Free-scoring England put five past defending champions Holland in Women's Euros warm-up

• England 5 Holland 1

England continued to build momentum ahead of hosting Euro 2022 as they came from behind to emphatically beat defending champions, Holland, 5-1 before head coach Sarina Wiegman insisted her side will “stay grounded” while others talk them up as potential winners.

Holland’s English coach Mark Parsons labelled England as tournament favourites after the warm-up friendly at Elland Road, a contest which saw England look fitter, sharper and fresher than their opponents in the final 30 minutes.

Wiegman was satisfied with her team’s second-half quality, but stressed they still need to improve.

She responded to Parsons’ “favourites” tag by saying: “There are many favourites for this tournament and we are one of them. Whether we lose or win [friendlies] now, we’re not going to sit on a pink cloud, we stay grounded. We want to improve and take the next step in our style of play. We’re in a good place, but still need to improve.”

A confident second-half performance highlighted England’s impressive strength-in-depth, with Wiegman’s substitutions having a positive impact as the home side claimed a morale-boosting fifth win in a row.

Player of the match Beth Mead came off the bench to score twice, sliding in her first 54 seconds after the visitors’ captain Sherida Spitse had missed a penalty with the match poised at 1-1.

Mead’s fellow substitute Ella Toone stretched the lead with a curling effort that was badly misjudged by Holland goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal, before winger Lauren Hemp volleyed in superbly and Mead grabbed the fifth late on. Of England’s three warm-up games, this was always going to provide by far the toughest test and the most forensic scrutiny yet of their true readiness to challenge for their first major international title.

Defending champions Holland, who won in 2017 under Wiegman’s tutelage, rested their star players ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Belarus on Tuesday. Striker Vivianne Miedema, the English Women’s Super League’s all-time record scorer, started on the bench.

Wiegman will be concerned at the manner of the visitors’ opening goal, a soft one from the home side’s point of view. Veteran Ajax midfielder Spitse, captaining her side on the night of her 200th senior international cap, floated in a corner which saw Paris St-Germain-bound winger Lieke Martens outjump her marker Keira Walsh and angle a header past Mary Earps.

It was only the third goal England have conceded under Wiegman’s tenure, in her 13th match in charge. The majority of the games have been a breeze, against semi-professional sides in World Cup qualifying including minnows Latvia, Luxembourg and North Macedonia.

For England’s left-back and lifelong Leeds United fan Rachel Daly, earning her 50th cap, it was an emotional night, as she played at Elland Road for the first time. It is a ground where she and her late father, Martyn, who died last September, had season tickets while Daly was growing up. It was the hosts’ other full-back, though, Lucy Bronze, who chipped England level in the first half. Barcelona’s new signing had clearly intended to clip a dinked cross to the back post , but, instead, saw her delivery drop just inside the far corner. But there was nothing accidental about the quality of England’s second-half goals, on a night which demonstrated that, when Wiegman’s team are presented with challenges in July’s all-important Euros, they have a flurry of players in reserve capable of guiding them to glory.

Mead’s goals took her to 14 for the season for England, surpassing Jimmy Greaves’ long-standing record of the most goals scored in a single campaign by an England player of 13 from the 1960-61 season.

Match details

England (4-2-3-1): Earps 6; Bronze 7, Bright 6, Greenwood 6 (Stanway 7, 63), Daly 6 (Carter, 76); Williamson 7; Walsh 6; Kelly 6 (Mead 8, 45), Kirby 6 (Toone 8, 64), Hemp 8 (Parris 7, 81); England 6 (Russo 6, 63).
Subs not used: Stokes, Hampton (gk), Stanway, Wubben-Moy, Mead, Scott, Roebuck (gk), Carter.
Goals: Bronze (32), Mead (53, 90), Toone (72), Hemp (74).
Booked: Greenwood.
Holland (4-2–3-1): Van Veenendaal 4; Wilms 5 (Casparij 6, 81), Van der Gragt 5 (Dijkstra 5, 45), Nouwen 6, Janssen 5; Groenen 6, Spitse 6 (Egurrola 6, 73); Roord 7, Pelova 6 (Brugts 6, 63), Martens 6 (Van de Donk 6, 45); Beerensteyn 6 (Miedema 5, 63).
Subs not used: Van Dongen, Jansen, Van Domselaar, Leuchter, Olislagers; Egurrola, Brugts, Lorsheyd.
Goal: Martens (22).
Booked: Nouwen, Beerensteyn.
Referee: Sandra Bastos (Portugal).
Attendance: 19,365.

England vs Holland: As it happened...

10:22 PM

That's all for this evening, thanks for joining us

Tom Garry's match report from Elland Road will be above in a few minutes.

10:16 PM

Sarina Wiegman maintains her unbeaten record as England beat the reigning European champions

10:10 PM

Tom Garry's verdict

10:02 PM

Beth Mead makes it five

09:57 PM

Full time: England 5 Holland 1

A statement win over Holland tonight. The teams were pretty even going into half time, but England showed real power in the second half and were free scoring by the end.

Spitse missed a penalty and Mead put England ahead barely a minute later. A real marker laid down and a comfortable win with less than two weeks to go until the European Championship.

09:54 PM

90+3 mins England 5 Holland 1

Toone feeds Russo through into the Holland box, beating the offside track, who fires just over! That could've easily been six there.

09:53 PM

Hemp's goal... what a finish

09:52 PM

89 mins GOAL England 5 Holland 1

Beth Mead gets another! A night to enjoy for those in attendance at Elland Road.

England get so many bodies forward in the attack. It comes to Mead in the middle of the six yard box. She loads herself up and fires across goal and beyond van Veenendaal.

09:49 PM

87 mins England 4 Holland 1

Mead free kick on the far left, a few yards from the corner flag.

It's whipped in towards Bright, but is headed away by the Holland defence.

Holland have won most of the aerial battles tonight - the only area they've been on top.

09:47 PM

Subs

09:45 PM

83 mins: England 4 Holland 1

19,365 watching this at Elland Road this evening.

09:41 PM

80 mins: England 4 Holland 1

Carter with a lovely lofted ball in from the left, Russo getting on the end of it, but fouling van Veenendaal in the process. Holland free kick and some more subs to come.

09:38 PM

Toone's goal

09:37 PM

74 mins GOAL: England 4 Holland 1

Hemp makes it four for England! Toone hits the post with a wonderful edge of box shot, it comes back out and it cannons through to Hemp, who hits first-time, cool as you like on the volley, looping over van Veenendaal. Superb technique in that finish.

09:34 PM

72 mins GOAL: England 3 Holland 1

Toone!!! Another substitute making an impact on this game.

Toon cuts inside form the left, shimmying past Wilms and curling into the far post, bouncing the ball underneath van Veenendaal, who looks like she's misread the bounce. England in control here.

09:32 PM

70 mins: England 2 Holland 1

Russo gets a shot away from a lovely free flowing development move from inside England's own half. She turns away from her defenders and is able to shoot with her right foot, winning a corner after it's deflected out.

09:29 PM

68 mins: England 2 Holland 1

Hemp puts a sublime ball in from the left in towards Mead at the far post. She directs it towards goal, but it's a strong save by van Veenendaal to deny another England goal. An impressive period of play here from England at Elland Road.

09:28 PM

67 mins: England 2 Holland 1

Hemp capitalises off Groenen's slip and curls a shot towards goal from just outside the box... but van Veenendaal is to it.

09:26 PM

Subs for Holland too

09:26 PM

65 mins: England 2 Holland 1

Hemp tries to dink a ball into the back post from the edge of the box. She could've had a dig herself there as she's unable to pick out Beth Mead.

09:24 PM

62 mins: England subs

Stanway, Russo and Toone are on for Greenwood, England and Kirby.

09:22 PM

Mead's goal

09:15 PM

52 mins GOAL: England 2 Holland 1

Beth Mead gives England the lead! Hemp hurtles down the left and puts in a cross, finding Mead at the back post to tap in from close range.

Barely a minute between the missed penalty and England's goal!

09:13 PM

50 mins MISSED PENALTY: England 1 Holland 1

Earps guesses the right way (diving to her left), but Spitse has fired just wide anyway.

As we were then.

09:11 PM

50 mins: England 1 Holland 1

Holland penalty! And a yellow card for Greenwood after the VAR review.

09:10 PM

48 mins: England 1 Holland 1

A last-ditch challenge by Greenwood to deny van de Donk in the England penalty area. The referee initially allows the game to play on, but VAR are having a looking at this.

I'm not convinced Greenwood got much of the ball there and I won't be surprised if that's given as a penalty.

09:06 PM

Second half kicks off - subs for both sides

England: Beth Mead comes on for Chloe Kelly.

Holland: Martens and van der Gragt make way for van de Donk and Dijkstra.

09:01 PM

Beerensteyn looked threatening throughout the first half

Great save here by Earps to deny the Juventus forward:

08:57 PM

Bronze's equaliser: cross or shot?

08:55 PM

Holland's opener

08:54 PM

Half time: England 1 Holland 1

A very competitive game of football in this first half at Elland Road. Holland took the lead through Martens' headed effort from a corner on 22 minutes, but England responded with a beautiful chip courtesy of Bronze 10 minutes later - even if it didn't look intentional, it was a wonderful finish. Hopefully more of the same to come in the second half!

08:47 PM

45 mins: England 1 Holland 1

Two minutes of added time to come.

08:43 PM

40 mins: England 1 Holland 1

Kelly tries to win the ball down the right and cut inside towards the Holland goal, but Janssen is there to block and recover. Holland start a move of their own, but Bright smartly clears up.

A really competitive half here at Elland road. Both sides playing in anticipation of next month's tournament.

08:39 PM

37 mins: England 1 Holland 1

Martens has gone down and she's receiving medical treatment. A brief pause in play here.

08:38 PM

34 mins: England 1 Holland 1

A sweeping move from Holland, starting with the touch from Spitse on the halfway line, and ending with Beerensteyn steering towards goal from the squared cross. Corner.

08:35 PM

31 mins GOAL: England 1 Holland 1

Bronze with a beautifully clipped ball from the right.

It looks like she was aiming for the back post, picking out Kelly or Hemp in the box, but it's gone over the top of van Veenendaal and into the back of the net! Her reaction shows she didn't mean that, but it's a lovely goal in the end.

08:31 PM

28 mins: England 0 Holland 1

Greenwood to take the free kick. Left-footed, she tries a ground shot towards the far post, but van Veenendaal reads it all the way and it's a comfortable save.

08:30 PM

27 mins: England 0 Holland 1

Kirby is brought down just outside the D. It's a yellow card for Nouwen and a really dangerous area for an England free kick.

08:24 PM

21 mins GOAL: England 0 Holland 1

Spitse with a terrific corner towards the front side of the box. Martens is on the end of that and steers her header towards the back post and beyond Earps' grasp.

08:23 PM

20 mins: England 0 Holland 0

Holland with a corner now. They're pressing high up the pitch, with Bright playing out from the back to get away from the high Holland press.

08:22 PM

19 mins: England 0 Holland 0

Beerensteyn gets a shot away, almost in the six-yard box, but there are plenty of England shirts in there. Earps makes a save with her outstretched leg. Solid.

Martens sends one in from the left on the follow up and Beerensteyn goes hurtling into Earps as the England keeper makes a punching-save. She looks winded down there.

08:19 PM

Bizarre kit choices this evening

08:16 PM

13 mins: England 0 Holland 0

Hemp with some brilliant closing down on the Holland keeper.

Van Veenendaal tries to clear and it ricochets off Hemp towards the Holland goal, but it's wide.

08:14 PM

12 mins: England 0 Holland 0

Kirby is pushed over by Groenen to win a free kick halfway into the Holland half. A second free kick in the early stages for England.

It's whipped in, well-worked, and poked through to Bethany England who is quick to it, but denied by the keeper in the end. Strong chance.

08:08 PM

5 mins: England 0 Holland 0

England charges down the ball as it trundles towards the Holland box. Van Veenendaal just beats here to it and clears.

08:07 PM

2 mins: England 0 Holland 0

Kirby flashes in an early cross from just outside the box towards Bethany England, but it's cleared away. Kirby picks out Kelly with a follow-up cross, nicely weighted, but Kelly heads over.

08:04 PM

Kick-off!

Knee taken and England get us under way. It's the first meeting between these two since England's semi-final defeat at the 2017 Euros.

07:58 PM

The players emerge from the tunnel - a reminder of the lineups this evening

England: Earps; Bronze, Bright, Greenwood, Daly; Walsh, Williamson; Kelly, Kirby, Hemp; England.

Subs: Stokes, Hampton, Stanway, Toone, Wubben-Moy, Mead, Parris, Russo, Scott, Roebuck, Carter.

Netherlands: Van Veenendaal; Films, Van der Gragt, Nouwen, D. Janseen; Groenen, Spitse, Pelova; Roord, Martens, Beerensteyn.

Subs: Lorsheyd, Brugts, Damaris, Olislagers, Casparu, Leuchter, Van Domselaar, Dukstra, R. Jansen, Van de Donk, Miedema, Van Dongen.

07:52 PM

Five changes to England's team today

Leeds fan and former player Rachel Daly, a goalscorer off the bench in last week's 3-0 win over Belgium at Molineux, is among those coming into the team for her 50th cap.

Beth England replaces Ellen White up top, who is absent after testing positive for Covid.

07:49 PM

Euro 2022: The group stages

The 2022 Women's European Championship takes place in England this summer, with the hosts kicking off the tournament on July 6 before the winner is crowned at Wembley on July 31.

Holland are the reigning champions while Portugal replaced Russia following the latter's exclusion due to the invasion of Ukraine.

• Group A: England, Austria, Norway, Northern Ireland

• Group B: Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland

• Group C: Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Switzerland

• Group D: France, Italy, Belgium, Iceland

07:46 PM

Holland head coach Mark Parsons speaks with ITV before the match

07:42 PM

Warm ups under way at Elland Road

07:37 PM

England's Euro 2022 fixtures: the group stage

• July 6: England vs Austria, kick-off 8pm, Old Trafford

• July 11: England v Norway, 8pm, Brighton and Hove Community Stadium

• July 15 Group A: Northern Ireland v England, 8pm, St Mary's

07:31 PM

Bethany England gets the nod this evening

Ellen White is out with Covid and so Bethany England is chosen to replace her in attack.

The Chelsea striker spoke to Tom Garry about her great season and deep-frying Creme Eggs until 5am to pay her way through college.

07:27 PM

The final 23-player line-up for Euro 2022 was announced on Wednesday

England's campaign kicks off on July 6 at Old Trafford against Austria.

Here's who's made the 23-player team.

07:23 PM

Sarina Wiegman speaks with ITV before the match

07:15 PM

Fran Kirby starts tonight

The Chelsea star did not play for nearly four months after suffering from symptoms of "extreme fatigue and exhaustion" and had to sit out April's England internationals as well as the finale to Chelsea's double-winning season.

She spoke at length on Tuesday about her illness and recovery.

07:09 PM

The lineups

England: Earps; Bronze, Bright, Greenwood, Daly; Walsh, Williamson; Kelly, Kirby, Hemp; England.

Subs: Stokes, Hampton, Stanway, Toone, Wubben-Moy, Mead, Parris, Russo, Scott, Roebuck, Carter.

Netherlands: Van Veenendaal; Films, Van der Gragt, Nouwen, D. Janseen; Groenen, Spitse, Pelova; Roord, Martens, Beerensteyn.

Subs: Lorsheyd, Brugts, Damaris, Olislagers, Casparu, Leuchter, Van Domselaar, Dukstra, R. Jansen, Van de Donk, Miedema, Van Dongen.

07:05 PM

Ellen White out with covid for tonight's match

The Manchester City striker - the Lionesses' record scorer with 50 goals - has returned home and "will be monitored regularly with a view to returning to camp as soon as possible", with no replacement being called up.

07:01 PM

Holland's starting XI

07:00 PM

England's starting XI

04:42 PM

Good evening

Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport's live coverage of England women vs Holland women, the Lionesses' penultimate warm-up game before the Euro 2022 tournament, a campaign which begins against Austria at Old Trafford on July 6.

England head coach Sarina Wiegman insists next month's tournament is wide open with no clear favourites. Wiegman led the Dutch to Euro glory on home soil in 2017 and also to the runners-up spot at the 2019 World Cup.

The former Holland midfielder, unbeaten in 12 matches in charge of the Lionesses, said: "I consider them (England and Holland) as two very good teams and of course we play a home tournament and the Netherlands have the trophy right now.

"But I think the game has developed so much that many countries are favourites, I think it's going to be a very strong Euros.

"We have Spain, we have France, we have Germany, Sweden are always up there, Norway have always been strong.

"It's really exciting to see what's going to happen. It's not easy to say who's going to come through because it's very equal I think."

It will be the first time Wiegman will face her own country as England boss.

The 52-year-old said: "It's a very special game, obviously because I'm from there and I worked with that team for many years.

"Now I work for England, so it's a very special game for me and it's nice to see the (Holland) team again. At the end, it's just a game, but a special game."

England beat Belgium 3-0 at Molineux last week and, after facing Holland, take on Switzerland in Zurich on June 30 in their last warm-up game before Euro 2022.

Wiegman added: "I think [Holland] are the strongest ones we play (in the warm-ups), the other ones are also going to the Euros, so they're good opponents too. But [Holland] have shown over the years they are really good opponents."