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Tuesday, December 2, 2025

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England break China with eight-goal blast

England 8 China 0

England delivered a ruthless display of attacking football to dismantle China 8-0 at Wembley Stadium, with Georgia

Stanway’s hat-trick the highlight of the evening for the European champions against their Asian counterparts.

Sarina Wiegman’s side were in irresistible form from the moment they found their rhythm, scoring five times in a blistering

first half spell before adding three more after the break in what proved a perfect 50th victory for the Dutch coach in charge of the Lionesses but, in truth, the match turned out to be something of a one-sided farce from the early stages with England far too strong for their opponents.

Beth Mead struck twice in the space of two minutes to set the tone, before Lauren Hemp and Stanway took centre stage in an eleven minute flurry. Stanway’s calmly taken penalty completed a five goal salvo before half time, and the Bayern Munich midfielder returned after the interval to complete her treble – becoming only the third England woman to score a hat-trick at the national stadium.

Debutant goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse enjoyed a relatively quiet introduction despite China starting brightly, dealing comfortably with an early corner before England exploded into life.

England repeatedly exploited the right flank, and the opener arrived in the 12th minute when Stanway and Lucy Bronze combined brilliantly to free Mead, who took a fine first touch before slotting home. Just two minutes later, Mead had her second. Hemp’s exquisite diagonal pass picked out Ella Toone on the left, and the Manchester United forward squared for Mead to tap in from close range.

Hemp then turned scorer herself, latching onto Alessia Russo’s pass, cutting inside and firing beyond Pan Hongyan to make it 3-0 with only 19 minutes played. Stanway grabbed the fourth four minutes later, volleying home after Hemp had robbed Li Mengwen and seen her cross parried into the midfielder’s path.

The onslaught continued when Li handled in the box and Stanway confidently sent Pan the wrong way from the spot to send England 5-0 up at the interval.

Wiegman withdrew Mead at the break to preserve her after a blistering return from injury, but there was no stopping Stanway on the night. Neatly played in by Toone, the 26-year-old coolly slotted home her third on 54 minutes.

China briefly threatened through substitute Zhang Linyan, but England remained in complete control. Toone got the goal her performance deserved in the 71st minute when Pan slipped under pressure from Russo, allowing the midfielder to stroke into an empty net.

Russo then rounded off the scoring with a trademark slide-rule finish from Toone’s third assist of the night, ensuring the Lionesses cruised to an easy victory.

Moorhouse was finally called into meaningful action late on, comfortably dealing with Zhang’s chipped effort and a tame shot from Tang Jiali to preserve a debut clean sheet.

England: Anna Moorhouse, Lucy Bronze (sub Taylor Hinds 75mins), Niamh Charles, Keira Walsh (sub Lucia Kendall 68mins), Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan (sub Lotte Wubben-Moy 45mins), Beth Mead (sub Jess Park 45mins), Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo (sub Aggie Beever-Jones 85mins), Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp (sub Chloe Kelly 45mins). Subs not used: Sophie Baggaley, Ellie Roebuck, Missy Bo Kearns, Laura Blindkilde Brown, Grace Clinton, Anouk Denton, Grace Fisk, Freya Godfrey.  

China: Pan Hongyan, Dou Jiaxing, Wang Linlin, Wu Haiyan, Yao Wei (sub Shen Mengyu 90mins), Wang Yanwen, Li Mengwen (sub Lyu Yatong 90mins), Shao Ziqin (sub Tang Jiali 67mins), Chen Qiaozhu, Wang Aifang (sub Zhang Rui 67mins), Wuri Gumula (sub Zhang Linyan 45mins). Subs not used: Zhu Yu, Zhu Mengdi, Zhang Xin, Huo Yuexin, Sun Fangxin, Liu Jing, Zhao Yujie, Liu Yanqiu, Wu Chengshu.