England 4-3-3 (Bardsley – Bronze, Houghton, Bright, Greenwood – Scott, Walsh, Kirby – Parris, White, Mead)

Scotland 4-4-1-1 (Alexander – Howard, Corsie, Beattie, Docherty – Emslie, Murray, Weir, Evans – Little – Cuthbert)

For the first 45 minutes of this eagerly anticipated contest, Scotland were unable to lay a glove on their rivals. Defending in a 4-4-1-1, they failed to press England with any real success. Little often man-marked England’s deepest midfielder, Walsh, following her to cut her off as a passing option. If they managed to force English build-up wide to a full-back, the nearby winger would press the ball while the near central midfielder would mark their opposite in an attempt to take away the pass inside. However, England were comfortable physically and technically coping with pressure and retained possession fairly easily, using the 2v1 they had with their centre-backs on Scotland lone striker Cuthbert.

England have been more focused on building out through short passes under Phil Neville, and this was seen here. Their full-backs, particularly Bronze on the right, got forward, while their wingers occasionally came inside to create an extra passing lane. Kirby and Scott acted as attacking 8s, looking to take up advanced positions and sometimes making third-man runs off of a dropping White, who came deep to receive before laying off to Kirby or Scott to continue the attack.

Scotland’s build-up was a complete contrast in that they failed to break the lines at all and at times were dispossessed in their own defensive third trying to play out. The two central midfielders, Murray and Weir, stayed close to the centre-backs to offer a clear pass out. However, Scott and Kirby were quick to step up and press their opposite man-to-man from behind whenever they received the ball.

Scotland also suffered from a lack of options to play through. Little moved around and looked to give her centre-backs and midfielders an option, but other than that there was nothing on to play through England’s aggressive 4-1-4-1 defensive block. Both Scottish wingers stayed quite wide, and often were found with passes to then go 1v1 against the English full-backs. However, this ploy reaped little reward, and their staying wide also reduced the option of them getting between England’s lines and offering a penetrative passing option.

With few options and aggressive English pressing, Scotland were often forced into going long towards Cuthbert. This never worked for a number of reasons. One is that Cuthbert is a diminutive support striker, not a target for aerial duels. Another is that, even if she did somehow get hold of the ball, she was immediately under pressure with a numerical disadvantage up against the more physical Houghton and Bright. As a result, these plays often led to England easily regaining possession and restarting their attacks from the back.

Some changes brought Scotland into the game in the second half. They seemed to press more aggressively, forcing some turnovers in higher areas of the pitch and allowing England less comfortable possession. They also brought on Smith at left-back, who pushed higher than Docherty and allowed Evans to come into the inside channel, where she could get on the ball in more dangerous areas and cause a new problem for England’s midfield when defending. Ultimately, however, the changes came too late, and England started their campaign with an important win.