England 4-0 South Korea: Lionesses cruise to victory in Arnold Clark Cup opener
- Published
Lauren James was picked ahead of Manchester City's Lauren Hemp in the starting XI
England's defence of their Arnold Clark Cup title got off to the perfect start as they comfortably beat South Korea at Stadium MK.
Chelsea's Lauren James was a standout performer as she scored her first goal for England in the second half after earlier winning a penalty, which Georgia Stanway coolly fired in for the opener.
England had dominated possession and were cruising in the second half after Chloe Kelly made it 2-0 within 16 seconds of the restart, before Manchester United's Alessia Russo smartly dinked it past the goalkeeper at the near post.
James' thumping strike late on sealed victory for the European champions, who won the inaugural Arnold Clark Cup tournament last year.
Sarina Wiegman's side made light work of South Korea, ranked 15th in the world, and already move to the top of the standings on goal difference after Belgium's Tessa Wullaert scored a late winner to beat Italy 2-1 in the tournament opener earlier on Thursday.
Victory also extends England's unbeaten run under Wiegman, going 674 days without defeat - their last coming in April 2021 - as they prepare for this summer's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
James impresses as Wiegman experiments
England are heavy favourites to win the competition as the highest-ranked side and Wiegman was able to make several changes to the starting XI without seeing a drop-off in performance.
James, who has been outstanding for Chelsea in the Women's Super League this season, was given an opportunity to show her creativity and did not disappoint.
Her driving runs in the first half helped open up a stubborn South Korean defence, eventually forcing Jang Sel-gi into a foul to concede the penalty which Stanway made no error in putting away.
The Chelsea forward's stature grew even more in the second half when she was involved in the build-up to Russo's goal, switching it across to Alex Greenwood with a burst of pace down the right-hand side, and capped off her performance with a first international goal in the 78th minute.
Wiegman, who was without crucial midfielder Keira Walsh through illness, was able to look at several formations and introduced Manchester City's Laura Coombs in the second half - her first appearance for England in eight years.
Captain Leah Williamson was also used in midfield and defence, giving a glimpse into Wiegman's options for the World Cup which kicks off in July.
"I want to try out things. I think this tournament is really a big step in our preparation for the World Cup," said Wiegman.
"We need to see where we are as a team and where individuals are in this moment. We will figure out more things and do some changes.
"The squad has lots of depth. We have some centre-backs who can play as full-backs and [in] those positions up front is lots of competition. I can't complain about the depth of this team.
"I don't like to have headaches but in this case I do."
England should have scored more - substitute Katie Robinson hit the post from close range, Stanway struck against the crossbar and Russo also hit the woodwork in the first half.
But it was a night which further strengthened England's momentum, even without injured Euro top scorer Beth Mead and midfielder Walsh.
Pitch conditions were not ideal as there were several occasions where the ball bobbled near the touchline and Wiegman later said it was "unacceptable for this level" - but it did not faze England.
They take on Italy in Coventry next, before ending the tournament in Bristol against Belgium.