England booked their place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Euros 2022 as they demolished Norway 8-0 at the Amex Stadium in Brighton.
England fielded the same starting line up from their first game of the Euros against Austria, and manager Sarina Wiegman’s decision worked wonders early on in the game.
Maria Thorisdottir brought down Ellen White inside the box in the 12th minute and the referee pointed to the spot, giving England a golden opportunity to grab the lead in the game.
Georgia Stanway stepped up and fired the ball past Norway goalkeeper Guro Pettersen and it was all downhill from there for the visiting side.
The Lionesses went two up just a couple minutes later as Beth Mead’s cross was tapped home by Lauren Hemp, narrowly beating the offside flag to send the crowd into raptures.
Norway had barely come to terms with their dismal start when they went three down. White pounced on a mistake from Thorisdottir, casually strolling through the opposition defence and scoring past a hapless Pettersen in the 29th minute of the game.
Mead’s sensational start to the campaign deserved a goal of her own and she got it in the 35th minute, heading home from a Lauren Hemp cross to pile on the misery for the Norwegians as England raced to a four-goal lead.
Four turned into five just three minutes later, as Mead was given acres of room just outside the box and the forward rolled her shot past the keeper to continue Norway’s torment at the Amex.
The crowd was witnessing something special in Brighton as, in the 41st minute, Fran Kirby’s pass found Ellen White. The striker converted once again to end the game as a contest before the midway point.
The raucous England faithful were brought to their feet once again for goal number seven as substitute Alessia Russo nodded home from a Lucy Bronze cross in the 66th minute, prompting a Mexican wave from the home support.
The rout was complete in the 81st and it was fitting that Beth Mead should grab her hat-trick, reacting quickest after Pettersen spilled an initial effort. England took an astonishing 8-0 lead.
The win takes the Lionesses to the top of Group A, with two wins out of two and makes them serious contenders for football to finally come home.
