England 4-0 Japan: Jess Park scores on her debut in Lionesses win

England 4-0 Japan: Jess Park scores on her debut in Lionesses win
_127612148_gettyimages-1440824334.jpgJess Park replaced Georgia Stanway in stoppage time before scoring with her first touch

Substitute Jess Park scored 79 seconds into her England debut to round off a comfortable victory over Japan in a friendly in Spain.

Manchester City forward Park, 21, who is on loan at Everton this season, came off the bench and tapped in a fourth goal for England with her first touch in stoppage time.

Chloe Kelly had earlier netted her first goal since the Euro 2022 final, while Rachel Daly and Ella Toone also got on the scoresheet.

England remain unbeaten under manager Sarina Wiegman, extending their run to 25 matches having conceded just once in their last five games.

The Lionesses were tested by a technical and creative Japanese side but looked comfortable for large spells.

They controlled the majority of possession, despite a late period of pressure from Japan, and had plenty of chances to add to their tally.

Manchester United striker Alessia Russo headed Kelly's cross on to the right post early in the first half before Daly put England ahead.

Kelly was a threat throughout and her deliveries from the left caused problems for Japan.

It was her cross that was not dealt with by the 2011 world champions when Daly followed up in the box to coolly slide in the opener.

Aston Villa forward Daly, playing as a full-back under Wiegman, has now scored an impressive eight goals in 10 starts for club and country this season.

Manchester City winger Kelly capped off a strong evening when she fired in Beth Mead's cross to make it 2-0 in the second half.

Toone, who signed a contract extension with Manchester United this week, dinked it into the far corner for England's third goal after she was teed up by substitute Ebony Salmon.

But it was Park who had the greatest impact off the bench, coming on to poke over the line just seconds after her introduction.

Speaking to ITV afterwards, she said: "I'm a bit overwhelmed at the minute, it's absolutely amazing and I'm so honoured to play for my country and score a goal.

"I've dreamed of this ever since I was a young girl, now I'm here and it's come true! My head has gone, I'm so happy.

"I don't think there are any words to describe it. It's just absolutely unbelievable."

England take on Norway in their next friendly on Tuesday (19:00 GMT kick-off) in Murcia.

England make light work of Japan test

_127612020_gettyimages-1440819940.jpgChloe Kelly has not scored yet for Manchester City this season

With eight months to go until the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, this was another test against varied opposition which England made light work of.

Japan are often full of creativity but they struggled to get out of their half as England pressed and hurried them.

Euro 2022 top scorer Mead almost scored when she won possession on the edge of Japan's box before her shot was pushed wide and Toone was busy, often linking up with club team-mate Russo.

It took a bit of time for England to build their rhythm as the slow pitch and windy conditions impacted their usually fluent attacking play.

However, when Daly eventually found the opener, England imposed their dominance and Japan rarely tested goalkeeper Mary Earps.

"We played a very good game - lots of football," manager Wiegman told ITV.

"They played in a shape that we haven't had against us a lot, so it was good to practise that. We're doing good, we're developing."

Wiegman was forced into several changes due to injury as captain Leah Williamson, Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze and forward Lauren Hemp were all absent through injury but England still showed their quality in depth off the bench.

Chelsea's Lauren James came on and performed well, while Salmon provided the assist for Toone and Park, with the latter making her mark in front of goal.

This was a test England would expect to win and though Japan were disappointing, it was another sign of the advancing direction under Wiegman before the World Cup.

Line-ups

England

Formation 4-3-3

1Earps

2Daly5Bright6Morgan3Charles

8Stanway4Walsh10Toone

7Mead9Russo11Kelly

1Earps2Daly5Bright6Morgan3Charles8StanwaySubstituted forParkat 89'minutes4WalshSubstituted forZelemat 89'minutes10TooneSubstituted forParrisat 83'minutes7Mead9RussoSubstituted forSalmonat 64'minutes11KellySubstituted forJamesat 64'minutes

Substitutes

12James13Roebuck14Zelem15Wubben-Moy16Le Tissier17Parris18Park19Salmon20Robinson21MacIver22George

Japan

Formation 4-3-3

1Yamashita

5Miyake4Kumagai3Minami13Endo

2Shimizu6Nagano15Sugita

14Hasegawa10Iwabuchi7Miyazawa

1Yamashita5MiyakeSubstituted forTakaradaat 70'minutes4Kumagai3Minami13Endo2Shimizu6Nagano15Sugita14Hasegawa10IwabuchiSubstituted forTanakaat 58'minutes7MiyazawaSubstituted forFujinoat 71'minutes

Substitutes

8Naomoto9Ueki11Tanaka12Norimatsu16Hayashi18Tanaka19Takarada20Kitamura21Ohba22Seike23FujinoReferee:Zuzana Valentová

Live Text

Match ends, England 4, Japan 0.

Second Half ends, England 4, Japan 0.

Foul by Rachel Daly (England).

Aoba Fujino (Japan) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Goal! England 4, Japan 0. Jessica Park (England) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ebony Salmon.

Substitution, England. Katie Zelem replaces Keira Walsh.

Substitution, England. Jessica Park replaces Georgia Stanway.

Corner, Japan. Conceded by Keira Walsh.

Attempt saved. Yui Hasegawa (Japan) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.

Attempt blocked. Aoba Fujino (Japan) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Hina Sugita.

Attempt missed. Risa Shimizu (Japan) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.

Corner, Japan. Conceded by Lauren James.

Corner, Japan. Conceded by Niamh Charles.

Corner, Japan. Conceded by Niamh Charles.

Substitution, England. Nikita Parris replaces Ella Toone.

Foul by Ebony Salmon (England).

Risa Shimizu (Japan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Corner, Japan. Conceded by Niamh Charles.

Attempt blocked. Aoba Fujino (Japan) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

Beth Mead (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

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