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Sloppy England lose seven-goal thriller

England 3 (Stanway pen 33,36, Bronze 81)  

Germany 4 (Gwinn pen 4,11, Bühl 29, Dabritz 72)  

A Georgia Stanway double was not enough to prevent England from losing 4-3 to Germany in an end-to-end game at Wembley.

It was a difficult night defensively overall for England as they struggled to contain a lively German forward line which could have scored more than the

four occasions they found the net in an extraordinary match.

Germany broke the deadlock after just four minutes of play when they were awarded a penalty from Millie Bright's foul on Linda Dallmann. Giulia Gwinn made no mistake from the spot, scoring emphatically past Hannah Hampton despite the england goalkeeper guessing correctly.

It was not long before Gwinn added a second, firing home in the 11th minute to double Germany’s lead with a strike from the edge of the area after being found by Klara Buhl.

England started to make more in-roads into Germany's half and came close to scoring themselves when Alessia Russo's low 20-yard strike hit the woodwork. Russo and Bright both headed wide but England were at sixes and sevens in defence and were forced into evasive action down the other end of the pitch and the Lionesses counted their blessings when an alert Hampton expertly cleared her lines.

But it would not be long before Germany would find the net for a third time as the home side’s lack of pace at the back was again exposed, with Bühl finishing off a ruthless counter attacking move in the 29th minute from Giovanna Hoffmann’s pass.

Yet the Lionesses would soon strike, with Georgia Stanway converting from the spot after Gwinn's hand had met Lauren Hemp's low cross.

Spurred on by a vociferous Wembley crowd, England promptly found a second, with Stanway clinching her brace after being put through by Beth Mead and powerfully firing past Berger once more to finish off some excellent combination play.

England even came close to completing a stunning turnaround, only for Ella Toone's effort to narrowly fly past the post but Germany continued to look dangerous every time they attacked and they almost had a fourth as Leah Williamson blocked Bühl's cross into Hampton's hands. The last action of the half then saw Hampton deny Linda Dallman's long range drive by tipping over the bar.  

Germany found the net minutes after the restart, only for it to be ruled out for offside before Hampton brilliantly denied Jule Brand's close range strike. But with the pressure mounting, Germany grabbed their fourth with just under twenty minutes left in the second half when substitute Dabritz converted from the spot after Russo was adjudged - somewhat harshly - to have caught Pia-Sophie Wolter when trying to block.

Hemp appeared to have pulled one back for the Lionesses in the 77th minute, only for her clinical finish to be flagged for offside. Four minutes later though, Lucy Bronze did narrow the visitors’ lead, prodding the loose ball home after Berger had uncharacteristically fumbled a free kick under no pressure.

Alex Greenwood manager to clear a goalbound strike from Selina Cerci's, before England pressed in search of an equaliser in the dying minutes but Germany would prove to be deserved victors.  

England: Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze (sub Maya Le Tissier 81mins), Jess Carter, Keira Walsh, Millie Bright, Leah Williamson (sub Alex Greenwood 61mins), Beth Mead (sub Jessica Naz 72mins), Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo (sub Chloe Kelly 72mins), Ella Toone (sub Jess Park 45mins),  Lauren Hemp. Subs not used: Mary Earps, Anna Moorhouse, Esme Morgan, Aggie Beever-Jones, Grace Clinton, Lucy Parker.  

Germany: Ann-Katrin Berger, Sarai Linder (sub Felicitas Rauch 45mins), Janina Minge, Sjoke Nüsken (sub Sara Dabritz 62mins), Giulia Gwinn (sub Pia-Sophie Wolter 62mins), Linda Dallmann, Klara Bühl (sub Vivien Endemann 82mins), Elisa Senß, Jule Brand, Sara Doorsoun (sub Sophia Kleinherne 67mins), Giovanna Hoffmann (sub Selina Cerci 45mins).  Subs not used: Stina Johannes, Sophia Winkler, Sydney Lohmann, Lisanne Gräwe, Nicole Anyomi,   

(englandfootball.com)