England is on a tear, with the Women’s Euro hosts charging to a 5-0 win over Northern Ireland to finish off the tournament’s group stage on a high.
Friday’s shutout comes after England thumped Norway 8-0 and shut out Australia 1-0. The team’s 14 goals set a Euros record for the most scored in the competition’s group stage.
With its clean sheet, England is just the second team in Euros history to exit the group stage having conceded no goals.
A sublime finish from Fran Kirby gives England the lead over Norther Ireland 💫 pic.twitter.com/iMEoPXSQoL— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 15, 2022
A sublime finish from Fran Kirby gives England the lead over Norther Ireland 💫 pic.twitter.com/iMEoPXSQoL
Fran Kirby opened up scoring for England with a long-range banger in the 40th minute, energizing her side. Four minutes later, Beth Meade followed up Kirby’s rocket to double England’s lead. Alessia Russo added a pair of goals to England’s tally, with an own goal bringing the scoresheet to 5-0.
England played without manager Sarina Wiegman, who tested positive for Covid-19, with assistant Arjan Veurink leading from the bench for Friday’s matchup.
“At the end the team performance showed that whatever is going on, we have lots of quality,” Veurink said. “They were calm and they were relaxed and, although Sarina isn’t here, they reacted really well and I’m really happy with the team performance.”
England will look to continue its hot streak in Wednesday’s Euros quarterfinal.