England's incredibly memorable 2025 is now in the books after the Lionesses closed out their 'homecoming' series on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Ghana. Sarina Wiegman's side have been taking their European Championship trophy around the country over the last couple of months, showing off the silverware while entertaining the fans who celebrated its return home as excitedly as the players themselves. They've certainly done the latter as of late, bouncing back from defeat to Brazil to finish the year with three successive wins.
But England's four friendlies since Euro 2025 have not been a vanity project. With qualifying for the 2027 Women's World Cup to begin in the New Year, thus starting a new cycle for the back-to-back European champions, Wiegman has been using this opportunity to rotate and experiment, sussing out who is ready to step up and play a key role as attention turns to the next major tournament while also addressing some of the minor issues in her squad.
This camp, which began with a record-breaking 8-0 thumping of China at Wembley on Saturday before concluding in Southampton with victory over Ghana, has featured plenty of intrigue then, as was the case in October. That has only been intensified by the absences that have forced Wiegman to hand out even more opportunities, with Leah Williamson, Hannah Hampton, Alex Greenwood, Jess Carter, Michelle Agyemang and Lauren James among those missing this time.
So, before attention does turn to that qualifying campaign for the World Cup, and the need to pip Spain to top spot in their group to secure an automatic berth through to Brazil, what was there to be learned from the Lionesses' last camp of 2025? GOAL picks out the winners and losers from England's final games of the year…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Lucia Kendall
After emerging as one of the stories of England's previous camp, thanks to her incredibly impressive debut in the win over Australia, Lucia Kendall again grabbed the headlines as the Lionesses closed out 2025, and in a very special way.
Named in Wiegman's starting XI as England played at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium, the Saints' first-ever Lioness broke the deadlock after just six minutes, sparking wonderfully wholesome celebrations from a player who spent 10 years with the club on the south coast. "She was so happy and she celebrated as if it was a Champions League final," Wiegman said with a laugh after the game. "Good for her!"
That goal was the highlight of another very composed and solid performance from Kendall, who has shot up the midfield pecking order over the last few weeks. The Aston Villa star has an eye for goal, is excellent in her individual duels and offers accuracy on the ball, all of which is complemented by a maturity that belies her 21 years. She could have a real role to play moving forward.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Chloe Kelly
After being the star of the show at Euro 2025, Chloe Kelly's luck just isn't in so far this season. It felt like she was going to come into this campaign with plenty of momentum, after that tournament and the superb end to 2024-25 she enjoyed at Arsenal. But having seemingly come through a period where she was nursing a knee problem, the winger limped off in the early stages of Tuesday's win with a problem that seemed to affect that same knee.
"She felt something with her knee that didn’t feel right. She could walk but it just didn’t feel right," Wiegman explained after the game. "For her, it’s sad because she had a start and she was playing and then she had to go off. Of course, you want to be available at all times and you don’t want to have those niggles, but that’s just the way it is now and what she has to sort out is: What is it? And just assess that and try to get back as soon as possible and get consistency. That’s what she wants too, but you have to take it as it is."
With just three starts for Arsenal this term, Kelly has not had the rhythm she needs to be at her best so far in 2025-26. This latest setback isn't going to help her in her quest to get there, either.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Taylor Hinds
After making her England debut in the last camp, it felt like Taylor Hinds really stated her case to be the Lionesses' starting left-back this week. Niamh Charles got the nod when the European champions hosted China at Wembley, and while the Chelsea star did little wrong in that 8-0 thrashing, Hinds put in a really impressive display when she was granted the opportunity to play against Ghana a few days later.
Only Aggie Beever-Jones, the Lionesses' starting No.9 on the night, and Beth Mead, who replaced Kelly early on, played more key passes in Southampton than Hinds, while no England player won more ground duels than her seven in what was an all-action display. With her natural left foot, a very capable right and some brilliant deliveries from set pieces and open play also on show, Hinds really does look ready to fight hard to be Wiegman's first-choice in a left-back role which has been so problematic for the manager.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Laura Blindkilde Brown
After making an outstanding start to the new Women's Super League season with Manchester City, Laura Blindkilde Brown appeared primed to continue that into these final two England camps of the year. However, to the surprise of many, she wasn't handed the opportunities by Wiegman that were expected.
Tuesday actually brought about Blindkilde Brown's first minutes of this 'homecoming' series, with her an unused sub in England's first three games post-Euro 2025. She looked good in the 30-minute cameo in Southampton, too, reinforcing the belief held by many that she should've been given more game time across these friendlies.
However, with Kendall shining, Missy Bo Kearns winning a couple more caps and Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone still having a stronghold on the midfield in Wiegman's first-choice XI, Blindkilde Brown seems to have fallen down the pecking order for now.
