England draw with Canada in Arnold Clark Cup opener

Updated: May 16, 2023, 11:59 pm

England players celebrate after scoring a goal against Canada in the Arnold Clark Cup.
England players celebrate after scoring a goal against Canada in the Arnold Clark Cup.
Getty Images

England played to a 1-1 draw with Canada in their opening match of the Arnold Clark Cup in Middlesbrough on Thursday night.

Millie Bright opened the scoring in the 22nd minute for the Lionesses, but Canada hit back early in the second half through Janine Beckie to level the score.

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England manager Sarina Wiegman told ITV after the match: "I think this is the competitive match we needed. We played very good first half but I thought we were sometimes a little sloppy. We created a lot of chances and we need to be more ruthless.

"It's good to see how we reacted [to Beckie's goal]. We lost too many balls in the second half. We need to be more tight and stay together. Bright and [Lauren] Hemp did well, I'm impressed."

Earlier in the day, Spain and Germany also drew 1-1.

Next up for England is a match against Spain on Feb. 20, before facing Germany on Feb. 23 in the round robin tournament.