Beth Mead helped England get off to a winning start at Euro 2022 as they beat Austria in front of a record crowd for a European Women's Championship game at Old Trafford.
The Arsenal winger chested down Fran Kirby's lifted pass and deftly touched it over club team-mate Manuela Zinsberger after just 16 minutes.
There was a roar from the majority of the 68,871 in attendance as Mead turned to them passionately with her arms in the air - though, they were made to wait anxiously as there was a VAR check for a possible offside.
The early goal settled England's nerves and they quickly began to dominate in Manchester.
Mead, Georgia Stanway and Kirby offered plenty of creativity and movement in the first half and one criticism may have been England's lack of ruthlessness.
But it was a job well done in the tournament opener and though Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps was called into action to deny Barbara Dunst in the second half, Austria were reduced to few clear-cut chances.
The Lionesses, who are in Group A with Austria, Northern Ireland and Norway, are aiming to win their first major tournament - and have started that bid by extending their unbeaten run to 15 matches.
Sarina Wiegman's side face arguably their toughest test of the group stages on Monday when they take on Norway, ranked 11th in the world.
Job done for England
England's task on the opening night was simple: win at all costs.
They did that and though it was not the free-flowing performance Wiegman may have hoped to see, it kickstarted their Euro campaign and gave the home fans at Old Trafford a result they could celebrate.
Fans gathered outside the stadium hours before kick-off, wearing England's new shirt and posing for photographs in front of Old Trafford's famous statues.
Austria's fans also gathered in numbers, chanting and draped in flags as they tried to get in the background of television shots as crews worked outside.
It was a memorable night - not for the performance but for the occasion - and England will hope to gather momentum as they prepare for a tough match on Monday.
More to follow.
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England
Squad number18Player nameKellySquad number20Player nameTooneSquad number23Player nameRussoAustria
Squad number1Player nameZinsberger
Squad number12Player nameWienroither
Squad number7Player nameWenninger
Squad number11Player nameSchnaderbeck
Squad number19Player nameHanshaw
Squad number17Player namePuntigam
Squad number8Player nameDunst
Squad number9Player nameZadrazil
Squad number10Player nameFeiersinger
Squad number3Player nameNaschenweng
Squad number15Player nameBilla
Squad number2Player nameGeorgieva
Squad number14Player nameHöbinger
Squad number18Player nameHickelsberger-Füller
Line-ups
England
Formation 4-2-3-1
1Earps
2Bronze6Bright8Williamson3Daly
10Stanway4Walsh
7Mead14Kirby11Hemp
9White
1Earps2Bronze6Bright8Williamson3Daly10Stanway4Walsh7MeadSubstituted forKellyat 64'minutes14KirbySubstituted forTooneat 63'minutes11Hemp9WhiteSubstituted forRussoat 64'minutesSubstitutes
5Greenwood12Carter13Hampton15Stokes16Scott17Parris18Kelly19England20Toone21Roebuck22Wubben-Moy23RussoAustria
Formation 4-1-4-1
1Zinsberger
12Wienroither7Wenninger11Schnaderbeck19Hanshaw
17Puntigam
8Dunst9Zadrazil10Feiersinger3Naschenweng
15Billa
1Zinsberger12Wienroither7Wenninger11SchnaderbeckSubstituted forGeorgievaat 77'minutes19Hanshaw17Puntigam8Dunst9Zadrazil10FeiersingerSubstituted forHöbingerat 87'minutes3NaschenwengSubstituted forHickelsberger-Füllerat 59'minutes15BillaSubstitutes
2Georgieva4Degen5Schasching6Schiechtl13Kirchberger14Höbinger16Eder18Hickelsberger-Füller20Makas21Kresche22Enzinger23PalReferee:Marta Huerta de AzaLive Text
Match ends, England 1, Austria Women 0.
Second Half ends, England 1, Austria Women 0.
Rachel Daly (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Julia Hickelsberger-Füller (Austria Women).
Foul by Alessia Russo (England).
Carina Wenninger (Austria Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Barbara Dunst (Austria Women) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Marie-Therese Höbinger.
Attempt saved. Julia Hickelsberger-Füller (Austria Women) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Marie-Therese Höbinger.
Substitution, Austria Women. Marie-Therese Höbinger replaces Laura Feiersinger because of an injury.
Corner, England. Conceded by Verena Hanshaw.
Attempt blocked. Alessia Russo (England) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Lauren Hemp.
Foul by Chloe Kelly (England).
Julia Hickelsberger-Füller (Austria Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Lauren Hemp (England) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucy Bronze.
Rachel Daly (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Julia Hickelsberger-Füller (Austria Women).
Attempt missed. Nicole Billa (Austria Women) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left.
Foul by Alessia Russo (England).
Marina Georgieva (Austria Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Austria Women. Conceded by Mary Earps.
