Agyemang's injury deflates Bronze birthday celebrations

A chorus of Happy Birthday echoed around Pride Park after England's Euro 2025 warrior Lucy Bronze had fired in England's second against Australia, but the party mood was marred by a nasty looking knee injury to a distraught Michelle Agyemang.

- Suzanne Wrack

It was better from the Lionesses in Derby, a more structured and controlled performance than the one on display in the 2-1 loss to Brazil on Saturday night, Aggie Beever-Jones and Georgia Stanway scoring either side of Bronze’s effort. Whether that was the change in personnel and positions, or just that the cobwebs needed to be shaken off in the first fixture since their big win in Switzerland before things started to click into place is hard to say.

Either way, there were many positives to take from the 3-0 win over the side they knocked out of the World Cup in 2023 at the semifinal stage. Agyemang’s injury was the sour note as both teams ended up with 10 players on the pitch.

Australia’s Alanna Kennedy was sent off shortly before England’s first goal and Beever-Jones needed to come off after England had used up all their substitutions.

It had been expected that Sarina Wiegman would shuffle her pack a little and she did. Debuts were handed to Lucia Kendall and Taylor Hinds, Beever-Jones started on the left alongside Alessia Russo and Beth Mead, while goalkeeper Hannah Hampton returned to the starting XI having shaken off her elbow issue.