England 2-1 Italy: Player ratings as Daly double inspires Lionesses win
England already have one hand on the Arnold Clark Cup again following Sunday’s 2-1 win over Italy in Coventry, successfully building on their victory over South Korea with only Belgium now left to play in the tournament.
Rachel Daly scored two excellent headers either side of an Italy equaliser from Sofia Cantore that had a degree of controversy about it – not that it mattered from an England perspective in the end.
Sarina Wiegman made good on her promises to experiment, not only in terms of rotation but also using players in different positions than they have performing at club level this season – Jess Park lined up in midfield, with Maya Le Tissier at right-back.
The Lionesses dominated the ball from the very start, with Italy always expected to try and soak up pressure and then counter attack should the opportunity arise. That was exactly what happened when Le Azzurre broke at speed only five minutes into the game and Valentina Giacinti’s powerful shot from right was well parried at the near post by Ellie Roebuck.
In the opposite goal, Laura Giuliani denied Daly a couple of times soon after. But it was clear that England were initially struggling to create from midfield, with Italy suppressing the influence of Keira Walsh to good effect and forcing the hosts to go out wide and more direct.
Brighton youngster Katie Robinson impressed on the wings, as did the more established but still only 22-year-old Lauren Hemp – both interchanged sporadically. It was from Robinson’s cross from the right that England took the lead, the ball into a great area confidently headed in by Daly.
The goal advantage seemed to eradicate England’s earlier issues, giving the reigning European champions a greater degree of confidence and control. There was still time for Daly to head against the bar before half-time, although an offside flag ensured it wouldn’t have counted.
Where Walsh had been suffocated by Italy in the opening 45 minutes, half-time substitute Katie Zelem threatened to make an immediate impact against some of her ex-Juventus teammates. Her through ball set Robinson free on the right, with Daly just failing to convert in the box.
Fellow sub Jordan Nobbs had a pair of chances soon after. Her first attempt came when her own cross lacked conviction and rebounded to her, with the shot then smothered by Giuliani. The second was much better from the edge of the penalty area and forced another fine save.
England had been playing more freely since half-time, which made the Italy equaliser after an hour all the more surprising. Roebuck should have done better to keep it out, but the controversy came as the ball looked to have gone out of play as Barbara Bonansea crossed for Cantore to head in, with it also not clear whether the ball had crossed the goal-line before Alex Greenwood hooked clear. Once the referee awarded it, no goal-line and no VAR meant the goal stood.
From Zelem’s corner, an unmarked Daly missed a glorious chance from only six yards out to quickly restore England’s lead, failing to hit the target. Moments later, she made far easier work of a much more difficult chance, getting across her marker and rising highest to meet Lauren James’ cross.
Having taken the lead for the second time, England were able to close it out in the final 20 minutes. At that point, the rhythm of the game was also disrupted by further substitutions by both sides.
England player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Ellie Roebuck - 5/10 - Had to make a good early save to stop Italy taking a surprise lead. Not massively busy and will be disappointed not to keep out Italy's equaliser.
RB: Maya Le Tissier - 6/10 - Has spent the club season at centre-back but played this position at former side Brighton and showed plenty of promise.
CB: Jess Carter - 6/10 - Most of the game was played in front of her because of Italy's low block and countering style.
CB: Alex Greenwood - 6/10 - Threatened to be caught out by an early Italy break, but good with the ball at her feet as always.
LB: Niamh Charles - 6/10 - A commendable performance on the left. Defensively solid.
CM: Laura Coombs - 5/10 - Quiet on her first senior international start.
CM: Keira Walsh - 5/10 - Italy targeted the Barcelona midfielder with their tactics to ensure she couldn't dictate the game. Didn't reappear for the second half.
CM: Jess Park - 6/10 - Took on a surprising central midfield role with real maturity and gave it her best on both sides of the ball.
RW: Lauren Hemp - 7/10 - Posed a threat to Italy, especially because of England's early difficulties playing through the middle.
ST: Rachel Daly - 9/10 - Pleasing to see her up front at international level, rather than at left-back, and scored two classic 'number nine' goals to power England to victory.
LW: Katie Robinson - 8/10 - Swapped between the flanks with Hemp and looked sharp, energetic and keen to impress. A fine cross for Daly's first half breakthrough. Made other chances.
Substitutes
SUB: Jordan Nobbs (46' for Park) - 7/10
SUB: Katie Zelem (46' for Walsh) - 8/10
SUB: Lotte Wubben-Moy (63' for Greenwood) - 8/10
SUB: Lauren James (63' for Robinson) - 7/10
SUB: Chloe Kelly (63' for Hemp) - 7/10
SUB: Ebony Salmon (81' for Daly) - 6/10
Manager
Sarina Wiegman - 8/10 - Made clear before the tournament that this was an opportunity to experiment and followed through with that here. Had to come up with a way to bypass Italy's stragehold on the England midfield and found one. All the subs made a valuable impact.