The Lionesses finished the year with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Ghana. It was a match they were always expected to win, especially off the back of their 8-0 victory over China at the weekend. It's been a strong finish to a remarkable 12 months where England retained their Euro crown in the most ridiculous way possible. These four matches to finish off 2025 were part of the "Homecoming Series". They're a group of games which bridge the gap between that incredible summer in Switzerland, and World Cup qualification which starts next year, where England have Spain, Ukraine and Iceland in their pool.
Before England started this series back in October, Sarina Wiegman teed up the quartet of matches by saying: "Each opponent will challenge us in different ways, which is exactly what we need with World Cup qualification beginning early next year."
What followed was a 2-1 defeat to 10-player Brazil, a 3-0 victory over 10-player Australia, the dismantling of China and then the win over Ghana where England had all the ball, but only mustered two goals. We've seen familiar faces shine, new players blend in and a glimpse of what the 2027 group could look like.
A strange bunch of games
It was a difficult quartet of matches to draw clearcut conclusions from. You had some impressive individual performances, and the complete destruction of China. But then the Brazil and Australia matches both have asterisks against them as Brazil were reduced to 10 players after 21 minutes, and then Alanna Kennedy was sent off for Australia after 18 minutes. So having fallen behind to two quick Brazil goals in Manchester on Oct. 25, England aced against a team putting everyone behind the ball. Afterwards, Wiegman lamented their lack of killer instinct in the final third. Against Australia on Oct. 28 in Derby, the Socceroos were poor, and England should have won by more than the three goals they scored. It heralded the arrival of Lucia Kendall, but that night was overshadowed by the ACL injury suffered by Michelle Agyemang.
Then came China on Nov.29 where the familiar faces delivered - Georgia Stanway grabbing a hat-trick, Beth Mead scoring two, Alessia Russo, Ella Toone and Lauren Hemp also scoring.
Afterwards, Wiegman was asked what she learnt: "Yes of course we always learn something from the game. What we really wanted to do was start well. We had a little bit more time on the ball and then you see how good we are. We connected well and I thought we scored some really good goals. I also think that because we played so well and scored so early, that they were struggling even more."
Their form in the final third improved there - England were ruthless, but against Ghana on Dec. 2 in Southampton, a much-changed England team found it harder to break them down. Kendall scored in the first-half and impressed again, but England struggled to convert possession and territory into goals as they were far too profligate. They hit the woodwork three times in the second half and came away with the 2-0 victory thanks to a goal from Kendall and a penalty from Russo.
New look defensive options
With Leah Williamson injured and Millie Bright retired, Esme Morgan started three of the four matches at centre back, while Maya le Tissier played the full 90 minutes across Brazil, Australia, China and Ghana. Le Tissier started at right-back against Brazil in that 2-1 defeat, but then migrated to the middle for Australia, China and Ghana. Taylor Hinds made her debut at left-back against Australia and by the time the China-Ghana doubleheader came about, Alex Greenwood was injured and Jess Carter was rested so for the first time in the Wiegman era, she named a back four without Williamson, Bright, Greenwood or Carter. Katie Reid, the 18-year-old Arsenal defender, was called into the original squad ahead of Brazil and you can imagine she'd have featured in their matches with China and Ghana but she suffered an ACL injury in early November.
So against China, we saw the familiarity of Bronze and Niamh Charles at right and left-back with Morgan and Le Tissier in the middle. Wubben-Moy came on at half-time for Morgan to get some gametime, while Hinds replaced Bronze later on, with Charles swapping flanks. Wubben-Moy and Hinds started from the outset against Ghana with Morgan ill.
Out of the entire "Homecoming Series", it's Le Tissier who's profited the most. It'll be fascinating to see how Wiegman juggles Williamson's return and who she partners her with. Elsewhere, Bronze remains in charge at right-back, with Le Tissier cover there while we could see more of Ella Morris next year once she's back from her ACL injury. Left-back remains up for grabs - you can see Greenwood, Carter and Charles all vying for that through to 2027 but by that time, you may be hearing a lot more about a certain Chelsea youngster called Chloe Sarwie who, aged just 16, is already in the Under-23 squad.
Goalkeeping depth tested
England have been forced to juggle their goalkeeping options over the past four matches. With Hannah Hampton injured for their opener against Brazil, they went with Khiara Keating. Hampton returned for Australia and there's no doubt they looked far more assured at the back, but by the time China came around, Hampton was injured, Keating picked up a groin injury on the eve of the match so Anna Moorhouse made her debut.
Both Keating and Moorhouse therefore won their first England caps over the past couple of months, while England have also turned to uncapped Brighton keeper Sophia Baggaley and recalled Ellie Roebuck to the squad. Moorhouse and Keating got key international gametime, but Hampton's spot is safe.
Kendall brings a new dimension to midfield
The midfield had a familiar look for both the Brazil and China matches - Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone all starting. That's still England's first-choice midfield - with Wiegman playing with Walsh at 6 and then two 8s. But against Australia and Ghana, we saw Kendall break through as Wiegman mixed things up. Kendall's already gone through the England age-grade sides and was one of the new faces brought in post-Euros and she's been outstanding.
"I think she's doing really well," Wiegman said ahead of the Ghana match. "It went pretty fast how she developed - coming to Aston Villa, playing minutes and showing really good football. That's why we selected her. It's all about quality, of course. She's really competing for more minutes and just shows consistency."
Elsewhere, Wiegman gave Missy Bo Kearns more game time in the middle of the pitch - turning to her from the bench against Australia and starting her against Ghana, while Laura Blindkilde Brown got half an hour off the bench in Southampton. Grace Clinton missed the first two matches through injury, but got 30 minutes against Ghana. So, after the four matches we've seen, the trio of Walsh, Stanway and Toone remain first-choice. Expect Kendall and Grace Clinton to feature in the World Cup qualifiers - Wiegman prefers Jess Park as a forward - with Kearns and Blindkilde Brown also there and as we get closer to 2027, Under-23 duo Erica Parkinson and Lexi Potter will also be pushing their case.
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Final third precision
England were wasteful against Brazil as they had plenty of chances to draw that game level but were clinical against Australia, defeating a poor Socceroos team 3-0. They were then utterly ruthless against China, but laboured to their 2-0 win over Ghana. The challenge of consistently improving their ruthlessness in the final third remains, despite the obliteration of China. Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp are first-choice on the flanks as things stand, though that will likely change with the reintroduction of Lauren James. Aggie Beevor-Jones was used off the left against Australia, and then started up front in the No.9 spot for Ghana so expect to see a lot more of her while Chloe Kelly started against Brazil and Ghana, but had the latter match cut short through injury. But what you're seeing is the existing, established internationals all raising their game further. Take Mead: a double Euros winner and Wiegman believes she's improving.
"She's always been like a smart player - picks up positions, is very calm in the final third and always keeps seeing pictures in the final third," Wiegman said of Mead after the China match. "That's what she did today too. What we've invited her to do even more is make more rotations, pick up more positions, and feel the freedom to do that. And that's what she's started to do a little bit more. She's had more experiences in football and life and she keeps developing, but technically she's improved also." Russo is still undoubtedly the focal point up front as she further cemented her status as one of the world's best forwards. The only moot point on the "Homecoming Series" was the ACL injury Agyemang suffered against Australia. One of England's heroes from the 2025 Euros will miss the rest of the season but she'll be a key figure when she returns. But still - the challenge remains: converting opportunities with greater regularity.