There were only 60 seconds on the clock when Lotte Wubben-Moy, making just her third England start, set the tone for the Lionesses' second fixture of 2024. With exactly a minute played, the Arsenal defender adjusted brilliantly to direct Alex Greenwood's corner up and over Italy goalkeeper Laura Giuliani in what was the first of three set pieces the Azzurre would concede from in an emphatic 5-1 win for Sarina Wiegman's side.
There was a lot of talk about Italy ahead of this game. After disappointing at back-to-back tournaments, at the European Championships in 2022 and then last year's World Cup, they have made big improvements under new head coach Andrea Soncin, with an impressive and intense pressing game even helping them to beat world champions Spain recently. But England faced up to the challenges Italy presented and exploited one big weakness that Soncin is yet to fix, that inability to defend dead-ball situations.
Wubben-Moy nearly had a second only moments after breaking the deadlock, Chloe Kelly's delivery wreaking havoc this time, before Lauren Hemp made it two on 20 minutes when an attempted clearance ricocheted off her and into the back of the net. If she couldn't take much credit for that one, she could for the second, a fantastic header from Stanway's cross far too well-placed for Giuliani to reach.
Italy did pull a goal back before the break, capitalising on sloppiness at the back from Greenwood with an incisive move that Michela Cambiaghi finished off. But England restored that three-goal cushion thanks to the impact off the bench when Lauren James teed up Ella Toone for a brilliant volley in the latter stages and then Rachel Daly made it five, pouncing on a mistake and showing wonderful composure to net for the second successive game as a substitute.
GOAL rates England's players from Estadio Nuevo Mirador...