Lauren James scored her maiden senior international goal as England thrashed South Korea 4-0 at Stadium MK, in a perfect start to their Arnold Clark Cup title defence.
Stanway fired England ahead in the 40th minute from the penalty spot after James was fouled inside the box by Lim Seon-joo.
Chloe Kelly doubled England’s lead just 16 seconds into the second half with a stunning strike, before Alessia Russo flicked in their third goal in the 50th minute.
James wrapped up with a 78th minute strike to put England comfortably top of the table after the opening matchday, with South Korea placed rock-bottom.
Belgium sit second ahead of Italy in third after Tessa Wullaert struck a 90th minute winner as the Belgian Red Flame prevailed 2-1 in the opening match, after Marie Detruyer’s opening goal had been cancelled out by Manuela Giugliano.
Having gone unbeaten throughout in 2022 and currently on a 26-match streak without defeat, England began their title defence on the front foot as James fired wide just three minutes in following a quick one-two move with Stanway.
Choo Hyo-joo three minutes later produced South Korea’s first opportunity but Mary Earps was alert to crucially save her curled shot.
England though weren’t fazed by Choo’s attempt as they continued to dominate despite a lack of end product, as Ella Toone curled wide in the sixth minute before Stanway, James and Millie Bright saw opportunities denied by Kim Jung-mi in the opening 15 minutes.
Russo then saw a 17th minute header from Bright’s long ball saved before James volleyed wide just moments later from Lucy Bronze’s cross.
England almost found the breakthrough goal just after the half-hour mark as Stanway headed Alex Greenwood’s corner over the bar, before Russo’s 38th minute shot smashed off the left-post.
Russo’s miss though quickly faded into insignificance as James was played through into the box by Stanway albeit via a deflection, but the 21 year-old forward was clipped to ground by Lim and won a penalty.
Stanway stepped up two minutes later and confidently converted the penalty into the left corner to put the Lionesses ahead at half-time, when manager, Sarina Wiegman opted for a change as Jess Carter was substituted for Katie Zelem.
That tactical change swiftly paid off 16 seconds into the restart as Kelly picked up the ball on left and broke forward, from which she curled in beyond Kim’s reach.
South Korea’s hopes of respite after the Lionesses moved two goals ahead though didn’t materialise, as James’ 50th minute cross was collected by Greenwood who teed up Russo to flick in England’s third goal from close range.
England’s pressure continued to rise as Stanway’s 54th minute shot was saved before Kelly saw her attempt at netting a second goal denied seven minutes later, with Stanway then smashing a 63rd minute shot over the bar from Greenwood’s pass.
Wiegman proceeded to make four substitutions after Stanway’s inaccurate shot as England continued to suffocate South Korea’s defence, as Zelem fired wide in the 66th minute.
Son Hwa-yeon though did produce South Korea’s best threat of the second half as she pouned upon Lee Geum-min’s intercepted pass, yet could only rifle wide of the bottom-left corner.
That wasted opportunity was eventually punished in the 78th minute as Toone broke forward and teed up Lucy Bronze, who tripped in the box yet managed to slide the ball across for James to calmly smash into the bottom-right corner to wrap up victory.
James’ goal also meant that she has scored an international goal for England before her elder brother – Reece James who has failed to score in 15 senior appearances for England’s Men Team since he made his debut in 2020.
The win also extended England’s unbeaten run in all competitions to 27 matches as the Lionesses continue to avoid defeat under Weigman, and sit top of the table with the perfect start to their title defence.
What’s Next?
Engand will meet Italy in their second match of this tournament on Sunday 19 February, in a 3:15pm GMT kick-off at CBS Arena, Coventry live on ITV1 in the UK.
South Korea will then face Belgium at the same venue a few hours later in a 6:15pm GMT kick-off on ITV4 in the UK.
Teams
England: Mary Earps, Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright, Jess Carter (Zelem 45′), Alex Greenwood (Charles 64′), Georgia Stanway (Coombs 67′), Leah Williamson, Ella Toone, Lauren James (Robinson 81′), Alessia Russo (Daly 64′), Chloe Kelly (Hemp 63′)
Substitutes: Lauren Hemp, Rachel Daly, Sandy MaClver, Jess Park, Ebony Salmon, Katie Zelem, Niamh Charles, Katie Robinson, Ellie Roebuck, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Maya Le Tissier, Jordan Nobbs, Laura Coombs, Emily Ramsey
South Korea: Kim Jung-mi, Choo Hyo-joo, Kim Hye-ri, Lim Seon-joo, Jang Sel-gi, Lee Geum-min, Kim Yun-ji (Park Ye-eun 56′), Hong Hye-ji (Chun 86′), Kang Chae-rim (Shim Seo-yeon 57′), Son Hwa-yeon (Jang 86′), Choe Yu-ri
Substitutes: Yoon Young-geul, Shim Seo-yeon, Kim Hye-yeong, Park Eun-sun, Ji So-yun, Jang Chang, Park Ye-eun, Jang Yu-bin, Lee Jung-min, Ryu Ji-soo, Ko Min-jung, Lee Eun-young, Bae Ye-bin, Chun Ga-ram, Kim Kyeong-hee
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