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Yallop goes down with ankle injury
England by all measures of the game have been dominant. They’ve spent most of the game at the Aussies end, and are putting continual pressure on the keeper, but they just haven’t been able to pull off any of their moves.
They’re knocking on the Aussies’ door again, and get a corner.
But there’s some really concerning signs on the field for Tameka Yallop who’s on the turf and clutching her ankle. She’s only recently come back from ankle surgery, and it doesn’t look great.
It was potentially a goal-saving play from Yallop, but let’s just hope it’s nothing serious.
Sam Kerr scores for Matildas
Sam Kerr scores the first goal of the match for Australia, and what a fantastic goal it was!
It was opportunistic from Kerr, and a wonderful ball over the top from Clare Hunt in the midfield.
Kerr does a good job of staying on side and runs the ball up the rest of the field. She’s just too quick and beats England’s goalkeeper Mary Earps to put the Aussies on the board after 32 minutes.
Australia 1, England 0
Sam Kerr celebrates after scoring for the Matildas.Credit: Getty
England get free kick in front of the box
Lionesses captain Leah Williamson is starting to move her team around, trying to get them to rally after Lauren Hemp came off the field. Not exactly sure what’s going on there, but she didn’t look injured.
England has had plenty of opportunity, but have lacked the execution.
Lauren James comes on the field for England who have a free quick just outside the Australian keeper’s box.
Georgia Stanway takes the quick, but Aussie keeper Mackenzie Arnold is too good, and punches the ball away to safety.
Kerr breaks away to give Aussies a chance
Just as England looked like they were getting the upper hand, Sam Kerr breaks away to get an opportunity for the Matildas.
She’s got the footwork, and manages to break through England’s defence, but her cross to Mary fowler is slightly obstructed, and the Lionesses hold on.
We’re about 20 minutes in now, and the score is 0-0, a great sign you can never count the Matildas out, even when they have some of their best out with injury.
Australian captain Sam Kerr in her sides friendly game against England.Credit: Getty
Australia 0, England 0
First corner of the game, head knock for Alessia Russo
We have our first corner of the morning, and there’s a bit of clutter in there.
A solid scramble from the Matildas who get the ball away, but there’s an accidental head knock to England’s Alessia Russo and we have a pause in play.
It’s a good time for Sam Kerr to regroup her team, who have done a good job so far at keeping their cool.
Russo stays on the field, and play continues.
Raso tests England, Fowler out to prove
It’s the Matildas turn to put pressure on the Lionesses, and young gun Mary Fowler is trying to prove herself early in this game after being dropped from the starting eleven in recent works.
But it’s Hayley Raso who gets Australia their first opportunity of the match, breaking away from the pack to try and get a cross in front of England’s goal.
But her pass doesn’t quite get to where she wanted, and England are back with the ball.
Some good signs from the Aussies early on, at a time when England were starting to get into a rhythm.
England starts strong in slippery conditions
A very scary start for the Matildas, who have already been tested at their end.
The surface is slippery out there, and the Lionesses are spending an uncomfortable amount of time at the Matildas end.
The safe hands of goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold take the ball when England come knocking, but the Lionesses are already asking some tough questions of the Aussies.
Match starts, injury plagues both teams
And play is under way in Brentford!
Both teams took a knee just before kick-off in a stand against discrimination.
The Lionesses are the current European champions, and Dutch Coach Sarina Weigman has named a strong team despite a few injuries.
The Matildas have had a rough run, with Emily van Egmond and Holly McNamara being added to the injury list, but the inclusion of Sam Kerr, who missed the team’s last game against Scotland, is a massive win for a team that will be looking to their captain for some guidance.
It was a loss for the Matildas against Scotland, breaking their seven-game winning streak, so they will need a strong start today to get some mojo back in the side.
Anthems play ahead of kick off
There’s about 17,000 fans watching out in Brentford, England this morning, and the national anthems are just starting.
It’s England’s last friendly ahead of naming their Football World Cup side, but Australia has one last game before coach Tony Gustavvson has to make any decisions.
It looks like a soggy, cold night out there for the players who are coming up against a strong Lionesses team that have won their past 30 ‘away’ games.
Best of luck to both teams. Kick-off just moments away.
Team lists
Let’s take a quick look at the team lists ahead of kick-off, and we can all put our worries to rest because Australian superstar Sam Kerr has indeed been named to play.
Check out the team lists below, which might look a little…different this morning. The players left-off the team lists are ‘forgotten’ this morning in support of the Alzheimer’s Society.
Starting XI:
Australia: Mackenzie Arnold (GK), Clare Polkinghorne, Mary Fowler, Tameka Yallop, Hayley Raso, Katrina Gorry, Sam Kerr (C), Ellie Carpenter, Charlotte Grant, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Clare Hunt.
England: Mary Earps, Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Keira Walsh, Leah Williamson (C), Esme Morgan, Chloe Kelly, Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo, Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp.
