Going into the game Wiegman made plenty of changes to her starting line up and we saw Earps & Williamson being among the players getting a rest so it makes you wonder if game time management was a big factor going into the tournament or if it was a case of using these games to try out options within the line up to see who works best in each position and what area needs the most improvement. The best new of the day for me though was seeing Daly starting up front, finally England are using her in the position where they will get the most benefit from her as we know she can score goals.
England definitely started the game much better than their opener as they seemed to be attacking a lot more and moving the ball around much better, England definitely perform better with fast paced football so this was great to see and they just looked a lot more threatening throughout the opening minutes rather than just sitting back. Italy did show us they weren't just going to sit back though as they forced Roebuck into an early save off the back of a counter attack, something that caused pressure for England throughout the game.
The game was a bit scrappy for both teams at times with England putting the pressure on Italy you could expect the mistakes and scrappy play from them however, for England the scrappiness just seemed to come from players not used to playing together and trying to find their rhythm as a team. What was good to see though is Italy putting up a fight which led to the game actually being quite end to end at times with both teams pushing for the goals with the belief that they can get them.
It took until the 32nd minute for England to finally get on the scoreboard and it was no other than Daly who opened the scoring showing us just why she should be considered for an attacking position rather than just defensive, the goal came in from Robinson and Daly's positioning was perfect to send a header into the back of the Italian net. Italy managed to get a rare goal past England in the 62nd minute though when Cantore just managed to get the ball over the England goal line, if goal line technology was in the competition would we have seen this goal stand? Who knows as the ball possibly went out before the cross and then did the whole ball cross the goal line? It was a rare goal conceded for England though and made the game that bit more interesting with the game level. The game didn't stay level for too long those as in the 71st minute Daly got herself on the scoreboard once more with another header goal. The ball into the box was brilliant and found the perfectly positioned Daly who nodded the ball passed the Italian 'keeper once again, the ball was really well worked in the build up to the goal and Daly's positioning once again stood out as she knew exactly where she needed to be.
The first half of this game was definitely a lot better than Thursday's with England starting with much more pace and threat. It was nice to see the rotation of players too as it really give those fringe players the chance to shine and make a case on why they should be on the plane to Australia in the summer, I really don't know how Wiegman is going to pick 23 players too take as the English talent just keeps getting better and better. It was also nice to see Nobbs getting some minutes in an England shirt as she is doing fantastic since her move to Villa and is definitely deserving of the chance to show Wiegman why she should be going to the World Cup in the summer, I just hope this is the start of her very own revenge tour and she stays injury free as she can bring so much to the England team.
England are currently sitting at the top of the table for the Arnold Clark Cup on goal difference and on Wednesday they take on second place Belgium in what is bound to be a good game. Will Belgium cause an upset and win the tournament in this game or will England go all out and comfortably retain the Arnold Clark Cup trophy? I guess we will have to wait and see but all I know is I am looking forward to Wednesday's game a lot as I love watching Belgium play.
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