England 8-0 North Macedonia: Lionesses thrash visitors in Sarina Wiegman's first match

Sarina Wiegman's first game in charge ended in victory as England thrashed North Macedonia to open their Women's World Cup qualifying campaign.

Ella Toone scored on her first start, while Ellen White and substitute Bethany England netted twice.

Beth Mead capped off a brilliant display with a goal and there were also two own goals from the visitors.

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It was a dominant performance by England, who easily could have scored double figures in what felt like 90 minutes of attacking onslaught, delivering 48 shots on goal.

Huge chances were missed by White, Lauren Hemp, Nikita Parris, Beth Mead and Toone, while Jill Scott hit the crossbar in the second half.

The Lionesses were never tested defensively and simply had too much quality for North Macedonia, ranked 131st in the world.

The heavy victory sees England move top of their qualifying group - which also includes Northern Ireland - nudging ahead of rivals Austria, who beat Latvia 8-1.

Northern Ireland marked their opening qualifying match with a 4-0 victory over Luxembourg, who are England's next opponents on Tuesday, 21 September (19:15 BST).

Wiegman gets goals as youthful midfield shines

Wiegman said she wanted "lots of goals" from her side earlier this week, knowing they would dominate possession against a lower-ranked opposition.

They delivered.

While difficult to gauge their true level against North Macedonia, who are ranked 123 places below England in the world, a clean sheet, an attack-minded performance and a comfortable victory means they ticked all the boxes in Wiegman's first game.

And it should have been a bigger victory.

It was a sign of England's dominance that they went into the half-time break with a 3-0 lead feeling underwhelmed.

There were several missed opportunities in the first half in particular - with goalscorer White admitting she was "disappointed" not to have scored more.

But ultimately it was a hugely promising performance from England, who have lacked creativity and cohesion over the last two years.

The young midfield trio of Leah Williamson - captaining the side for the first time - Toone and Georgia Stanway impressed, while Mead's bright start to the season with Arsenal continued.

More ruthlessness will no doubt be called for by Wiegman but it was the perfect way to start her England career.

Player of the match

WilliamsonLeah Williamson

with an average of 8.59

• EnglandEnglandEngland
• North Macedonia WomenNorth Macedonia WomenNorth Macedonia Women

England

Avg

1. Squad number4Player nameWilliamson

   Average rating

   8.59
2. Squad number7Player nameMead

   Average rating

   8.42
3. Squad number19Player nameEngland

   Average rating

   8.38
4. Squad number6Player nameGreenwood

   Average rating

   8.35
5. Squad number10Player nameToone

   Average rating

   8.33
6. Squad number9Player nameWhite

   Average rating

   8.24
7. Squad number11Player nameHemp

   Average rating

   8.13
8. Squad number3Player nameStokes

   Average rating

   7.96
9. Squad number8Player nameStanway

   Average rating

   7.95
10. Squad number5Player nameBright

    Average rating

    7.88
11. Squad number2Player nameDaly

    Average rating

    7.84
12. Squad number16Player nameWubben-Moy

    Average rating

    7.76
13. Squad number17Player nameParris

    Average rating

    7.60
14. Squad number20Player nameScott

    Average rating

    7.54
15. Squad number12Player nameCharles

    Average rating

    7.24
16. Squad number1Player nameEarps

    Average rating

    7.15

North Macedonia Women

Avg

1. Squad number1Player nameRechi

   Average rating

   5.51
2. Squad number2Player namePolozhani

   Average rating

   4.42
3. Squad number16Player nameMustafa

   Average rating

   4.37
4. Squad number6Player nameKolarovska

   Average rating

   4.31
5. Squad number17Player nameDimoska

   Average rating

   4.30
6. Squad number7Player nameRochi

   Average rating

   4.18
7. Squad number5Player nameNikolovska

   Average rating

   4.14
8. Squad number19Player namePetrushevska

   Average rating

   4.12
9. Squad number4Player nameMileska

   Average rating

   4.10
10. Squad number10Player nameAndonova

    Average rating

    3.98
11. Squad number14Player nameDervishi

    Average rating

    3.96
12. Squad number13Player nameZivikj

    Average rating

    3.85
13. Squad number9Player nameMaksuti

    Average rating

    3.81
14. Squad number11Player nameSaliihi

    Average rating

    3.81
15. Squad number8Player nameMarkovska

    Average rating

    3.81

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