When Ella Toone’s smartly-taken, 23rd-minute strike rippled the back of the Brazil net back in April, there were probably few inside Wembley that forecast they would have to endure more than 265 minutes of football without clapping eyes on another England goal.
But football is an unpredictable beast. And the Lionesses’ wait for that next rush of electric, elusive goal-scoring ecstasy goes on.
When Toone fired England ahead in the inaugural Women’s Finalissma, she compounded the ever-growing aura of infallibility that had surrounded the Lionesses since Sarina Wiegman took the reins from Hege Riise back in September 2021.
Andressa Alves’ stoppage-time equaliser did, briefly, spark fears that England’s proud, 30-game unbeaten record could be under threat. However, Chloe Kelly’s decisive spot-kick in the subsequent shootout promptly put such fears to bed, with Wiegman’s side claiming yet another piece of silverware in front of a raucous Wembley crowd.
That winning run did come to an end, though, just five days later, as goals from Sam Kerr and Charlotte Grant helped sink an uncharacteristically toothless England at the Gtech Community Stadium. More than two months have passed since that drizzly April night, however the Lionesses’ deficiencies in front of goal have endured, as Wiegman’s side were held to a 0-0 stalemate at Stadium MK on Saturday afternoon.
In the first half, Rachel Daly looked the likeliest candidate to bring England out of their minor malaise. The Aston Villa striker tested Ines Pereira in the Portugal goal with a flurry of early headed efforts but - as should probably be expected from a player who hasn’t featured competitively since the final day of the Women’s Super League season more than a month ago - she was just lacking that clinical edge.
The same could be said for Alessia Russo, who was brought on to replace Daly after the interval.The former Manchester United talisman was unlucky to see her goalbound effort cleared off the line before dragging a couple of decent chances just wide of the post.
“My first thought is that I am, and also the team, are very disappointed we didn't win this game," Wiegman reflected in her post-match press conference.
"But we also take a lot of learnings from it and I think at moments we saw the things we are really working on and wanted to show as a way of creating chances to score goals.
"If you see how many chances we created, I think we had 23 shots on goal. There won't be many matches that we then don't score."
Wiegman is, of course, right. While England failed to find the back of the net against Portugal, they still turned in a dominant display and, particularly in the second half, looked like the only side destined to come away with the victory.
Wiegman’s charges had eight shots on target, 68% possession and nearly double the amount of successful passes as their opponents. But such metrics do not, without goals to back them up, win you games - something Wiegman and her staff will no doubt have a conspicuous awareness of heading into this summer’s tournament.
It was a similar story against Australia. The Matildas had five shots to England’s 15, 29% possession to England’s 71% and just 286 passes compared to England’s 692.
The Finalissima performance against Brazil can also be distilled into similarly imperious statistics, and yet, after Toone’s opener, the Lionesses were stifled for more than 70 minutes.
You could argue that England have simply been unlucky, that the footballing gods haven’t been smiling on them of late and their commanding displays will soon start translating into comprehensive wins. Cynics would say the reigning European champions have been ‘found out’, their weaknesses exploited by a succession of teams that have stuck to a well-rehearsed game plan.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between both of those camps.
In the three games that preceded their Finalissima win, England scored 12 goals, conceding just twice on their way to a second consecutive Arnold Clark Cup win.
Those numbers don’t exactly speak of a side with serious shortcomings in front of goal. This is the first time in Sarina Wiegman’s tenure England have failed to score in consecutive games and Saturday’s result - though frustrating - is mitigated by a host of different circumstances.
It was the Lionesses first outing in almost three months, with players still finding their feet after a few weeks of post-season downtime. It was a friendly and, after the injury crisis that has gripped England’s squad in recent months, the primary objective for many of Wiegman’s squad would likely have been emerging from the contest unscathed ahead of next week’s trip down under.
England still boast an embarrassment of attacking riches, even in the absence of the injured Beth Mead - the top goal scorer at last summer’s Euros. Indeed, Wiegman’s greatest challenge in the weeks that lie ahead is not determining where the goals are coming from, but rather which member of her sublimely-talented strike force will be entrusted with the number nine shirt.
Saturday’s starting lineup perhaps indicates that Daly, who scored 22 goals in as many games for Villa last term, is the likeliest to carry that mantle this summer. Or maybe Russo’s battling second-half display has convinced the England boss to promote her from the role of ‘Euros super-sub’ to World Cup starter.
Bethany England too, passed her audition for master marksman with flying colours, notching 12 goals in as many games for Tottenham after making a January switch from Kingsmeadow.
"I'm not closer, no,” Wiegman responded when asked whether Saturday’s clash had offered any more clarity on which of those strikers will be named in the starting XI in just three short weeks time.
“'I think in some positions it's really tight. We have some time now. This not the time to make final decisions as we have some weeks to go."
Certainly, England will have ample opportunity to ramp up their World Cup preparations in the next 21 days. After travelling to Australia, the Lionesses will take part in another training camp on the Sunshine Coast, before taking on Canada in a behind-closed-doors friendly on July 14.
With that in mind, Wiegman still has some time to decide who will lead her front line when her side takes to the field against Haiti at Suncorp Stadium. But, with England closing in on 300 minutes without a goal, ensuring that decision is the right one feels more important than ever.
