LONDON — England were guilty of a defensive horror show against Germany at Wembley as Christian Wück’s side gave the Lionesses a wake-up call with a 4-3 victory in a thriller on Friday.
The match was a re-run of the Euro 2022 final when England’s women’s side experienced their finest hour, but this performance was a world away from those commanding days. It was alarming to see how easily Germany unpicked England’s defence, in what was Wück’s first match in charge.
England’s familiar pairing of Leah Williamson and Millie Bright, alongside the experienced Lucy Bronze were at fault for Germany’s three first-half goals. Germany captain Giulia Gwinn scored from the spot after just three minutes after Bright brought down Linda Dallmann, Gwinn then punished some sloppy defending in the 11th minute and Klara Bühl easing past Bronze to score their third, all within the first 30 minutes. England responded with a double from Georgia Stanway — the first from the spot after Gwinn was guilty of a handball, and a second in the 36th minute — but the Lionesses were unable to claw things back in the second half.
Germany added a fourth from the spot in the 72nd minute from Sara Däbritz when Russo caught Pia-Sophie Wolter with a stray boot, while Lauren Hemp had a…
