England deliver emphatic but untested send-off win against Jamaica
The Lionesses secured a 7-0 victory in their final game before Euro 2025
At the King Power Stadium
England delivered a straightforward 7-0 win against Jamaica in their Euro 2025 send-off game at the King Power Stadium in Leicester on Sunday night.
Sarina Wiegman’s side unsurprisingly dominated the 40th-ranked team in the world, with an Ella Toone brace and Lucy Bronze header coming in the first 45. Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo, Aggie Beever-Jones and Beth Mead added four more in the second half.
Despite the clean sheet, one nervous moment for the Lionesses came not long after Toone’s opener in the 10th minute.
Jamaica briefly thought they had scored an equaliser when Kayla McKenna’s shot from a well-worked short corner trickled past Hannah Hampton. The goal was ruled out for offside when the VAR found that McKenna’s teammate Kiki Van Zanten was standing in front of Hampton in an offside position.
Regardless of the goal not standing, it’s a warning sign for England who have shown a lack of discipline from set pieces in the past.
In the end. The game played out much as you would expect for an England side hoping to defend their European crown.
The midlands crowd were treated to a special moment at full-time with every England player getting an individual send off before the squad heads to Switzerland on Monday.
Here is The Cutback’s on the whistle breakdown of England 7-0 Jamaica
England takeaways
England had 35 shots in total in this game, 17 of them on target. The fact they only managed to score seven will bring the old accusations that there is a lack of ruthlessness back to the fore. However, there was plenty of creativity on show on Sunday night, so fans shouldn’t be too critical.
Lauren Hemp continued her brilliant form. The winger, who came back from injury at the tail end of the WSL season, has looked fresh and dangerous since returning for England in the Uefa Nations League last month. She was unlucky not to grab a goal in the first half and as always was constantly working to try and make things happen on the ball.
The performance of Jess Carter was a particular highlight. She was one of only five players to play the full 90 minutes (along with Hampton, Leah Williamson, Stanway, and Mead). Her place in the starting line up indicates that Wiegman will be preferring the Gotham defender to Niamh Charles at left-back. Her speed makes her a huge asset to this side, especially given Alex Greenwood and Leah Williamson lack pace.
We saw Carter called into action a few times and forced to cover ground after England lost possession higher up the pitch. She’ll likely be doing that a lot in Switzerland. There was also a rare assist for the full-back as her pinpoint cross allowed Bronze to head in England’s second.
Positives for Jamaica
As would have been expected, England dominated this game and there were just a handful of opportunities for Jamaica across the 90 minutes. The one chance that did end up in the back of the net was ultimately ruled out for offside.
Jamaica deserve credit for trying to make the most of a set-piece opportunity that came against the run of play when England were leading 1-0 and pushing for more.
England failed to react to Jamaica’s short-corner routine and McKenna managed to squeeze the ball into the back of Hampton’s net.
It resulted in a brief moment of panic and embarrassment for England, but once the goal was chalked off, normal order resumed, with England dominating.
The plaudits have to go to the players, who worked tirelessly even without several key players including Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, Drew Spence, Becky Spencer, Taylor Hinds and Shania Hayles.
It was a humid night in Leicester but Hubert Busby Jr’s side continued to try and win the ball and make something happen with the limited possession they had. Also, a shoutout is needed for the corner of Jamaica fans that also kept the noise going throughout the game.
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There is a question about who will start in the No.10 role for England. Toone was picked there tonight and scored two goals, the first a brilliant top-corner finish. Wiegman has plenty of options and can play Lauren James in that position, when she’s fully fit, while Grace Clinton and Jess Park can also play in that role.
James managed just under 30 minutes as a substitute against Jamaica, her first minutes since she injured her hamstring in England’s win over Belgium in April. She created Alessia Russo’s only goal of the game, hopefully the first of many for the pair this summer.
What’s next?
England head to Switzerland on Monday and begin their final preparations before their Euro 2025 opener against France on 5 July.
It might be a little worrying that they didn’t have a tougher opponent in this final pre-Euros friendly. Spain’s final game before Euro 2025 was a 3-1 win against Japan, while France battled to beat Brazil 3-2.
Wiegman did reference in her pre-match press conference that it was challenging finding a friendly opponent this close to the Euros beginning.
England still showed signs of the same defensive frailties that have lurked throughout Wiegman’s tenure. There were brief moments in the first half when England lost the ball and were left chasing a Jamaica counter-attacking opportunity. Jess Carter eventually came and rescued her teammates but it’s an issue that has caused problems in the past. England look vulnerable in transition especially as Keira Walsh, Greenwood and Williamson lack speed.
Now it’s full steam ahead to Switzerland.