‘It was a good moment’ – Wiegman pleased to see Kendall get off the mark against Ghana | OneFootball

England head coach Sarina Wiegman was pleased to see midfielder Lucia Kendall net her first senior international goal against Ghana at St Mary’s Stadium last night.

The 21-year-old crowned her Southampton return by scoring the first goal in the Lionesses’ 2-0 victory over the African nation in the final game of the ‘Homecoming Series’. Alessia Russo netted the other goal from the penalty spot.

When speaking to the media after the match, Wiegman reflected on Kendall’s big moment on an evening which saw her celebrate her own special homecoming.

“It was a good moment,” Wiegman said. “She was really alert, scored that goal and she was so happy. It made everyone else happy, of course, because we’re one-nil up, but also, how she celebrated was as if she won the Champions League.

“It was a really, really good moment, a fun moment and especially a very special moment for her having everyone around her and it’s her home.”

The Lionesses ended 2025 with 10 goals scored and two clean sheets from the games against China PR and Ghana. Commenting on the double-header, Wiegman highlighted the differences from two very different contests.

She stated “To be honest, I would have loved it if we had scored a couple more goals tonight because I think that was the game. We got enough opportunities to create huge chances and score goals.

“We had such a great start last Saturday and then it shows when you score some goals very quickly, how easy we make it ours. Today, that took a little bit longer. I also thought we needed the urgency to move [the ball] quicker because Ghana were very well-organised and they really wanted to come into duels and try to stay out of there. I think we could have sped up the game a little more and also, getting into the half-spaces more and behind the defence would have helped a bit.”

Discussing the learnings, Wiegman re-emphasised the importance of seeing different players and combinations across the pitch. 

She said “From tonight, what we expected from Ghana was that they’d be well-organised but also, that they can play very physical, they’re very quick and fast, so we had to take that out. I think we did that well.

“Of course, over the two games, we wanted to see many players play and see how individuals are and then of course, the connection with the players around them. That gives us a lot of information. I think tonight, we did get these things from Ghana, although I think we could have made it a little bit easier for ourselves by scoring [a second goal] a little bit quicker.”

England will now turn their attention towards FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 qualifying which begins with a match against Ukraine on 3 March 2026.