With 17 Chelsea Women heading off on international duty, we take a look at the fixtures which have taken place so far, including several invitational tournaments and friendly matches involving our Blues.
England began the defence of their Arnold Clark Cup title with a 4-0 victory over Korea Republic in Milton Keynes on Thursday night. Lauren James stole the show by scoring her first senior goal for the Lionesses, and scooped the Player of the Match award for good measure.
Across the globe, Sam Kerr led her Australia side to a 4-0 win over the Czech Republic in the Cup of Nations, which sees four teams competing in a mini-tournament throughout New South Wales. Kerr netted an emphatic close range finish to get the joint-hosts of this summer’s World Cup off to a flyer.
Let’s take a closer look at how our Blues are faring…
Wednesday
Five Blues were in action for their respective nations across two invitational tournaments on Wednesday evening, with the Tournoi de France and Pinatar Cup getting underway across the Channel and in Spain respectively.
The Tournoi de France sees the hosts joined by Denmark, Norway and Uruguay with the first round of matches seeing all three of our Blues who were involved come out on top. Eve Perisset started for France who overcame Denmark thanks to a single goal scored by Charlotte Bilbault.
Meanwhile, Guro Reiten and Maren Mjelde helped Norway to a narrow 1-0 victory over Uruguay. Karina Saevik scored the only goal of the game with half an hour played in a match dominated by the Norwegians who conjured 22 shots and enjoyed 76 per cent possession.
In southern Europe, two more Blues are competing in the same tournament as the Pinatar Cup got underway in Spain. Scotland and Wales join Iceland and the Philippines for this invitational event, which will see Erin Cuthbert and Sophie Ingle go head-to-head.
Cuthbert started Scotland’s opening game of the tournament, where they were left frustrated after a 2-0 defeat to Iceland. Having dominated the opening 45 minutes, Scotland were undone by a rapid brace from Olof Kristinsdottir after the break.
As for Wales, Sophie Ingle started as they earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over an organised Philippines outfit. Kayleigh Green scored from the penalty spot with the last kick of the first half, getting their tournament off to the perfect start.
Thursday
Joint-hosts of this summer’s World Cup, Australia, were in action against the Czech Republic as the Cup of Nations kicked off – a four-team invitational tournament taking place at various venues across New South Wales.
Kerr was on the scoresheet as the Matilda’s recorded a resounding 4-0 victory ahead of their next match against Spain on Sunday. Hayley Raso netted a brace before Kerr fired home from close range, and skipper Clare Polkinghorne put the icing on the cake six minutes from time.
European champions England were back to defend their Arnold Clark Cup crown with Korea Republic the opposition in Milton Keynes. Georgia Stanway, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo and James were on the scoresheet in a 4-0 win for Sarina Wiegman’s side.
James took the plaudits after another impressive showing. She won the penalty which Stanway converted for the opener, before netting her first senior goal for the Lionesses resulting in her taking home the Player of the Match award.
Sweden were in action against China and emerged 4-1 winners in a friendly match. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd opened the scoring inside the opening minute, while Zecira Musovic and Magdalena Eriksson were among the substitutes.
Friday
Canadian duo Jessie Fleming and Kadeisha Buchanan started as Canada fell to a 2-0 defeat against the United States in their SheBelieves Cup opener, with Mallory Swanson netting a first-half brace. Brazil and Japan are the other two teams who make up the eighth edition of this tournament.
Midfielder Jelena Cankovic and her Serbia side defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-2 in a friendly encounter earlier this afternoon (Friday) the first of two matches they will contest before the international break concludes.
Check back next week for further updates on our Blues international exploits…