England cruise past Korea Republic in Arnold Clark Cup opener to begin 2023 with victory and extend unbeaten run

England began 2023 on a winning note as they coasted to a 4-0 victory over the Korea Republic in their Arnold Clark Cup opener at Stadium MK.

Lucy Bronze was presented with a commemorative shirt for earning her 100th cap and the Taegeuk Ladies never really looked like spoiling the feel-good factor in Milton Keynes.

Sarina Wiegman’s side were dominant straight from kick-off and it seemed to be only a matter of when, not if, England broke the deadlock.

Lauren James saw an early shot go a whisker wide of the post in the opening exchanges, and Kim Jung-mi was called into action to keep out Ella Toone’s effort before making an even better save to push Alessia Russo’s fierce strike onto the post.

Colin Bell’s side stood firm until the 40th minute when James was brought down inside the box by Jang Sel-gi, and Georgia Stanway made no mistake from the subsequent penalty to give England a deserved lead.

Bell’s team were a much easier nut to crack in the second half, as England took just 16 seconds after the restart to double their advantage through Chloe Kelly. The Manchester City forward’s long-range strike took a nick off Lee Geum-min, and the floodgates opened.

A third goal followed three minutes later thanks to Russo, who showed brilliant tenacity at the near post to prod home Alex Greenwood’s cross with the scoreline starting to reflect England’s dominance in the contest.

Greenwood then teed up Stanway, who was given acres of space inside the box before rattling the crossbar with a thunderous effort.

The strength in depth which Wiegman has at her disposal was clear to see, with Greenwood, Russo and Kelly replaced by Lauren Hemp, Niamh Charles and Rachel Daly midway through the second half.

There was also a special moment for Laura Coombs, who was rewarded for her fine form for Manchester City with a first international appearance in eight years.

James got the goal which her tremendous display deserved as the ball fell kindly to the Chelsea forward inside the box, and she smashed home to net her first senior international goal.

The night would have been complete had skipper Leah Williamson managed to score in her home town, but her tame shot did not trouble Kim.

Substitute Katie Robinson then came agonisingly close to scoring her first Lionesses goal at senior level, only to see her effort cannon off the post.

Following a professional display against the tournament’s second-highest ranked side, Wiegman’s squad will now prepare for a tussle with Italy in Coventry on Sunday.

England: Earps; Bronze, Bright, Carter (Zelem 45), Greenwood (Charles 64); Stanway (Coombs 67), Williamson, Toone; James, Russo (Daly 64), Kelly (Hemp 63).