A lacklustre England display saw the Lionesses slump to a 2-0 defeat to Australia, ending a 30-game unbeaten run under manager Sarina Wiegman.
Chelsea striker Sam Kerr opened the scoring inside 32 minutes at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium after a rare error at the back from England captain Leah Williamson. Despite enjoying more than 70% possession, the Lionesses failed to carve out clear cut chances and were punished for their deficiencies in front of goal when Kerr turned provider for Charlotte Grant, whose deflected header put the game to bed after the break.
With less than 100 days to go until this summer's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, England's air of invincibility has been dented, though there is perhaps an argument that shrugging off that unconquerable epithet relieves some pressure on Wiegman's side ahead of their group opener against Haiti on July 22. Certainly, Tuesday's drab encounter in the capital has proven that England will have to overcome plenty of obstacles if they are to add the most coveted prize in world football to their European crown.
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Here, football.london takes a look at the five key talking points from the Gtech Community Stadium.
Williamson has night to forget
Since being awarded the captaincy more than 18 months ago, Leah Williamson has scarcely put a foot wrong for England - both on and off the pitch.
In the early stages of Tuesday's game, her impressive range of passing once again looked like it could be the key to unlocking Australia's miserly defence; the Arsenal defender playing an incisive ball through to Alessia Russo who failed to capitalise on the opportunity to play in Ella Toone.
However, it was the opposition Williamson inadvertently helped to get off the mark when she failed to deal with a long ball over the top. The 26-year-old's misplaced header saw Clare Hunt's pass divert straight into the path of Sam Kerr, who made no mistake with a cool dinked finish over the onrushing Mary Earps.
From that moment on, it felt like the Chelsea striker had the upper hand in her battle with the England skipper, and Kerr further compounded Williamson's misery when she fired in a sublime cross for Charlotte Grant in the second half. Grant's header took a wicked deflection off the Arsenal defender, sending Earps the wrong way and making sure of the victory for Australia.
"We looked like we were lacking ideas on the ball. We got punished. Obviously my mistake for the first goal and they were ruthless on the counter," Williamson told ITV Sport after the game.
"Sometimes you have those games. They were well organised. We weren’t as efficient as we usually are. We need to figure out why.
"I’m not one for dwelling on things. The whole team feels rubbish. It hurts."
With less than four months to go until the World Cup gets underway, Williamson will be hoping her side can harness that hurt when they travel Down Under in search of world football's greatest prize.
Kerr shows England there's no room for error
If England are to go all the way at the World Cup, they will have to beat the best in the business to do so. And Kerr is certainly a player worthy of the 'best in the business' tag.
Earlier this month, the Chelsea striker became the first non-European player to reach 50 WSL goals and, if she is able to carry her scintillating domestic form into this summer's tournament, Australia could be serious contenders for the World Championship.
Under Sarina Wiegman, England have transformed into a formidable outfit, and Tuesday's clash marked just the third time the Lionesses had fallen behind in a game during the Dutchwoman's tenure. However, Kerr's display in West London proved that errors can be very costly on the international stage and, at a tournament where a raft of immensely talented players are on show, the margin for error is small.
Stop Keira Walsh, stop England?
When Keira Walsh secured a move from Manchester City to Barcelona last summer, she commanded a world-record fee for a women's player. However being the most expensive star in the women's game comes at a price - literally.
So often the midfielder's ability to pick a pass has yielded an England breakthrough. Her stunning assist for Ella Toone's opener at the EURO 2022 Final is proof enough of that.
However, on Tuesday night, Walsh was afforded little space to work her magic, with her Australian counterparts in the middle of the park essentially marking her out of the game. The 26-year-old's big money move has placed a target on her back and, while preventing her from dictating play is a feat that is far easier said than done, it's undoubtedly a ploy many teams will try their hand at in the summer.
Wiegman experiments with strike force
Following the retirement of legendary England striker Ellen White last August, Sarina Wiegman has been tasked with determining who will take over as her long-term successor.
Alessia Russo - primarily used as a super-sub at the EUROs - looks most likely to carry that mantle, though the prolific goalscoring form of Rachel Daly (who is often deployed at left-back on the international stage) for Aston Villa this term has left the England boss with something of a selection headache up front.
After England's Arnold Clark Cup victory over Italy back in February, Wiegman was quizzed on whether she would ever consider playing the pair alongside each other in the forward line.
"I think they are both very good strikers," the Dutchwoman said at the time. "We all know that Rachel is very versatile and that is very good for our team.
"But we need to see options this week and just try them out. We have played out scenarios (in training) with two centre forwards but for now, with how we play, we wouldn't start with two at this moment."
Daly was brought on as a second-half substitute against Australia, replacing Toone in the No.10 role while Russo remained as a lone striker. While the rather uninspiring trajectory of the game prevented the duo from settling into any kind of rhythm, Daly's introduction at least shows Wiegman is willing to experiment with her strike force if needed in the summer.
A big learning game
Under Wiegman, England have become serial winners, and so this defeat will rankle - particularly with the Lionesses having enjoyed the lions share of possession against Australia.
But, if they are to triumph in the summer, England will have to overcome plenty of adversity and Tuesday's game has perhaps offered them a blueprint for the sort of test they are likely to face when they travel Down Under.
"It doesn't feel great. A big learning game against a very physical and well-organised Australian side," Wiegman said in her post-match press conference.
"We had a lot of possession and created some things but struggled to speed up the game and stretch them. We made some mistakes.
"Sometimes we lost it too quickly and it looks like it's not energetic enough but we bring it back to football."
England's players will now return to their respective clubs ahead of the business end of the domestic season. And Wiegman will be hoping that, when her squad meet again in a few months time, the defeat to Australia will only have served to make them more hungry for success on the world's biggest stage.
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