England suffered defeat by Germany as the teams that contested the Euro 2022 final at Wembley returned to the same stage and delivered a seven-goal friendly thriller.
It was a chaotic evening in north London as England failed to control the game and fell 3-0 down within half an hour.
Germany captain Giulia Gwinn scored twice, once from the penalty spot, before Klara Buhl added a third, stunning the Lionesses on home soil.
But Sarina Wiegman’s side responded when Georgia Stanway’s quick-fire double narrowed the deficit, and they could have added more with Alessia Russo striking the outside of the post and having a goal disallowed for offside in the build-up.
However, there could be no serious complaints with the scoreline at half-time as England’s defence was carved apart countless times and duly punished.
Germany were equally as poor in defence but England were not able to capitalise as they conceded a fourth goal in the second half, when Russo was harshly penalised for a challenge in her own area and Sara Dabritz scored from the resulting spot-kick.
Lucy Bronze was able to poke in a third for England after goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger spilled a free-kick delivery.
However, the home side – dramatic 2-1 winners in that final two years ago – could not find a late equaliser.
The woodwork was hit twice and there were three disallowed goals in total – two for England, one for Germany – as fans were treated to an immense spectacle.
However, it was a match which exposed England’s weaknesses, confirming they have a lot of work to do if they want to defend their European crown next summer.
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