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England 4-0 South Korea: Lionesses cruise to victory in Arnold Clark Cup opener

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Lauren James scores in the 80th minute

England’s defence of their Arnold Clark Cup title got off to the perfect start as they comfortably beat South Korea at Stadium MK.

Chelsea’s Lauren James was a standout performer as she scored her first goal for England in the second half after earlier winning a penalty, which Georgia Stanway coolly fired in for the opener.

England had dominated possession and were cruising in the second half after Chloe Kelly made it 2-0 within 16 seconds of the restart, before Manchester United’s Alessia Russo smartly dinked it past the goalkeeper at the near post.

James’ thumping strike late on sealed victory for the European champions, who won the inaugural Arnold Clark Cup tournament last year.

Sarina Wiegman’s side made light work of South Korea, ranked 15th in the world, and already move to the top of the standings on goal difference after Belgium’s Tessa Wullaert scored a late winner to beat Italy 2-1 in the tournament opener earlier on Thursday.

Victory also extends England’s unbeaten run under Wiegman, going 674 days without defeat – their last coming in April 2021 – as they prepare for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

James impresses as Wiegman experiments

England are heavy favourites to win the competition as the highest-ranked side and Wiegman was able to make several changes to the starting XI without seeing a drop-off in performance.

James, who has been outstanding for Chelsea in the Women’s Super League this season, was given an opportunity to show her creativity and did not disappoint.

Her driving runs in the first half helped open up a stubborn South Korean defence, eventually forcing Jang Sel-gi into a foul to concede the penalty which Stanway made no error in putting away.

The Chelsea forward’s stature grew even more in the second half when she was involved in the build-up to Russo’s goal, switching it across to Alex Greenwood with a burst of pace down the right-hand side, and capped off her performance with a first international goal in the 78th minute.

Wiegman, who was without crucial midfielder Keira Walsh through illness, was able to look at several formations and introduced Manchester City’s Laura Coombs in the second half – her first appearance for England in eight years.

Captain Leah Williamson was also used in midfield and defence, giving a glimpse into Wiegman’s options for the World Cup which kicks off in July.

“I want to try out things. I think this tournament is really a big step in our preparation for the World Cup,” said Wiegman.

“We need to see where we are as a team and where individuals are in this moment. We will figure out more things and do some changes.

“The squad has lots of depth. We have some centre-backs who can play as full-backs and [in] those positions up front is lots of competition. I can’t complain about the depth of this team.

“I don’t like to have headaches but in this case I do.”

England should have scored more – substitute Katie Robinson hit the post from close range, Stanway struck against the crossbar and Russo also hit the woodwork in the first half.

But it was a night which further strengthened England’s momentum, even without injured Euro top scorer Beth Mead and midfielder Walsh.

Pitch conditions were not ideal as there were several occasions where the ball bobbled near the touchline and Wiegman later said it was “unacceptable for this level” – but it did not faze England.

They take on Italy in Coventry next, before ending the tournament in Bristol against Belgium.

Line-ups

England

Formation 4-3-3

1Earps

2Bronze5Bright15Carter3Greenwood

8Stanway6Williamson10Toone

16James9Russo7Kelly

  • 1Earps
  • 2Bronze
  • 5Bright
  • 15CarterSubstituted forZelemat 45′minutes
  • 3GreenwoodSubstituted forCharlesat 64′minutes
  • 8StanwaySubstituted forCoombsat 67′minutes
  • 6Williamson
  • 10Toone
  • 16JamesSubstituted forRobinsonat 81′minutes
  • 9RussoSubstituted forDalyat 64′minutes
  • 7KellySubstituted forHempat 63′minutes

Substitutes

  • 11Hemp
  • 12Daly
  • 13MacIver
  • 14Park
  • 17Salmon
  • 18Zelem
  • 19Charles
  • 20Robinson
  • 21Roebuck
  • 22Wubben-Moy
  • 23Le Tissier
  • 24Nobbs
  • 25Coombs
  • 26Ramsey

South Korea

Formation 3-4-3

18Kim

20Kim3Hong6Lim

2Choo8Kim13Lee16Jang

12Kang7Son11Choe

  • 18KimBooked at 85mins
  • 20Kim
  • 3HongSubstituted forChunat 86′minutes
  • 6Lim
  • 2Choo
  • 8KimSubstituted forParkat 56′minutes
  • 13Lee
  • 16JangBooked at 57mins
  • 12KangSubstituted forShimat 57′minutes
  • 7SonBooked at 8minsSubstituted forJangat 86′minutes
  • 11Choe

Substitutes

  • 1Yoon
  • 4Shim
  • 5Kim
  • 9Park
  • 10Ji
  • 14Jang
  • 15Park
  • 17Jang
  • 19Lee
  • 21Ryu
  • 22Ko
  • 23Lee
  • 24Bae
  • 25Chun
  • 26Kim
Referee:
Andreza de Siqueira

Attendance:
21,013

Match Stats

Live Text

Post update

Match ends, England 4, Korea Republic 0.

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