Match report as Ellen White's 45th goal for England on her 100th cap ensures Lionesses beat Austria in their World Cup qualifier at the Stadium of Light; England have won all five of their group games so far
Saturday 27 November 2021 19:01, UK
Ellen White marked her 100th cap for England Women in style as her 45th goal for her country helped her close in on Kelly Smith's all-time scoring record in a 1-0 win over Austria at the Stadium of Light.
Sarina Wiegman's side continued their perfect start to World Cup qualifying in blustery conditions on Wearside as White was in the right place to steer home Fran Kirby's cross five minutes before the interval.
Wiegman's five matches in charge so far have seen England score 33 goals and concede none in Group D, previously beating North Macedonia 8-0, Luxembourg 10-0, Northern Ireland 4-0 and Latvia 10-0.
Austria provided the Lionesses with their stiffest test so far, but Mary Earps' fingertip save to deny Sarah Zadrazil ensured England opened up a five-point lead at the top of their group.
Wiegman acknowledged prior to the match that her team would need to adapt to the weather conditions in the eye of Storm Arwen that is sweeping across the United Kingdom, but Austria produced stubborn resistance themselves in the opening period.
White's 40th-minute strike, which took her to within one of Smith's record tally, was richly deserved as England dominated possession but struggled to convert it into chances.
Nevertheless, they will head into Tuesday's clash with Latvia - who they beat 10-0 in Riga last month - at the Keepmoat Stadium sitting five points clear at the top of Group D with five wins out of five.
They needed two second-half saves from keeper Earps to preserve their record of not having conceded a single goal in the campaign to date but, with Fran Kirby, Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp impressive going forward, rarely looked in danger of emerging with anything less than three points.
England, who replaced Leah Williamson and Beth England with Demi Stokes and Rachel Daly, gradually worked their way into the game after a scrappy start in difficult conditions as Keira Walsh settled things down in the middle of the pitch.
Alex Greenwood sent a 10th-minute free-kick straight into keeper Manuela Zinsberger's midriff and Mead could not sort out her feet quickly enough at the far post to convert Kirby's driven cross four minutes later.
The home side were starting to find their feet with Mead and Kirby prospering wide on the right, but were unable to produce a final ball of note, although Lauren Hemp warmed Zinsberger's hands with a well-struck drive from distance after intercepting the keeper's misdirected clearance.
Skipper Millie Bright drilled a shot just wide from 30 yards, but Mead increasingly looked the most likely to unlock the massed Austrian ranks, and the keeper was grateful to see her 36th-minute cross diverted straight to her by defender Virginia Kirchberger just ahead of White.
The opening goal eventually arrived five minutes before half-time when, after her initial effort had been blocked, Kirby lifted the ball towards the far post for White to thump it into the roof of the net.
Zinsberger denied Kirby and White in quick succession as the whistle approached, but England headed for the dressing room with work still to do.
They received a timely reminder of that within five minutes of the restart when Earps, who had until that point been a virtual spectator, had to react smartly to turn away Barbara Dunst's deflected shot.
Earps was extended much further three minutes later when she dived to her right to parry Zadrazil's rising drive after a flowing attack with Austria sensing an opportunity.
Mead saw appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Kateryna Monzul after she had gone down under Carina Wenninger's challenge amid a hailstorm on Wearside, but then forced a decent 65th-minute save from Zinsberger after being played in by Kirby.
The home side hammered away at the visitors' defence as time ran down with Zinsberger saving from Daly, but White's contribution ultimately proved decisive.
England boss Sarina Wiegman: "It's just an incredible achievement. If you have 100 caps, you've been so consistent.
"I've learned to know Ellen as a real professional player, a terrific team player and then the consistency she brings, still she wants to become better every day, and that's really special."
"I think it's a matter of time, and that also says the consistency is there. She had her 100th cap, she gets a goal, she's very close to this record, so it's very exciting.
"But also how we all live this, it's a team performance and today it was Ellen who scored the winning goal, which is really nice, but it doesn't really actually matter who wins the game.
"You also see that Ellen is so happy that she scores the goal, but as long as we keep scoring goals, then we're happy - and if she breaks that record, of course we would be very happy for her."
Austria boss Irene Fuhrmann: "It was clear before the game that England were going to be favourites, and that also could be seen in today's match.
"I'm proud of how the team performed, how diligently they defended and, at some points, how they played offensively as well."
England striker Ellen White told ITV:
"It's a dream really, it's come full circle which is really strange.
"To have made my debut against Austria, to now get my 100th cap against Austria, but for me, I just wanted the team to win. It was a really hard game but I'm so proud of the team, the way we stuck in there, a clean sheet, and obviously the three points, so yeah I'm really happy.
"They really came out of the blocks and we just needed to be patient. There were spells when we didn't play our best football but we just stayed in the game."
"Snow, I couldn't feel my face! That's the joy of playing up north. Fran Kirby is a dream to play alongside. She's a phenomenal player and we're very proud that she's English.
"I'm delighted to get on the scoresheet, so it's an absolute dream for me, I'm really pleased."
Former midfielder Fara Williams holds the record for most England caps with 172, with Jill Scott the leading active player and second overall on 153.
White joins Scott and regular captain Steph Houghton (121) as the current players in the century club, which also includes wingers Karen Carney and Rachel Yankey, defenders Alex Scott, Casey Stoney and Rachel Unitt, midfielder Gillian Coultard and forwards Smith and Eni Aluko.
There is unlikely to be another inductee in the near future, with full-back Lucy Bronze next among active players on 83 and goalkeeper Karen Bardsley, one cap further back, seemingly out of the picture aged 36.
Head coach Sarina Wiegman hailed an "amazing accomplishment" for White while stand-in captain Millie Bright told ITV before the game: "It's huge and credit to Ellen, not many players do reach 100 caps. For her to do that is an incredible achievement and the whole team is so proud of her."
Kelly Smith set the England scoring record of 46 before retiring in February 2015 after 117 caps, having surpassed Kerry Davis' mark of 44 set in just 82 appearances between 1982 and 1998.
White has made rapid progress over the last couple of years to move past Davis into second after a series of inspirational performances - most notably at the 2019 World Cup where she netted six times as England reached a second consecutive World Cup semi-final, and had a potentially crucial seventh disallowed by VAR in that loss to the United States.
Her prolific form continued through the 2020 SheBelieves Cup and the current World Cup qualifiers. Her goal against Austria took her one behind Smith and she could have already equalled the record but for a missed penalty in the 10-0 win over Latvia.
Having scored on her debut against Austria in 2010, she notched 17 goals in her first 26 caps to the end of 2013 before a spell out of the team and a goal drought.
Her goals in back-to-back European Championship qualifiers against Serbia in June 2016 were her first for England in nearly three years but sparked a major return to form - she has 27 in 45 caps since that date including her current run of 16 in 17 games.
While not part of her England total, she also scored six goals for Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics and two more in a warm-up friendly.
England Women are next in action on November 30 at home to Latvia; kick-off 7pm. Austria travel to face Luxembourg on the same night at the same time.
