JESS PARK says it was a dream come true to bag her first senior England goal within seconds of her debut for Sarina Wiegman’s side.
The forward’s late finish and Rachel Daly’s clinical opener were among the strikes that saw the Euros champs hammer Japan 4-0
The 21-year-old scored just 79 seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute with Ebony Salmon impressing by winning possession moments before.
The result saw the Euros winners reach a milestone of 125 goals in 25 games under their boss with a duel with Norway up next.
And they laid down a marker for their World Cup rivals eight months before the start of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Asked to describe how it felt to score seconds after coming on as a substitute, Park said: “I don’t think I can. I’m a bit overwhelmed at the moment.
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“I’ve dreamed of this since I was a little girl and now it’s a dream come true.
“I’m so happy. Sarina said ‘go on, have fun, enjoy it, do your roles’ and Ebony did all the work for me, I just had to slot it in.
“I don’t think there are any words to describe [being part of this Lionesses team].”
England boss Wiegman added: “She had two minutes so you can’t really say how she played.
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“We saw two things actually. There was a long ball and you saw the strength of Ebony Salmon, her pace and orientation.
“She was behind, and she just wins the ball and Jess Park thought I’ve got to be there and she got the ball in the back of the net.”
The game saw Rachel Daly who plays as a striker for Aston Villa and a full-back for her country net her 10th goal in a Lionesses jersey.
On if she would be tempted to play Daly in front of goal, Wiegman said: “She’s so versatile, she played a really good game from full-back too and she scored from that position.
“She’s an option to try out up front too but we also have to look at which players we have available and what’s best for the team.”
Before kick-off, Wiegman spoke of the disciplined, technical, and tactical skills of Japan who had won seven of their past eight international fixtures.
Her Euros winners tested their opponents early on with Ella Toone forcing a top-corner save from goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita with a fierce first-minute strike.
Futoshi Ikeda’s side began to exert some pressure going forward after England dominated possession early in the first spell.
And Manchester City ace Yui Hasegawa tested Mary Earps from distance forcing a comfortable 19th-minute save from the England shot-stopper.
But the deadlock was broken in the 38th minute with Daly making the most of a Chloe Kelly cross and Mead’s pass to fire the Lionesses 1-0 up.
Kelly doubled the lead early in the second half – arriving in the box to smash home a cross from Mead and bagging her first goal since her Euros tournament winner in July in the process.
Hasegawa sent a dangerous free kick into the box late on with Millie Bright clearing for her team-mates with 15 minutes of normal time remaining.
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England made it 3-0 a minute later with substitute Salmon teeing up Toone to fire home off the post.
And Hasegawa forced a couple of late saves from Earps before Salmon set up Park to wrap up the win shortly before the final whistle.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
