England finished 2025 on a high as they beat Ghana 2-0 in the first ever meeting between the nations.
A first senior international goal for Aston Villa midfielder Lucia Kendall put the Lionesses in front inside six minutes at St Mary’s.
But despite their overwhelming dominance – and hitting the woodwork four times – it was not until the 95th minute Alessia Russo sealed the win from the spot.
England put the pressure on from the off, and once Kendall had slammed in her first Lionesses goal, it seemed the floodgates would burst open.
That had been the case when they beat China 8-0 at Wembley four days earlier, and Ghana sat 51 places lower in the FIFA rankings than the previous opposition.
But Chloe Kelly was taken off injured after 23 minutes and a combination of a lack of ruthlessness and dominant goalkeeping from Cynthia Konlan meant the hosts only took a 1-0 lead into the break.
Moments before the whistle, though, a Kendall header bounced into the ground, up onto the crossbar and away.
Lucy Bronze earned her 144th England cap – which moves her joint-third in the all-time standings, alongside Karen Carney
England struggled to take the game by the scruff of the neck at the start of the second half, but twice in quick succession they hit the woodwork again. Lucy Bronze first cushioned a header onto the crossbar, before Aggie Beever-Jones’ looping header came back shortly after.
They hit the woodwork yet again deep into second half stoppage time, but only after Russo’s goalbound header hit the hand of Comfort Yeboah. The referee went to the monitor to review the incident, before turning and pointing to the spot.
And the ever-reliable Russo struck emphatically from 12 yards to finally add the second England should have scored long before.
What’s next for England?
Sarina Wiegman has three months to prepare for the Lionesses’ next matches, when they open their qualifying campaign for the 2027 World Cup.
First up is a trip to face Ukraine on March 3, then a home game against Iceland on March 7.
