England 4-0 Japan: Jess Park scores on her debut in Lionesses win

Substitute Jess Park scored 79 seconds into her England debut to round off a comfortable victory over Japan in a friendly in Spain.

Chloe Kelly had earlier netted her first goal since the Euro 2022 final, while Rachel Daly and Ella Toone also got on the scoresheet.

England remain unbeaten under manager Sarina Wiegman, extending their run to 25 matches having conceded just once in their last five games.

The Lionesses were tested by a technical and creative Japanese side but looked comfortable for large spells.

They controlled the majority of possession, despite a late period of pressure from Japan, and had plenty of chances to add to their tally.

Manchester United striker Alessia Russo headed Kelly’s cross on to the right post early in the first half before Daly put England ahead.

Kelly was a threat throughout and her deliveries from the left caused problems for Japan.

It was her cross that was not dealt with by the 2011 world champions when Daly followed up in the box to coolly slide in the opener.

Aston Villa forward Daly, playing as a full-back under Wiegman, has now scored an impressive eight goals in 10 starts for club and country this season.

Manchester City winger Kelly capped off a strong evening when she fired in Beth Mead’s cross to make it 2-0 in the second half.

Toone, who signed a contract extension with Manchester United this week, dinked it into the far corner for England’s third goal after she was teed up by substitute Ebony Salmon.

But it was Park who had the greatest impact off the bench, coming on to poke over the line just seconds after her introduction.

Speaking to ITV afterwards, she said: “I’m a bit overwhelmed at the minute, it’s absolutely amazing and I’m so honoured to play for my country and score a goal.

“I’ve dreamed of this ever since I was a young girl, now I’m here and it’s come true! My head has gone, I’m so happy.

“I don’t think there are any words to describe it. It’s just absolutely unbelievable.”

England take on Norway in their next friendly on Tuesday (19:00 GMT kick-off) in Murcia.

England make light work of Japan test

With eight months to go until the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, this was another test against varied opposition which England made light work of.

Japan are often full of creativity but they struggled to get out of their half as England pressed and hurried them.

Euro 2022 top scorer Mead almost scored when she won possession on the edge of Japan’s box before her shot was pushed wide and Toone was busy, often linking up with club team-mate Russo.

It took a bit of time for England to build their rhythm as the slow pitch and windy conditions impacted their usually fluent attacking play.

However, when Daly eventually found the opener, England imposed their dominance and Japan rarely tested goalkeeper Mary Earps.

“We played a very good game – lots of football,” manager Wiegman told ITV.

“They played in a shape that we haven’t had against us a lot, so it was good to practise that. We’re doing good, we’re developing.”

Wiegman was forced into several changes due to injury as captain Leah Williamson, Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze and forward Lauren Hemp were all absent through injury but England still showed their quality in depth off the bench.

Chelsea’s Lauren James came on and performed well, while Salmon provided the assist for Toone and Park, with the latter making her mark in front of goal.

This was a test England would expect to win and though Japan were disappointing, it was another sign of the advancing direction under Wiegman before the World Cup.