Here is Suzanne Wrack’s report from Southampton.
And that is all from me for today. Thanks for joining me for England’s final game in 2025 – what a year it has been!
Lucia Kendall speaks to ITV after her debut England goal at the place where she started her youth career:
Really special moment for me to be able to do it here, where I grew up, this place made me into the player I was. It felt like it was written today. It was really nice.
It was so special. I got overwhelmed with emotion really. It was really special.
The academy here instilled that in me from a young age and my family have kept me grounded. It has been instilled in me from young.
I pick up little bits from here and back at club and it’s just how can I be consistent? I watch players like Keira [Walsh] and I want to be like that as well.
It was special to get that here today but hopefully many more. I get in them positions, I just need to score more!
[The youth setup at England] has really helped me transition so easily, but also the players here. They are easy to play with and they are a really special group.
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Full-time: England 2-0 Ghana
England end 2025 with yet another win. Ghana put up a resolute performance, which should boost their 2027 World Cup qualification hopes but Sarina Wiegman’s much-changed side were still a level above. Lucia Kendall scored the opener early on before Alessia Russo earned and scored a penalty in added time of the second half.
90+7 min: Walsh gets booked late on for a challenge on Kim and that will be the last action of the game.
90+6 min: Denton makes what will be a short debut, coming on for Bronze.
GOAL! England 2-0 Ghana (Russo penalty 90+6)
With no Stanway on the pitch, Russo steps up and powers it into the right side. The standout Lioness player of the year scores what is likely their last goal of the year.
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90+3 min: Oh, what is this? The referee is at the monitor. It looks like Yeboah’s arm came out to block Russo’s header, which on the replay does show it was goalbound.
The referee takes a look, comes back on the pitch … and points to the spot!
90+2 min: How has that not gone in?! Hemp cuts it back and Ghana defend valiantly. Russo then heads it but the shot is blocked.
90 min: Plays continues and we will get at least six minutes of added time. Ghana make two changes as Simon and Cudjoe come off for Achiaa and Amoh.
88 min: Badu, who came on as a sub earlier, is getting treatment after a clash against Walsh.
88 min: England are now just trying to see out the game and taking less risks than before. A few moments ago it was announced that 20,252 were in attendance at St. Mary’s.
84 min: Russo with a brilliant turn as she speeds past an abundance of yellow shirts. Only a challenge from Yeboah stops her and the Ghana defender gets booked for the foul.
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80 min: Simon fouls Mead again right outside the box on the right. Hinds clips it in but Ghana manage to deal with the danger in the box.
78 mins: Boye-Hlorkah is replaced by Badu. The Liverpool-born forward gets a good reception as she comes off.
76 min: Clever! Mead takes a low free-kick, playing it into Russo. Ghana’s defenders are caught off guard as Russo takes the shot but Konlan is there again to make the save.
75 min: Mead wins a free-kick in a dangerous area. A few Ghana players surround the referee – they think they should have had a foul near the touchline a moment earlier.
74 min: Russo gets a huge reception as she comes on for Beever-Jones.
72 min: It is getting a bit scrappy now with fouls from both teams causing a bit of stop-start action.
69 min: Konlan is back on her feet and will continue.
68 min: Konlan chases a ball that Clinton tries to get to and the keeper’s head is caught by the substitute’s foot. She is now getting treatment.
65 min: Blindkilde Brown cuts it back for Beever-Jones and England win a corner that Ghana deal with.
63 min: Clinton pulls back Asantewaa and Ghana win a free-kick in England’s half. The cross in is a bit far but Simon recovers, gets past three England players but fails to connect her final pass and the hosts clear.
61 min: England make a triple change with the Manchester City trio of Hemp, Clinton and Blindkilde Brown coming on for Park, Kearns and the goalscorer, Kendall.
58 min: Ghana make two changes with Kofi Kim and Marfo coming on for Boaduwa and Kusi.
Marfo’s first touch has her through on goal but a handball as she controlled the ball means it would not have counted had her shot gone past Moorhouse anyway.
57 min: Hinds clips it again into the box for Beever-Jones whose header also hits the crossbar. England are pushing for that second.
55 min: Simon fouls Mead and England have a free-kick from about 40 yards out … Hinds over the ball. Her cross goes over Simon and finds Bronze whose diving header grazes the fingers of the keeper before hitting the crossbar. Park then mis-hits the follow-up.
52 min: Simon does well to get past Bronze but her cross into the box is towards a group of black shirts.
51 min: Simon limps for a bit as she chases Mead. She gets some treatment but she seems OK to continue, coming on after an England corner as Yeboah does well to force Hinds out with the ball for a goalkick.
49 min: Bronze, who may just be offside, sends a cross in for Beever-Jones and Ghana, after a little scramble, prevent the Chelsea forward from even getting a touch.
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46 min: Ghana start off the half on the front foot. Kusi and Nyamekye combine before the ball lands to Boye-Hlorkah the Nottingham Forest player just can’t find her footing fast enough to produce a clean volley. She has a smile on her face after the chance though.
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Second half: We are back after the break with no changes for either side.
During the half-time break, Katie Shanahan reiterated that Laura Woods is doing OK after she collapsed during ITV’s pre-match coverage.
Half-time: England 1-0 Ghana
As expected, England have had most of the ball and with 74% possession, they have managed 13 shots. But Ghana have been firm defensively and only the early Kendall goal separates the two sides.
45+1 min: Ghana give the ball away and Mead aims for the bottom corner, her low shot just wide.
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45 min: Bronze has meandered into the box, as she does, and her shot is blocked. Wubben-Moy then has a free header but can’t keep the ball down.
40 min: Kearns lets it fly but Konlan comes up big once again to deny her. England win a corner and and Kendall’s header clangs off the crossbar. The follow-up corner is taken short and Ghana manage to clear away the danger.
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38 min: Boye-Hlorkah wins the ball of Kendall and wins a free-kick when the England midfielder can only commit a foul as she tries to win it back.
36 min: A misplaced Kendall pass finds Park and cuts inside to try it bend it goalward but the shot is well wide.
33 min: Big chance for Beever-Jones as she is played in the box after a lucky deflection but Konlan makes the save from close range.
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31 min: Kearns tries a cross/shot hybrid and Konlan slips as she reaches for it. Thankfully for her, it goes wide.
28 min: Beever-Jones is in but Boakye does well to recover and the England forward can only manage pushing the defender out of the way. The Ghana captain wants a free-kick saying: “she pushed me.” Still England win a corner but Konlan jumps high to climb Hinds’ cross in.
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27 min: Close! Park picks up the ball in the box and a cutback finds Kearns, whose first time shot is blocked by Konlan. Kendall then has a go but it is saved.
26 min: Beever-Jones almost gets the better of Boakye but the experienced captain manages to get out of trouble. Ghana are playing out from the back and have had some success but it certainly makes for some nervy moments.
24 min: Ghana have quite a bit of support in Southampton, which is great to see. Yellow shirts are all on their feet as the visitors win a free throw.
23 min: Kelly is applauded off the pitch. She manages to hobble off without help, so hopefully that signals good news. Mead replaces her.
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22 min: Kelly is still getting treatment and it looks like Mead is getting ready to come on.
20 min: Kelly has gone down and Ghana put the ball out of play. Looks like the player is holding the back of her knee.
18 min: Kearns tries to find Park with a through ball from the left but there is too much speed on the ball and it is straight to the keeper.
17 min: The commentary team remind us that China were 3-0 down on Saturday at this point. Ghana certainly proving the better test.
14 min: Kearns gets booked for pulling Asantewaa’s shirt and then kicking the ball away. Unnecessary given the ball was still in Ghana’s half.
12 min: And a chance on the other end! Wubben-Moy slips as Boaduwaa speeds by her and the Ghanian drills a low shot, but it is straight to Moorhouse.
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10 min: Close! A fantastic ball from Walsh and Kelly comes in at it quick, in the middle of the box. She hits it first time, but the ball has too much power and it goes flying above the bar.
8 min: England with most of the possession. Kelly whips the ball in again but Beever-Jones is offside and it is just too far for Park to reach.
GOAL! England 1-0 Ghana (Kendall 5)
Kendall came through as a young player at Southampton and she scores her first England goal at St. Mary’s. Kelly gets the ball on the left and crosses it into the box. Simon makes a mess of her clearance and the ball lands on a plate for Kendall who fires it home from close range.
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3 min: Ghana get forward and Boaduwaa looks through on goal. She opts to lay it off and fluffs the final pass but Wubben-Moy did well to hold her line and the flag eventually goes up anyway.
2 min: The smoke from the fireworks has made it a bit hard to see in this opening minute. Ghana press immediately but England manage to get up the pitch and the play ends in a very tame Kelly shot.
Kick-off: England 0-0 Ghana
The national anthems have been sung, team photos have been taken and we are underway at St. Mary’s. England in their all-black kit while Ghana don their all-yellow away kit.
The atmosphere is bouncing in Southampton with the fireworks a plenty. The players are in tunnel and kick-off is six minutes away.
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Sarina Wiegman hailed her side for another “incredible” year after being asked to sum up England’s 2025.
The season started last year around this time with the team getting prepared for the Euros. I think the camps we had from February towards the Euros was great and I think the tournament itself, I’ve said a couple of times, was an incredible tournament again.
On the pitch, I still think it was insane how the games developed but off the pitch was really calm and I think I enjoyed it more than I did the other tournaments before. I like now the homecoming too, having these friendlies, connecting with the fans.
The Dutchwoman also voiced her excitement in playing as African side, an opportunity England rarely get to do.
We have never played Ghana. We talk a lot about when we play the African countries and they have their different styles of play, and different tweaks in how they want to play, but you often see a lot of speed and physicality.
Ghana also have a clear structure of how they want to play. In moments they want to play a possession game but they also want to be direct. That is what we want to force them to do – not to give them time to play.
The Ghana head coach, Kim Björkegren, has called for bravery and belief for today’s game against the European champions.
Björkegren said he watched England’s rout against China and felt his side could learn from the visitors’ errors.
I can’t blame them too much. But I think in how they attacked the game, they made some mistakes. They were too afraid. And if you are afraid to play against England, then you’re going to be destroyed, exactly what happened.
The Swede stressed Ghana must approach Sarina Wiegman’s with a different mentality.
We need to attack the game differently. We believe in ourselves. We know we have strong players who are ready to tackle, to work hard, to take every duel. I hope we can stay in the game as long as possible. Our gameplan is to win. Whether that’s realistic or not, I don’t know, and I don’t care.
The former London City Lionesses midfielder Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah also said that while Ghana respect England, they do not fear them.
We can respect the opponent, but at the same time we need to be ourselves. We are the Black Queens, and we need to do our things.
We enjoy the football that we play. And we know that when we play our football, we can be a force against any team, any country we come up against.
There’s no fear whatsoever within our camp. We believe in ourselves, and we’ll see the performance we put out tomorrow. We play our best football when we believe in ourselves.
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Team news
England XI (4-3-3): Moorhouse; Bronze, Le Tissier, Hinds, Wubben-Moy; Walsh, Kendall, Park; Kelly, Kearns, Beever-Jones.
Subs: Charles, Baggaley, Stanway, Russo, Hemp, Toone, Mead, Blindkilde Brown, Roebuck, Clinton, Denton, Godfrey.
After saying she would use the final games of the year to experiment, Sarina Wiegman opted for a fairly strong XI against China. Today, a few newer faces start with only Only Moorhouse, Le Tissier, Bronze and Walsh keep their places from the weekend’s starting lineup.
Ghana XI (4-2-3-1): Conlan; Simon, Boakye, Ama Duah, Yeboah; Cudjoe, Asantewaa; Kusi, Boye-Hlorkah, Nyamekye; Boaduwaa.
Subs: Abambila, Achiaa, Adubea, Amenyeku, Amoh, Amponsah, Aniwaa, Badu, Marfo, Kim, Bonsu, McCarthy, Norshie.
Simon makes her debut for Ghana after an allegiance swap from France with the long serving captain Boakye starting alongside her. Achiaa makes a return but is only fit enough the bench. Boaduwaa, the reigning Ghanian female footballer of the year, scored four goals during her side’s two games at the last international break and will hope to add to that tally.
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Preamble
Two days ago England hammered China 8-0 at Wembley in what proved to be a relatively easy test and Sarina Wiegman’s side will hope to close out 2025 in similar fashion against Ghana in Southampton.
The Black Queens come to St. Mary’s in good form, beating Egypt 7-0 on aggregate in a two-leg 2026 Afcon qualifier after coming in third in this summer’s edition. Their head coach is Kim Björkegren, the Swede most recently managing Racing Louisville in the NWSL.
Team news coming up shortly before the 7pm GMT kick-off. As always, feel free to get in touch with your questions, comments, thoughts, predictions via email. And since this is England’s last match of the year, send over your favourite Lioness goal, assist, block, save or overall moment of 2025. Plenty to choose from!
