Dominant England put seven past Austria - as it happened

1. FT: England 7-2 Austria - Alessia Russo (2), Beth Mead (2), Grace Clinton, Jess Carter and Rachel Daly on target for Lionesses
2. Clinton was making senior England debut
3. Virginia Kirchberger scores both goals for Austria
4. Lionesses face Italy in second friendly on Tuesday as part of a warm-weather training camp in Marbella

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'Can we find a different way to play and create?'

Ian Wright

Former England striker on ITV1

We do need to see if we can find a way that we can play differently, to create more.

We have seen that when teams have been able to shut down Keira Walsh then we find it hard to get that creativity in our play. We do need to find a different way to play that means we don't over rely on her.

Tonight I expect Georgia Stanway to play in the holding role, so it will be interesting to see what Grace Clinton can offer going forward, she has that creativity in her game, we have seen that this season. We also know what Ella Toone is capable of in there, replacing Fran Kirby in the starting XI.

'First occasion that Wiegman has time to plan ahead'

Karen Carney

Former England midfielder on ITV 1

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It is the first time since Sarina Wiegman came in that she is not operating in a tournament year, so she actually has time to plan ahead.

She has signed a new contract until 2026 and it will be exciting to see what she does moving forwards.

It is good to see Grace Clinton in the side and Maya le Tissier instead of Lucy Bronze at right back, I would have liked to see Jess Park in there too given her form for Manchester City this season. It is nice to see some young players get an opportunity tonight.

Here we go, the teams are out and the national anthems are being played.

Who do you think will come out on top this evening? Press the thumb's up for England, or the thumb's down for Austria.

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Stanway's suitcase 'drama' shocks Wiegman

Emma Sanders

BBC Sport at Estadio Nuevo Mirador

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Georgia Stanway has had an eventful few days.

She lost her suitcase on her flight over to Spain from Germany, where she arrived early alongside Keira Walsh and Lucy Bronze.

Stanway revealed the "drama" in the press conference on Wednesday but had not told Sarina Wiegman about it beforehand.

"You don't have your football stuff?" said Wiegman.

"You don't know that story," added Stanway.

Wiegman then offered to lend Stanway some of her kit but gasped when the Bayern Munich midfielder admitted she had also lost her football boots and had been given some by Aston Villa's Freya Gregory for training.

"The biggest lesson I learned was to put your football boots in your hand luggage," said Stanway.

Wiegman turned to her and said: "I thought you would have learned that a long time ago on the pathway!"

I spoke to Stanway afterwards and she said she was excited to face some of her club team-mates in the Austria team.

"It makes the pressure a little higher because you don’t want to go back to training and be on the wrong sides of the jokes," she said.

"I’m excited to see how they get on and to play against them. I know a little on what to expect and have been able to give our analysis team some insight."

I said I hoped her suitcase would arrive in time for kick-off and Stanway replied: "Yeah, I need it to!"

'I've been able to give the analysis team a little bit of insight'

England

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England midfielder Georgia Stanway tells BBC Sport about the pressure that comes with playing against her Bayern Munich teammates: "I am looking forward to it, but it also makes the pressure that little bit higher because you don’t want to go back to training and be on the wrong side of whatever the jokes are.

"I am excited, I’m expecting a really tough game. I have been able to give our analysis team a little bit of insight into how those two players play, but I imagine Zadi [Sarah Zadrazil] in midfield won’t give me a minute to breathe. Kati [Katharina Naschenweng] is new to us so it will be good to see how she gets on."

Strong record against Austria

This is the fourth time England have played Austria since Sarina Wiegman took charge of the Lionesses - and history is on England's side.

They won 2-0 in Austria in World Cup qualifying in their last meeting, were 1-0 victors at Old Trafford in the opening game of Euro 2020, and beat them 1-0 in Sunderland in 2021.

Under Wiegman, there's no team England have beaten more often.

'Minor knee irritation' for Kirby

Emma Sanders

BBC Sport at Estadio Nuevo Mirador

An update from the FA's medical team on Fran Kirby's withdrawal from the starting XI.

They say she has a "minor irritation with her knee". They are being "cautious".

Best of the stats

• England have won all nine of their encounters with Austria by an aggregate scoreline of 25-1. Only against Northern Ireland (12 wins out of 12) do the Lionesses have a better 100 per cent win ratio against an opponent.
• England have kept eight consecutive clean sheets against Austria, since a 4-1 win back in September 2005. Only against Scotland (a run of nine between April 1989 – May 2001) have the Lionesses gone longer without conceding against a single opponent.
• Lauren James has been involved in five of England’s nine goals across their past two games (two assists vs Netherlands and two goals, one assist against Scotland). However, she’s failed to score or assist in any of her six appearances in friendlies for the Lionesses.

Humble settings for European champions

Emma Sanders

BBC Sport at Estadio Nuevo Mirador

BBC Sport

The Estadio Nuevo Mirador, where England are facing Austria tonight, is about an hour's drive from the Marbella beach front where Sarina Wiegman's side are staying.

It's a 7,200-capacity arena and it's fair to say the facilities are... limited.

BBC Sport

This is the view from our press box, where the teams are warming up below.

England have just gone across to the far side to thank the small number of travelling fans who have made the ambitious journey.

They were waiting to welcome the Lionesses off the team bus by the entrance earlier.

Around the corner to this entrance was a rubbish site...

From the World Cup final in Sydney, to more humble settings for the European champions.

BBC Sport

'Nice to get the good feeling back'

England

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Georgia Stanway tells BBC Sport about the mood in the Lionesses camp: “It’s nice to wake up and see blue skies. I feel like it automatically puts you in a good mood. Just happy to be here. The way we ended the last camp was a little bit disappointing so it is nice that we can come in and get the good feeling back.

"We’ve had a good feeling on the grass the last few days. It is nice to be able to spend some time with the girls both on and off the pitch.

On joining up with Emma Coates' under-23 squad: "It is nice to just see what’s going on. As seniors we kind of just create our own bubble, likewise for the U23s they create their own bubble, so it is nice that sometimes we can mix.

“As I said in the press conference, being in Germany you miss the youth and what and who is coming up because I am focusing on my own games or trying to watch the Bundesliga and my opponents. So you kind of miss what’s going on elsewhere. So it is nice to see what is going on. "

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FINALLY our Maya gets a chance! Sarina did say when omitting her from World Cup squad that she sees Maya more as RB than CB, so Maya needs to start playing there for United too

Danny

BreakingToone replaces Kirby in line-up

Emma Sanders

BBC Sport at Estadio Nuevo Mirador

Fran Kirby hobbled off during the warm-up and went down the tunnel with the physios.

Hopefully that's just a knock and nothing serious but she has pulled out of the starting XI.

Ella Toone is set to start for England now.

'We'll have a lot of the ball'

England

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England midfielder Georgia Stanway speaking to BBC Sport about what to expect from Austria: "It will be a good test definitely. They have kept us low on results in the past, 1-0 here and 2-0 there, and of course the 1-0 win in the Euros – where I still don’t know at what point the ball crossed the line, but it did!

"I imagine we are probably going to have quite a lot of the ball but it is just about how we use it. They will press aggressively, they will be aggressive especially in the middle of the pitch, so it is just a matter of how we can break them down and how we can find the spaces.

"A lot of their players play in the Bundesliga, so I know what to expect. A few of them are my teammates, so I am looking forward to seeing them in and after the game. I’m excited for it."

Austria second in Nations League group

Austria, like England, finished second in their group in the Nations League.

France were the only team to progress from Group B, but it was a much wider gap than in the Lionesses' case with France finishing six points clear.

Austria didn't qualify for the World Cup so had no competitive football in the summer, and went on to win three of their six Nations League games between September and December.

They were 2-1 victors over Norway in their last game, losing 3-0 to France in their other match in December.

No Olympics for Team GB

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The last international window finished with heartbreak for England.

Despite thrashing Scotland 6-0 in their final Nations League group-stage game, they finished second in the group on goal difference.

That ended England's chances of qualifying Team GB for the Olympics, meaning there's a summer off on the way for the Lionesses.

'Start of our Euros campaign'

England

England manager Sarina Wiegman, speaking in her pre-match press conference: "This is really the start of our Euros campaign and after the very disappointing result of not qualifying for the play-offs to qualify for the Olympics we moved on.

"This is the start, with two friendlies which is really good for us because we can try out some things.

"We are also very close to the Under-23s [also training in Spain] so we can see them, we can connect with them and we get a lot of players that we can see where they are at this moment.

"This is a great start because in April the Nations League starts which are the qualifiers for the Euros."

Final friendlies before Euro qualifying

England didn't reach the Nations League finals, but they finished high enough to ensure they don't face a relegation play-off and therefore this international window is a chance for a couple of friendlies before Euro qualifying begins in April.

The Lionesses play Austria tonight in Marbella and then face Italy on Tuesday (17:00 GMT).

Qualification for next year's tournament in Switzerland works on a basis similar to the Nations League, with England playing in a group of four teams and needing to finish in the top two to progress.

The draw for Euro qualifying takes place on 5 March.

You can find out more about how qualifying works, plus what's happening in this month's Nations League fixtures, here.

'We've got a long journey to Euro 2025'

Emma Sanders

BBC Sport at Estadio Nuevo Mirador

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Manchester City forward Chloe Kelly was not in training on Thursday as she was being assessed for a "minor" injury.

But when I spoke to her on Wednesday she was already thinking ahead to the Euros and the defence of their title.

England will need to come through qualification, which begins in April, but the reigning champions are keen to shrug off the disappointment at failing to qualify on behalf of Team GB for the Olympics.

"I think our focus now is on what’s in front of us - which is two friendlies against Austria and Italy," said Kelly.

“Of course, they are not friendlies to us. We’re very competitive and want to win every game we play.

"Our focus and mindset is on [Euros preparation] now. We’ve got a long journey to get there but these camps are always stepping stones to take us to where we need to be."