Lucia Kendall was already living the dream, slotting into life in the Women’s Super League after she joined Aston Villa from Southampton this summer with an ease that earned her a first senior call-up in October.
In the cold and rain at St Mary’s against Ghana on Tuesday night, it took her just six minutes to ensure the dream remains a recurring one, slotting in from close range after Bénédicte Simon had scuffed her clearance from Chloe Kelly’s cross and the ball fell fortuitously at the midfielder’s feet.
“She celebrated as if she had won the Champions League. They are still doing some treatment on the grass,” the England manager, Sarina Wiegman, joked. “It was very special for her, having everyone around her.”
It was a full-circle moment, the Winchester-born Southampton academy graduate returning to the ground of the club that nurtured her to score England’s opener in the 2-0 win less than five months after she left the south-coast side to take the next step in her exciting career.
If there is a highlight to pick out from England’s “Homecoming Series”, their four friendlies to see out 2025 after that phenomenal European title defence in the summer, it is the emergence of Kendall from the relative anonymity of the under‑23s team into the senior spotlight.
Her rise has been so rapid that England’s ever‑present Lucy Bronze admitted she had not known who Kendall was when asked about the joy and energy she gets from the young players who make the step up to the senior side. “It’s been really fun,” the right‑back said, after England’s 8-0 defeat of China on Saturday. “Lucia is a great example. To be honest with you, I didn’t know who she was at the start of the season and she’s got a huge future ahead of her. I think she’s one of England’s stars in the future.”
Wiegman was effusive in her praise of the dynamic 21-year-old. “Things have happened so quickly but she just keeps up her levels and shows she is a good player and that is impressive,” she said.
Kendall’s emergence is a testament to an under-23 side that Wiegman was keen to have relaunched in 2021 to better prepare players for the jump to the senior team. She was one of seven changes the manager made to the lineup that started against China.
Ghana presented a different challenge to the Lionesses from the one posed by China. The scoreline may not have been as flattering, but England were rampant in the teams’ first meeting, dominating possession, accruing 24 shots to Ghana’s three and 10 on target to Ghana’s one. The only thing missing was the end product, Wiegman’s charges denied by the woodwork four times.
That failure to be clinical could be partly attributed to bad luck, but also to the presence of a starting XI that had not played much together. However, you only build those connections through minutes on the pitch to complement the work on the training ground.
So in that sense, this game, a friendly against a side ranked 67th in the world, was a good opportunity to begin forming relationships between lesser-utilised players and the more experienced ones and gauge how effectively they are coming along.
That will not always be successful, or reap rewards immediately, but the value will show in 2027, should England qualify for the World Cup in Brazil, where circumstances could force more unusual starting lineups or changes mid-game.
In Southampton, the extension of England’s lead came deep into added time, when Comfort Yeboah was adjudged to have handled after Alessia Russo’s header. After a VAR check, a penalty was awarded and Russo – the newly crowned Football Supporters’ Association women’s player of the year – converted. The home crowd of 20,252 celebrated wildly, their patient wait for a second goal after the promise offered by the early opener rewarded. The only lowlight was an injury which forced the withdrawal of Kelly.
England end 2025 with two wins, rotation and lots to think about. The emerging talent from the under-23s adds excitement and competitiveness 18 months out from the World Cup.
Meanwhile the only bid to host the 2035 World Cup – with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – has been submitted to Fifa, giving the next generation of girls up and down the country hope of emulating Kendall, Aggie Beever‑Jones, Maya Le Tissier and more.
