-line to excite the crowd but she recovers the situation without a fuss. The half slowing down heading into the break.
42 mins: Bright gives Beerensteyn a push in the back near the halfway line to ensure the Dutch can’t counter.
40 mins: I am not sure Beth England has had a touch yet ...
38 mins: Martens is on the deck holding her ankle. She will not want to risk anything so close to the Euros.
36 mins: Spitse takes a wonderful first touch, then sprays the ball out for Martens to cross into Beerensteyn but her flick is blocked. The Dutch look like they have a plan when they get the ball in the final third, unlike England.
34 mins: Hemp has her first run down the left but her cross is walloped clear.
GOAL! England 1-1 Netherlands (Bronze, 32)
Bronze rampages down the right to collect a Kirby pass, she gets the ball out of her feet and clips a cross to the back post, which lands in the top corner after deceiving everyone, including the goalkeeper.
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30 mins: Kirby is cleaned out on the edge of the area by Nouwen, who is booked for her troubles. Greenwood lines it up and takes aim for the bottom corner but her shot lacks power and Van Veenendaal gets down well to save and holds on.
Bronze lines up a cross from deep from the right but she pings it straight out for a goal-kick. Sums up England so far.
28 mins: England, despite having plenty of the ball in the final third, are struggling to create good chances. It does not help when Greenwood decides to partake in a dreadful short corner routine, which results in the ball being cleared for a throw-in.
26 mins: England are trying to play out from the back and it does not seem particularly worthwhile at the moment. It just putting them under undue pressure with little reward.
24 mins: England are almost punished again as Beerensteyn is left alone down the middle, she latches onto a pass but Daly hunts her down just in time to clear for another corner. Spitse curls it in from the left and England fails to deal with it but no one in a white shirt can get a touch on it either.
GOAL! England 0-1 Netherlands (Martens, 22)
England are trying to play out from the back and the Dutch are looking to press them. Bright takes took long on the ball inside her own area, before playing a poor pass which is intercepted. England do manage to put it out for a corner but they fail to do with it as Martens heads Spitse’s cross across Earps into the corner.
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20 mins: Earps needs treatment after getting clattered coming out to punch the ball. She seems OK after a chat with the medical staff. We go again.
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18 mins: Greenwood fails to control a strong Bronze pass, allowing Beerensteyn to gain possession but she can only send it out for a throw-in.
Netherlands come back at England as Roord’s shot is deflected on a couple of occasions on its way to Beerensteyn on the edge of the six-yard box, she turns a couple of times to create space but Earps makes herself big and repels the shot.
16 mins: Bright ends a Dutch attack prematurely. The respond by knocking it around at the back to pass the time. Not much speed to the Dutch game currently.
14 mins: Beerensteyn goes down in the box and complains the firection of the referee. We do have VAR today but no one seems interested.
Down the other end, the Dutch mess about at the back and Hemp senses an opportunity - she closes down Van Veenendaal who whacks her clearance against the forward but the ball bounces just wide.
12 mins: Kirby whips a free-kick into the box from deep, it finds Greenwood on the edge, she heads towards goal and England but her outstretched leg fails to connect.
10 mins: Nouwen decides to dribble out from the back and keeps going until she is dispossessed by Kelly, causing panic for the Dutch but her teammates sweep up her mess.
8 mins: A short backpass is chased by England but Van Veenendaal is out quickly to whack clear before any danger can be done.
6 mins: Daly pings the ball down the middle, it interests England (the striker) but she cannot get a touch and Van Veenendaal comes out to claim. England (the team) are very much on top at the moment and enjoying the majority of the possession.
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4 mins: Daly is spun on the halfway line and pulls down her opponent to give away a free-kick. She will be test down that side today, that’s for sure.
2 mins: England have started brightly in Leeds. Kirby finds space on a couple of occasions inside Kelly. She puts in two dangerous crosses - the second flies wide of Hemp’s head.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
Netherlands are in white shirts and blues shorts, while England are in all orange. What a ludicrous situation.
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Sweet Caroline is being played ...
My neighbours are Dutch, so it really is a huge night for the street. Could get pretty tasty later on depending on the result.
Mark Parsons says he is the ultimate respect for Sarina Wiegman who he replaced at Netherlands. He believes six teams can win the Euros - England and Netherlands are in that category.
Wiegman hopes the fans can be the team’s “12th woman or man” throughout the Euros and speaks about the need for momentum during the tournament.
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Lucy Bronze on her move to Barcelona and much more.
Daly gets the nod at left-back today. The Leeds fan will be eager to impress in a position she is not accustomed to, although Daly is known for her versatility.
“I have never actually played at Elland Road, which is weird because I played at Leeds for a long time and I’m a die-hard fan,” Daly said.
Pre-match reading.
Fran Kirby starts for England which is very good news for her and the team. Her severe fatigue has resulted in missing a lot of Chelsea games this season and there was uncertainty over her place in the squad for the Euros. It will be interesting to see how she will do. In the tournament she could be very useful coming off the bench to break the lines, so the more minutes Kirby can get under the belt, the better.
Starting lineups
England (4-2-3-1): Earps; Bronze, Bright, Greenwood, Daly; Walsh, Williamson; Kelly, Kirby, Hemp; England.
Subs: Stokes, Hampton, Stanway, Toone, Wubben-Moy, Mead, Parris, Russo, Scott, Roebuck, Carter.
Netherlands (4-3-3): Van Veenendaal; Wilms, Van der Gragt, Nouwen, D. Janseen; Groenen, Spitse, Pelova; Roord, Martens, Beerensteyn
Subs: Lorsheyd, Brugts, Damaris, Olislagers, Casparu, Leuchter, Van Domselaar, Dukstra, R. Jansen, Van de Donk, Miedema, Van Dongen
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Preamble
We are two weeks away from the European Championship opener at Old Trafford where England will face Austria. In the meantime, Sarina Wiegman has a couple of occasions to fine tune her side before the pressure is really on.
The latest friendly opponents are the Netherlands, a side Wiegman knows well having led them to 2017 Euros glory. England are second favourites to win the tournament with the bookies, while Netherlands are fourth. It will be a big test for England tonight and a win would be a huge confident boost for the hosts.
In the opposite dugout to Wiegman at Elland Road is Mark Parsons, an Englishman who previously managed Chelsea Women reserves. He spent six years in America and even a week shadowing Erik Ten Hag so he has plenty of experience in his back pocket.
It will be interesting to see how Wiegman sets up today due to the closeness of the tournament. The left-back decision could be a key one with a few options available for the defensively-minded Wiegman.
Let’s hope for a fun game!
Kick-off: 8pm BST
