England rout Japan to take SheBelieves title
MIAMI: England laid down a marker for this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup on Tuesday, defeating Japan 3-0 to clinch victory in the fournation SheBelieves Cup friendly tournament in Florida.
First-half goals from Lucy Staniforth, Karen Carney and Beth Mead sealed a comfortable win for Phil Neville’s side at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium as they build towards the Women’s World Cup in France.
The result means England, who had beaten Brazil in their opening game last week and drawn against the United States on Saturday, were guaranteed to finish on top of the round-robin standings.
More significantly, the win hands England a psychological boost against the Japanese, who defeated the Lionesses 2-1 in the 2015 World Cup semi-finals. The two teams will meet again in Group D of this year’s World Cup on June 19.
The United States edged Brazil 1-0 in the final game of the tournament, with Tobin Heath’s goal in the 20th minute lifting the hosts into second place overall.
On Tuesday’s evidence, England will head to the World Cup bristling with confidence after wrapping up an impressive SheBelieves campaign with an emphatic victory.
Knowing a win would be good enough to take the title, England’s women effectively sealed the outcome with a devastating first-half performance that saw them go 3-0 up within the first 30 minutes.
Jodie Taylor was the first to test the Japanese defense after 11 minutes, shooting just wide of goalkeeper Erina Yamane’s post.
The English did not have long to wait to take the lead, however, when a minute later Taylor’s clever reverse pass sent Staniforth in on goal.
The Birmingham City midfielder still had plenty to do but calmly glided past the Japan defense before drilling a low shot past Yamane into the bottom corner. - AFP