Agyemang injury for England deflates Bronze’s birthday celebrations against Matildas

A chorus of Happy Birthday echoed around Pride Park after England’s Euro 2025 warrior Lucy Bronze had fired in England’s second against Australia, but the party mood was marred by a nasty looking knee injury to a distraught Michelle Agyemang. It was better from the Lionesses in Derby, a more structured and controlled performance than the one on display in the 2-1 defeat against Brazil on Saturday night, Aggie Beever‑Jones and Georgia Stanway scoring either side of Bronze’s effort. It is hard to say whether that was down to the change in personnel and positions, or just that the cobwebs needed to be shaken off in the first fixture since their big win in Switzerland before things started to click into place. Related: ‘An awful moment’: Sarina Wiegman says Agyemang injury ‘doesn’t look good’ Either way, there were many positives to take from the 3-0 win against the side they knocked out of the World Cup in 2023 in the semi‑finals. Agyemang’s injury was the sour note as both teams ended up with 10 players on the pitch. Australia’s Alanna Kennedy was sent off shortly before England’s first goal and Beever‑Jones needed to come off after England used up all their substitutions. It had been expected that Sarina Wiegman would shuffle her pack a little. Debuts were handed to Lucia Kendall and Taylor Hinds, Beever‑Jones started on the left alongside Alessia Russo and Beth Mead, while the goalkeeper Hannah Hampton returned to the starting XI having shaken off her elbow issue. Kendall had been diplomatic at the start of this international window, the 21-year-old was “just here to learn as much as possible”, she said, expectations of minutes low. Yet, in her first start, following her first call-up, the Southampton academy graduate looked a natural fit in the middle alongside Keira Walsh and Ella Toone. “To be honest I was not really surprised with her performance,” Wiegman said. “Straight away you saw her understanding and reading of the game. She keeps things very simple. I just wanted her to go out and play and enjoy herself and I think that’s what she did.” Kendall’s fellow debutant Hinds was similarly impressive: pitted against Chelsea’s dynamic right-back Ellie Carpenter, she coped well. England had promised a faster start in front of 26,544 fans at Pride Park and they delivered, the opening goal arriving in the 20th minute to end a run of four games in which they had conceded first. Cooney‑Cross played a short pass to Kennedy and the London City Lionesses defender was robbed of the ball by Russo, who stepped towards the edge of the box with just the goalkeeper to beat before Kennedy upended her. Kennedy was sent off and while the initial free-kick was powered low into the wall, Bronze was on hand to push it back to Beever-Jones who fired in. It was a deserved lead and a welcome one for the hosts. “They are a world-class side and started well even before the sending off,” the Australia head coach, Joe Montemurro, said. “We take it as a massive learning curve for us. I’m a bit frustrated we didn’t get a chance to affect any part of our gameplan. We didn’t start well, that’s the honest truth. We didn’t get any rhythm and then the game changed when we went down to 10 players.” Wiegman’s side extended their lead shortly before the break, Walsh’s defence-splitting pass found Toone and the Manchester United midfielder flicked it back towards an unmarked Bronze to guide in. It was a flatter affair after the break, the cushion earned, and a quadruple substitution from the hosts arrived just after the hour with experimentation high on the agenda of this four-game “homecoming series” and legs rested before a return to club football. Sam Kerr exited in the 70th minute, the Chelsea forward restricted to one shot in that time by a more solid looking England. The decision to restore Kerr’s captaincy has proven controversial in Australia, despite being found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer. Montemurro said: “We’ve made a decision internally for what we believe is the best for the group. I won’t make political decisions, it’s purely football.” The injury to Agyemang then marred proceedings: the Brighton forward, on loan from Arsenal, was distraught after she went down off the ball before being taken down the tunnel on a stretcher. Beever-Jones needed to come off soon after with a dead leg, and with five changes already made the hosts played the remainder as a 10 v 10 affair. It was comfortable for England in the end, a penalty from Stanway sealing the 3-0 win after substitute Missy Bo Kearns was tripped in the box. The fluidity had been disrupted a little by the many changes and the lengthy injury stoppage, but the performance offered plenty from which to learn. Those things will be looked at in the coming days, but concern for Euro 2025 starlet Agyemang will dominate as teammates and fans alike wait for news regarding the extent of her injury.