April 12 – World Cup joint hosts Australia upset England’s women 2-0 in a friendly at Brentford on Tuesday to end the Lionesses’ 30-match unbeaten streak.
Sam Kerr, who plays for nearby Chelsea in the English Super League, gave the injury-hit Matildas a first-half lead and Charlotte Grant added the second after the break.
For the European champions, who beat Brazil on penalties to win the inaugural women’s Finalissima at Wembley last week, it was the final warm-up game before the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. The Lionesses begin their campaign against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22.
“It doesn’t feel great. A big learning game against a very physical and well-organised Australian side,” said coach Sarina Wiegman after her first defeat as England coach 100 days before the start of the World Cup. “We made some mistakes.”
“In possession we were too slow. You need dynamic movement to stretch them, we didn’t do that well enough. We have to improve to be at our best at the World Cup. Every game is for learning, and this is a big one.”
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