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Switzerland 0 England 4: Lionesses win final friendly ahead of Euros with Russo, Stanway, England and Scott on target

FOUR second-half goals led England to triumph over Switzerland in Zurich on Thursday evening and made it 14 unbeaten under Sarina Wiegman.

Alessia Russo broke the deadlock with a header that sparked a flurry of goals.

Bethany England celebrates the Lionesses’ third goal
Alessia Russo heads England Women in front against Switzerland
Georgia Stanway tucks home a penalty before turning provider for England
Jill Scott added a fourth goal late on

Georgia Stanway bagged one from the penalty spot before Bethany England got in on the act.

Manchester United forward Russo had been a handful for the Swiss defence but had struggled to make her chances count before the break.

But she set England on a collision course for victory after it, nodding in an excellent Rachel Daly cross at the back post to hand her side the lead.

After a scramble in the box the ball hit substitute Lara Marti on the arm, leading the referee to award England a penalty.

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Stanway coolly tucked it home and doubled her side’s lead, firing low and hard to the goalkeeper Seraina Friedli’s right.

Stanway then turned provider minutes later when her corner was headed home by England who put the game to bed.

In the dying seconds of the game Jill Scott got her name on the scoresheet as the veteran midfielder dived inside the box to direct the ball past Swiss keeper.

But despite the result, the Lionesses weren’t at their best despite eventually coming out on top.

In front of goal they were particularly lacking with too much dithering in the box causing key opportunities to be lost.

Switzerland were on the receiving end of a 7-0 drubbing by Germany last week and they played like they wanted to restore some of their pride, taking the game to England whenever they could.

And they did come close to nicking the opener themselves in the first half when striker Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic failed to connect with an excellent cross which she should surely have put away.

Yet England were still the better of the two teams, even if they could have done better.

For most of the game they ran rings around the Swiss and left their defence looking completely bewildered.

Russo had one stopped on the line in the first half and Lionesses keeper Mary Earps found herself ending the night having done very little.

With the Euros starting next week when England host Austria in front of a packed-out Old Trafford, the fact that they are now 14 games unbeaten under new boss Wiegman is a real positive.

She’s tasked with winning a tournament on home soil and her performances since taking to the dugout have gone a long way towards proving she can do so.