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29 Oct 2025 15:06
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  •   Home > News > International

    England dominate Matildas, win 3-0 in international friendly at Pride Park after Alanna Kennedy sent off

    The Matildas were criticised for playing at "walking pace" as two-time European champions England dominate at Derby's Pride Park.


    The Matildas have limped to a desperately disappointing 3-0 defeat against two-time European Champions England at a sold out Pride Park in Derby.

    Alanna Kennedy was sent off inside the opening 20 minutes for hauling down Alessia Russo just outside the penalty area, with England opening the scoring through Aggie Beever-Jones from the subsequent free kick.

    Lucy Bronze added a second before the break in a first half that the hosts absolutely dominated, with 73 per cent possession.

    Former Socceroo Andy Harper decried the Matildas as playing at "walking pace" as England picked the Matildas' static defence apart at will.

    Things barely improved in the second half, although the Matildas defence held firm until VAR adjudged that Katrina Gorry had committed a foul in the penalty area on Missy Bo Kearns, which Georgia Stanway finished with aplomb.

    The victory was marred for the English by a serious looking knee injury to teenage striker Michelle Agyemang, who had to be stretchered off, with Beever-Jones also limping off late as the match finished 10-a-side.

    [SUMMARY]

    "It's tough to go down to 10 men against a good team like England," Matildas skipper Sam Kerr told Paramount+ after the full time whistle.

    "It's really hard to judge the game because we had such a different plan for the game."

    And although she's right, the Matildas should be alarmed about just how easily the English carved them open before Kennedy was dismissed.

    The Matildas will hope this demolition in Derby was just an aberration, with just months before the 2026 Asian Cup kicks off.

    And although the early dismissal of Kennedy did not help in the slightest, there must be some concern about the ease at which England picked apart the Matildas even before the veteran centre back was dismissed.

    In total the Lionesses managed 29 shots on the Matildas' goal, a new record, although just nine of those were on target.

    And while Joe Montemurro noted that his side's plans had to be thrown out the window after Kennedy's red card, his team needed to be "better" and "smarter" than they showed tonight.

    Kennedy's send off came as a result of a poor touch, putting her under pressure as Russo pounced on the loose ball.

    Although Beever-Jones fluffed the first attempt from the free kick, Bronze's clever touch back to the Chelsea striker who powered a shot into the top corner to open the scoring.

    The Matildas had to adjust to losing a player, but were statuesque in defence for the remainder of the half as Russo, Beever-Jones, Beth Mead and Ella Toone in particular carved them open time and time again.

    Bronze's superb long-range finish, on her 34th birthday no less, capped a superb first half for the Lionesses, who had been accused of being slow starters having conceded first in the previous four matches.

    The second half featured much of the same, with England mounting attack after attack as the Matildas looked simply to hang on.

    The injuries to teenage star Agyemang and Beever-Jones understandably took the sting out of the game, but there was still time for one last grain of salt to rubbed into the Matildas' wound.

    Gorry's clipping of Kearns in the penalty area, despite the ball being a reasonable distance from the Englishwoman's boot, allowed Stanway to hammer home from the spot to seal an emphatic victory, with 3-0 flattering the Aussies.

    "One we want to forget," was Ellie Carpenter's succinct summary of the Matildas' thrashing, but as Montemurro and Sam Kerr noted after the match, it is important that the Matildas learn from their mistakes.

    Follow all the action in our live blog.

    [BLOG]

    © 2025 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

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