ENGLAND manager Sarina Wiegman hailed a “special moment” for Lucia Kendall after she marked her second international start with a goal in a 2-0 win over Ghana on Tuesday night.

The Aston Villa midfielder took advantage of a mistake in the visiting side’s defence to knock the Lionesses into the lead after six minutes at St Mary’s as the European champions rounded off a memorable 2025 with a routine victory.

Alessia Russo’s penalty in stoppage time made the final score slightly more reflective of England’s dominance, but in truth Ghana – despite a stubborn defensive showing – could count themselves lucky not to have been on the end of a thrashing.

The key takeaway for Wiegman was the experience the fixture gave to some of her second-string players, particularly with qualification for the 2027 World Cup set to start next year, with the goal from Kendall a special highlight.

“She was really alert,” said Wiegman of the 21-year-old’s close-range finish. “She was so happy. How she celebrated as if she’d won the Champions League.”

Kendall spent 10 years on the books of Southampton before moving to Villa and the goal had added meaning for her coming in the rain on the south coast.

“It was a fun moment, a special moment,” said Wiegman. “It’s her home.

“She shows consistency and that’s not easy when you’ve just come into this environment. Things have gone so quickly. She keeps up her levels and shows that she’s a good player.”

Wiegman gave starts to a number of inexperienced internationals including Arsenal’s Taylor Hinds at left-back and Liverpool midfielder Missy Bo Kearns.

Nevertheless, England ought to have won by a landslide with the number of chances they created against the team ranked 67 in the world.

“I’m happy,” said Wiegman. “I would have loved to have scored more goals because I think we had enough opportunities.

“The urgency to move the ball quick wasn’t there. Ghana were well organised. We could have speeded up the game more.”

A worrying moment – if not for England then for Arsenal – came when Chloe Kelly was forced off after 30 minutes.

The Gunners face two key Champions League fixtures this side of Christmas and it was initially unclear the extent of the problem, though she was able to walk off the pitch unaided.

“She felt something in the knee that didn’t feel right,” said Wiegman. “She could walk but it didn’t feel right.

“For her it’s sad. You don’t want to have those niggles but that’s just the way it is now.”

Asked how many of the inexperienced players given a chance were likely to feature in World Cup qualifying, Wiegman said: “I can’t say yet. It depends who is available at that point. Some players I think can go to the next level.”