MY ACCOUNT
England lifted the inaugural Finalissima as they beat Brazil 4-2 on penalties at Wembley after a 1-1 draw.
Chloe Kelly was the hero once again as her penalty won the final in dramatic fashion.
The game had to be decided by penalties as Ella Toone’s wonderfully-worked goal in the 23rd minute was cancelled out by Andressa Alves’ dramatic injury-time equaliser.
The victory means it is now 30 unbeaten games under Sarina Wiegman and she now has two trophies to show for it.
Statement
England have their eyes firmly on the World Cup in July and results like this only strengthen their case to win the tournament.
The Lionesses have proven they can beat anyone in Europe but they have now shown they can beat nations from across the globe.
It was a great test for England, especially after conceding in the last minute and it was the first time the Lionesses have ever won a penalty shoot-out.
Lifting another trophy will only breed success and a winning culture around the squad — it was a fantastic night for Wiegman.
Dramatic penalties
The penalty shoot-out was very dramatic and tense with both sides missing but it was England who came out on top.
Toone missed England’s second penalty but the Lionesses scored every other one possible to secure the trophy.
Earps made a great save in the shootout and she will take great confidence from this night going into the World Cup.
The whole squad will learn a lot by winning in this fashion as highly-pressured situations like this will certainly come up in the summer.
Total football
England’s first goal was a fantastic team move that showed Wiegman’s attacking patterns in full flow.
The Lionesses opened up Brazil down the right with some incisive and confident one touch passing between Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway.
Bronze eventually cut the ball back to Toone who put the ball in the back of the net.
It showed England’s ability to cut through defensive structures — a trait that will only bode well going into the World Cup in the summer.
James spark
Lauren James is emerging as one of the brightest talents in the world and tonight was another reminder as to why.
She started on the right-hand side but shifted to a variety of pockets across the pitch which Brazil really struggled to cope with.
The 21-year-old’s technical ability is really impressive — it allows her to receive the ball in multiple different areas.
The Chelsea forward seems to have come into Wiegman’s plans at the perfect time.
Brazil threat pays off
Brazil did not offer much in the first-half but they asked a lot more questions of the England rearguard after the break.
They made a couple of attacking changes as Alves and Adriana came on for Lauren and Beatriz.
As a reward for their second-half efforts, Alves dramatically thumped home to send the game to penalties.
