England Women 3-4 Germany Women: Lionesses' defence collapses in seven-goal thriller at Wembley

15 October 2024, 10:59 | Updated: 25 October 2024, 23:11

England collapsed defensively to concede three times inside the opening 30 minutes and couldn’t recover despite launching a valiant comeback in an epic 4-3 defeat to Germany at Wembley.

Germany, under new manager Christian Wuck, exacted revenge in the first meeting between the two sides since the Lionesses' Euro 2022 final victory by clinically picking apart Sarina Wiegman's back four.

"It gave us so much information and it shows us exactly what we need to do better and also the challenges tactically," said Wiegman after a poor start to their Euro 2025 preparations. "That started with losing the ball, and we wanted to press high, and in moments we didn't get the press right, then they are really powerful and they're good in a counter-attack so that exploited us."

As it happened: How England lost a thriller
How the teams lined up | Match stats
England Women fixtures

England's problems started in only the second minute when captain Leah Williamson's loose pass allowed Giovanna Hoffmann to play in Klara Buhl, who was brought down in the area by Millie Bright which left Giulia Gwinn to slot home the spot-kick.

Gwinn netted her second in only the 11th minute by firing in off the left post, in between Alessia Russo having an instant equaliser ruled out for offside and then striking the woodwork.

Germany's effective press in a 4-4-2 formation allowed Buhl to hammer in a third at Hampton's near post to put the visitors into dreamland and leave Wembley stunned inside the opening half hour.

However, Georgia Stanway quickly snapped them out of it, scoring twice in three minutes. The first was a penalty after Gwinn was punished by VAR for handball and the second an emphatic finish from inside the box.

Ella Toone should have levelled the scores with five minutes left of a thrilling first half, side-footing inches wide of the right post before Hannah Hampton had to tip Linda Dallmann's long-range effort onto the crossbar.

Jule Brand had a fourth ruled out for offside early in the second half as Germany grew stronger, with Brand forcing Hampton to save before Buhl skied a good chance. Eventually the pressure told when Russo conceded a penalty and substitute Sara Dabritz dispatched it.

England, to their credit, never gave up and after Lauren Hemp had a fine solo goal ruled out for offside, Lucy Bronze capitalised on a mistake by goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to set up a grandstand finish - but England could not find an equaliser.

England given reality check as defence exposed

Germany ran riot at Wembley despite facing an England defence with almost 300 caps between them as Sarina Wiegman's tried and trusted were exposed.

Manchester City's in-form left-sided centre-back Alex Greenwood, who instantly showed her impressive passing range as a second-half substitute, watched on from the bench as the rusty Leah Williamson sloppily conceded possession for the opening goal.

England's all-right-footed back four lacked balance, were often too deep with the full-backs out-of-position and were unable to recover to make last-ditch blocks to prevent Germany's second and third.

The Lionesses lacked control and, in truth, they never had any, as Germany overran them in midfield. This was a reality check for Wiegman following a tense and tight Euro qualification campaign.

Tuesday's friendly against South Africa offers a chance for the England boss to properly experiment with the in-form Women's Super League stars who are desperate for a seat on the plane next summer.

Wiegman defends team selection

England manager Sarina Wiegman said:

"I didn't want the result and I wanted us to do a couple of things better and I'm not the only one, the players too. That was disappointing, but I do think that it was a very high-level game, where there were so many challenges for us, but also for them, and that's what we want at this stage."

On whether the team selection was wrong: "That's always easy to say after a game, so if we would have won then I think the question is different. I'm happy with the starting line-up, I'm happy with the team, and what we wanted is also to see other players, which we did, and we know there's a huge competition going on, and that's good for the team."

On whether players got enough opportunities to impress: "Yes, I think so. We're playing Germany, they're an absolute high-level team, and players are knocking on the door, players are competing for minutes. I'm not going to make changes just for the sake of it, I'll start and stop, I want to get ready for the 2nd of July, all the choices are based on that one, and we want to have information."

What's next?

England will now shift their focus to the next friendly against South Africa on October 29.

After that, the international side will next link up in the latter stages of November for friendlies against Emma Hayes' USWNT on November 30 and Switzerland on December 3.