Latvia 0-10 England: Lionesses maintain 100% record in Women’s World Cup qualifying

Ella Toone scored a hat-trick as England hit 10 goals against Latvia to maintain their 100% record in Women’s World Cup qualifying.

Manchester United’s Toone was twice left unmarked and scored the first two in the opening 12 minutes and got her third in the second half, beating the goalkeeper at the near post.

Chelsea defender Millie Bright then scored from close range, Beth Mead grabbed a goal with a composed finish and substitute Rachel Daly tapped in from a few yards out.

Captain Leah Williamson curled home an eighth goal and Georgia Stanway arrowed a low shot into the bottom corner for number nine.

Daly rounded the keeper for England’s 10th – the second time in qualifying they had reached double figures following their 10-0 win in Luxembourg last month.

However, they fell short of their biggest-ever competitive victory – a 13-0 success against Hungary back in 2005.

The latest victory keeps England top of Group D, with four wins from four, having scored 32 goals and conceded none.

A perfect birthday present for boss Wiegman

The result continued a remarkable run of results since Sarina Wiegman became England boss, with her four games in charge seeing an 8-0 win over North Macedonia, 10 goals against Luxembourg, a 4-0 success over Northern Ireland and now this easy triumph.

Wiegman, who turned 52 on Tuesday, will have been delighted with the professional nature of the victory that saw absolute dominance after she had named an attacking line-up.

England had 78% possession, 58 shots – 21 of which were on target – and 24 corners. Latvia, ranked 102nd in the world – 94 places below England – registered zero shots and did not have one corner.

Only the performance of home goalkeeper Enija Anna Vaivode spared Latvia from further embarrassment.

She kept out White’s penalty as the striker missed the chance to overtake Kerry Davis’ total of 44 goals, although White’s earlier goal left her only two away from record holder Kelly Smith’s mark of 46.

‘We don’t want to be watching games which are cricket scores’

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, on ITV4 commentary, felt this was not a good advert for the women’s game. She said: “Uefa needs to invest more in the smaller nations and grow the game worldwide.

“England can only beat what’s in front of them, but we don’t want to be watching games which are cricket scores. A team like Latvia needs more funding, more support, probably a better calendar schedule.

“Latvia have defended for their lives in the second half as best as they can. It’s all about what Fifa and Uefa can do to divert funds to grow countries like Latvia and their leagues.

“Maybe have something like the Nations League in the men’s game – something needs to be done – 10-0 games are not good for the game.”

Player of the match

TooneElla Toone

with an average of 8.66

Latvia Women

1. Squad number23Player nameVaivode

   Average rating

   5.59

2. Squad number11Player nameFedotova

   Average rating

   5.54

3. Squad number13Player nameVoitane

   Average rating

   5.38

4. Squad number8Player nameZaicikova

   Average rating

   5.35

5. Squad number22Player nameGergeleziu

   Average rating

   5.28

6. Squad number5Player nameGirzda

   Average rating

   5.28

7. Squad number15Player nameBaliceva

   Average rating

   5.16

8. Squad number14Player nameSevcova

   Average rating

   5.13

9. Squad number19Player nameMiksone

   Average rating

   5.10

10. Squad number7Player nameEglite

    Average rating

    5.08

11. Squad number10Player nameRocane

    Average rating

    5.05

12. Squad number6Player nameLubina

    Average rating

    5.02

13. Squad number4Player nameGaike

    Average rating

    4.90

14. Squad number2Player nameTumane

    Average rating

    4.86

15. Squad number18Player nameSilova

    Average rating

    4.80

England

1. Squad number6Player nameToone

   Average rating

   8.66

2. Squad number3Player nameWilliamson

   Average rating

   8.43

3. Squad number7Player nameMead

   Average rating

   8.41

4. Squad number10Player nameEngland

   Average rating

   8.18

5. Squad number8Player nameKirby

   Average rating

   8.17

6. Squad number14Player nameDaly

   Average rating

   8.16

7. Squad number11Player nameHemp

   Average rating

   8.13

8. Squad number4Player nameWalsh

   Average rating

   8.09

9. Squad number15Player nameStanway

   Average rating

   7.98

10. Squad number2Player nameBright

    Average rating

    7.90

11. Squad number17Player nameParris

    Average rating

    7.89

12. Squad number16Player nameWubben-Moy

    Average rating

    7.80

13. Squad number9Player nameWhite

    Average rating

    7.78

14. Squad number5Player nameGreenwood

    Average rating

    7.74

15. Squad number19Player nameStokes

    Average rating

    7.72

16. Squad number1Player nameEarps

    Average rating

    7.64