It is debatable precisely how much can be gleaned from this workout against a team ranked 50th in the world who lost 5-0 against Denmark on Friday but, if England can take one certainty from this victory, it is this: in Grace Clinton, they have found a generational midfielder around whom they can build the team for at least the next four major tournaments.
The 21-year-old was earning only her fourth cap on Tuesday but the class she embodied virtually every time she touched the ball was the perfect illustration of her talents, and showed precisely why she should be considered as one of the first names on the team sheet. Her arrival on the international scene in 2024 has come at the perfect time for a team that have needed a fresh injection of youthful ingenuity on the ball, and she added to her three goals in four Women’s Super League games so far this season with a fine header in Coventry.
