England 20–0 Latvia

{{Infobox football match

| title = England 20–0 Latvia

| image = 20211130EnglandvLatviaProgramme.jpg

| event = 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

| team1 = England

| team1association = {{flagicon|ENG|size=30px}}

| team1score = 20

| team2 = Latvia

| team2association = {{flagicon|LAT|size=30px}}

| team2score = 0

| date = {{Start date|df=yes|2021|11|30}}

| stadium = Keepmoat Stadium

| city = Doncaster, England

| woman_player1 = Ellen White (England)

| referee = Veronika Kovářová (Czech Republic)

| attendance = 10,402

| weather =

| previous =

| next =

}}

On 30 November 2021, the England and Latvia national football teams played each other in a European qualifying match for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. The match was played at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, England. England set a national record for their largest victory in a senior international football match, winning the game 20–0.{{Cite web|url=https://englandfootball.org/2021/11/30/england-hit-latvia-for-20-in-breathless-win/|title = England Hit Latvia for 20 in Breathless Win|date = 30 November 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Medlicott |first1=Phil |title='We all aspire to be like her': Lauren Hemp lauds record-breaker Ellen White |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/england-latvia-lionesses-hemp-beth-england-b1967644.html |access-date=13 December 2021 |work=The Independent |date=1 December 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Sanders |first1=Emma |title=England 20 – 0 Latvia |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59452221 |access-date=13 December 2021 |publisher=BBC Sport |date=30 November 2021}}

The fixture was a multi-record breaking occasion, as four players scored a hat-trick for the first time in an England game and it represented the largest victory for both men's and women's senior England sides, surpassing the women's team's 13–0 win against Hungary in 2005 and the men's 13–0 win against Ireland in 1882.{{Cite web|url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12482705/ellen-white-becomes-england-womens-all-time-leading-goalscorer-in-world-cup-qualifier-against-latvia|title=Ellen White becomes England Women's all-time leading goalscorer as Lionesses thrash Latvia 20–0 in World Cup qualifier|website=Sky Sports|date=1 December 2021|access-date=8 January 2022}} Substitute Alessia Russo's 11-minute hat-trick was the fastest by any England player.{{cite news |last1=Evans |first1=Greg |title=All the records that were shattered during England's astonishing 20–0 win over Latvia |url=https://www.indy100.com/sport/england-latvia-women-20-records-b1967542 |access-date=13 December 2021 |work=The Independent |date=1 December 2021}} In addition, England's Ellen White became the team's all-time top goal scorer during the match, with her hat-trick moving her on to 48 goals, past Kelly Smith's total of 46.{{cite news |last1=Wrack |first1=Suzanne |title=Ellen White breaks record as merciless England thrash Latvia 20–0 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/nov/30/england-women-latvia-world-cup-2023-qualifier-match-report |access-date=13 December 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=30 November 2020}} The result was only a single goal away from equalling the known record (21–0, set in the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship between Canada and Puerto Rico) for any official senior women's international match.{{Cite news |title=Belgium beat Armenia 19-0 in qualifying |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/59425485 |access-date=2022-11-22}}

The outcome of the match led to debates about the format of qualification tournaments, with England manager Sarina Wiegman feeling that preliminary rounds should be reintroduced to avoid such unbalanced matches, views shared by the continental footballing body UEFA.{{cite news |last1=Wrack |first1=Suzanne |title=Women's football mismatches are happening too often – it is time for action |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2021/dec/01/womens-football-mismatches-are-happening-too-often-it-is-time-for-action-england-latvia |access-date=13 December 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=1 December 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Wrack |first1=Suzanne |title='It's not good': Uefa confirms women's qualifying to change after mismatches |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/dec/03/uefa-confirms-womens-football-qualifying-to-change-after-mismatches |access-date=13 December 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=3 December 2021}}

Background

{{#invoke:Sports table|main|style=WDL

|class_rules=Tiebreakers

|source=[https://www.uefa.com/womensworldcup/standings/#grp-2009795 UEFA]

|team_order=ENG, NIR, AUT, LUX, MKD, LVA

|update=29 November 2021

|hth_LUX=Ranked on head-to-head points: Luxembourg 3pts; North Macedonia 0pts. |hth_MKD=LUX

|status_text_Y=Cannot qualify automatically but can still qualify via the play-offs.

|match_ENG_AUT=1–0

|match_ENG_NIR=4–0

|match_ENG_MKD=8–0

|match_ENG_LVA=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#ENG v LVA

|match_ENG_LUX=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#ENG v LUX

|match_AUT_ENG=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#AUT v ENG

|match_AUT_NIR=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#AUT v NIR

|match_AUT_MKD=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#AUT v MKD

|match_AUT_LVA=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#AUT v LVA

|match_AUT_LUX=5–0

|match_NIR_ENG=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#NIR v ENG

|match_NIR_AUT=2–2

|match_NIR_MKD=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#NIR v MKD

|match_NIR_LVA=4–0

|match_NIR_LUX=4–0

|match_MKD_ENG=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#MKD v ENG

|match_MKD_AUT=0–6

|match_MKD_NIR=0–11

|match_MKD_LVA=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#MKD v LVA

|match_MKD_LUX=2–3

|match_LVA_ENG=0–10

|match_LVA_AUT=1–8

|match_LVA_NIR=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#LVA v NIR

|match_LVA_MKD=1–4

|match_LVA_LUX=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#LVA v LUX

|match_LUX_ENG=0–10

|match_LUX_AUT=0–8

|match_LUX_NIR=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#LUX v NIR

|match_LUX_MKD=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#LUX v MKD

|match_LUX_LVA=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D#LUX v LVA

|name_ENG={{fbw|ENG}} |short_ENG={{flagdeco|ENG}}

|name_AUT={{fbw|AUT}} |short_AUT={{flagdeco|AUT}}

|name_NIR={{fbw|NIR}} |short_NIR={{flagdeco|NIR}}

|name_MKD={{fbw|MKD}} |short_MKD={{flagdeco|MKD}}

|name_LVA={{fbw|LVA}} |short_LVA={{flagdeco|LVA}}

|name_LUX={{fbw|LUX}} |short_LUX={{flagdeco|LUX}}

|res_col_header=Q

|result1=WWC |result2=PO

|col_WWC=green1 |text_WWC=2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

|col_PO=blue1 |text_PO=Play-offs

}}

:UEFA Group D qualification table prior to the match.

England entered the match following a 1–0 home win at the Stadium of Light against Austria, marking five wins from five games in which they scored 33 goals and kept clean sheets in all matches. Latvia meanwhile had yet to gain a single point in the group, conceding 26 goals in the process and scoring only two goals. Ten of those conceded goals came in the reverse fixture on 26 October 2021, where goals from White, Bright, Mead, Williamson, Stanway, a brace from Daly and a hat-trick from Toone gave England their second 10–0 win of the qualification campaign. England entered the match eighth in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, with Latvia ranked 94 places lower in 102nd.

Understrength Latvia arrived without several experienced regulars including Miksone, Ročāne, Fedotova and Vaivode; all unavailable for various reasons.{{cite news |title=Kvačovs: Priecēja, ka meitenes atdeva sevi līdz galam |url=https://lff.lv/zinas/13695/kvacovs-prieceja-ka-meitenes-atdeva-sevi-lidz-galam/ |access-date=8 January 2022 |publisher=Latvian Football Federation |date=1 December 2021 |language=Latvian}} It was reported that the scheduling of the match, 21:00 Eastern European Time on a Tuesday evening, made it difficult for the Latvian players who had jobs outside football to get time off work.{{cite news |last1=Ruszkai |first1=Ameé |title=England's 20-0 demolition of Latvia exposes women's football problems that UEFA and FIFA must solve |url=https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/england-20-0-demolition-latvia-womens-football-problems-uefa/blt836f4be3138470dc |access-date=8 January 2022 |publisher=Goal |date=1 December 2021}} Meanwhile, team captain and five-time Latvian Footballer of the Year Olga Ševcova was ruled out due to "family circumstances".{{cite news |last1=Bācis |first1=Ivars |title=Kvačovs: Sagaidu pašatdevi un disciplīnu visas spēles gaitā |url=https://sportacentrs.com/futbols/30112021-kvacovs_sagaidu_pasatdevi_un_disciplinu_v |access-date=8 January 2022 |publisher=Sporta Centrs |date=30 November 2021 |language=Latvian}}

Latvia named nine uncapped players in the squad, and several other youngsters with very limited experience at senior international level. To bolster his team, head coach Romāns Kvačovs called up Anna Gornell, an American-born professional with Sundsvalls DFF of the Swedish second tier Elitettan, who was eligible due to her Latvian heritage.{{cite news |last1=Bācis |first1=Ivars |title=Sieviešu izlase ar izmaiņām sastāvā gatavosies spēlei pret Angliju |url=https://sportacentrs.com/futbols/23112021-sieviesu_izlase_ar_izmainam_sastava_gatav |access-date=8 January 2022 |publisher=Sporta Centrs |date=23 November 2021 |language=Latvian}}

Doncaster Rovers FC, the leaseholders of Keepmoat Stadium, reported an attendance of 12,272.{{cite news |title=Record-breaking night for the Lionesses at the Keepmoat Stadium |url=https://www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk/news/2021/december/record-breaking-night-for-the-lionesses-at-the-keepmoat-stadium/ |access-date=17 December 2021 |publisher=Doncaster Rovers F.C. |date=1 December 2021}} However the early kick-off coincided with rush hour traffic congestion in Doncaster, causing many disappointed supporters to be delayed or absent. The official attendance was announced as 10,402.{{cite news |last1=Burke |first1=Darren |title=Doncaster traffic chaos sees fans miss out on record breaking 20–0 England win |url=https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/doncaster-traffic-chaos-sees-fans-miss-out-on-record-breaking-20-0-england-win-3477703?amp |access-date=17 December 2021 |publisher=Doncaster Free Press |date=1 December 2021}}

Match details

{{Football box

| date = {{Start date|2021|11|30|df=y}}

| time = 19:00 GMT

| team1 = {{fbw-rt|ENG}}

| team2 = {{fbw|LVA}}

| score = 20–0

| report = https://www.uefa.com/womensworldcup/match/2032370--england-vs-latvia/matchinfo/

| goals1 =

Mead {{goal|3||12||23}}
White {{goal|6||9||49}}
Hemp {{goal|18||44||76||88}}
Toone {{goal|43}}
Stanway {{goal|52|pen.}}
Carter {{goal|56}}
England {{goal|61||84}}
Scott {{goal|67}}
Russo {{goal|71||81||82}}
Nobbs {{goal|80}}

| stadium = Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster

| attendance = 10,402{{cite news |last1=Garry |first1=Tom |title=Ellen White England's record goalscorer after 20-goal demolition of Latvia |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/womens-sport/2021/11/30/england-women-vs-latvia-women-world-cup-qualifier-live-score/ |access-date=13 December 2021 |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=30 November 2021}}

| referee = Veronika Kovářová (Czech Republic)

}}

width=92%

{{Football kit

| pattern_la = _eng19hw

| pattern_b = _eng19hw

| pattern_ra = _eng19hw

| pattern_sh =

| pattern_so =

| leftarm = FFFFFF

| body = FFFFFF

| rightarm = FFFFFF

| shorts = FFFFFF

| socks = FFFFFF

| title = England

}}

|{{Football kit

| pattern_la = _lva20h

| pattern_b = _lva20h

| pattern_ra = _lva20h

| pattern_sh = _lva20h

| pattern_so = _lva20h

| leftarm = 600020

| body = 600020

| rightarm = 600020

| shorts = 600020

| socks = 600020

| title = Latvia

}}

width=25\|	width=25\|
width="100%" \|valign="top" width="40%"\| {\| style="font-size:90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
GK	1	Mary Earps
CB	2	Millie Bright (c)	{{suboff\|46}}
CB	3	Lotte Wubben-Moy
CB	5	Alex Greenwood
RM	7	Beth Mead
CM	8	Georgia Stanway	{{suboff\|60}}
CM	4	Keira Walsh	{{suboff\|71}}
CM	6	Ella Toone	{{suboff\|46}}
LM	11	Lauren Hemp
CF	10	Bethany England
CF	9	Ellen White	{{suboff\|60}}
colspan=3\|Substitutes:
GK	13	Sandy MacIver
GK	21	Hannah Hampton
DF	12	Niamh Charles
DF	15	Jess Carter	{{subon\|46}}
DF	16	Rachel Daly
DF	19	Demi Stokes
MF	14	Fran Kirby
MF	18	Jordan Nobbs	{{subon\|46}}
MF	20	Jill Scott	{{subon\|60}}
MF	23	Katie Zelem	{{subon\|71}}
FW	22	Alessia Russo	{{subon\|60}}
colspan=3\|Manager:
colspan=3\|{{flagicon\|NED}} Sarina Wiegman

|valign="top"|300px

|valign="top" width="50%"|

width=25\|	width=25\|
style="font-size:90%; margin:auto" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
GK	23	Laura Siņutkina		{{suboff\|46}}
RB	4	Alise Gaiķe		{{suboff\|46}}
CB	22	Sofija Gergeležiu
CB	6	Arta Luīze Lubiņa
LB	2	Ligita Tumāne	{{yel\|52}}
CM	10	Anna Kristīne Gornela
CM	5	Evelīna Freidenfelde		{{suboff\|56}}
CM	7	Signija Šenberga		{{suboff\|67}}
RF	8	Viktorija Zaičikova
CF	13	Sandra Voitāne (c)
LF	15	Tatjana Baļičeva		{{suboff\|85}}
colspan=3\|Substitutes:
GK	1	Asnāte Lindermane
GK	12	Alīna Skļemenova		{{subon\|46}}
DF	3	Kristīne Evelīna Lodziņa
DF	17	Ērika Gricienko		{{subon\|85}}
DF	19	Diāna Skribina		{{subon\|56}}
MF	11	Taisija Smirnova
MF	14	Viktorija Vengreviča		{{subon\|67}}
MF	16	Selga Vitmore		{{subon\|46}}
MF	20	Nikola Brahmane
FW	9	Liāna Rožaščonoka
colspan=3\|Manager:
colspan=3\|Romāns Kvačovs

style="width:100%; font-size:90%;"

Player of the Match:

Ellen White (England)

Assistant referees:

Nikol Šafránková (Czech Republic)

Tereza Hessová (Czech Republic)

Fourth official:

Lucie Šulcová (Czech Republic)

=Statistics=

File:Keepmoat1.jpg

Source: [https://www.englandfootball.com/womens-senior-team/fixtures-results/2021/england-latvia-match-report-world-cup-qualifier-20213011]

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col" style="width:100px"\|Statistic !scope="col" style="width:70px"\|England !scope="col" style="width:90px"\|Latvia
scope=row\|Goals scored \|20\|\|0
scope=row\|Total shots \|64\|\|0
scope=row\|Shots on target \|31\|\|0
scope=row\|Ball possession \|85.6%\|\|14.4%
scope=row\|Corner kicks \|15\|\|0
scope=row\|Fouls conceded \|2\|\|2
scope=row\|Yellow cards \|0\|\|1
scope=row\|Red cards \|0\|\|0

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

scope="col" style="width:100px"|Statistic

!scope="col" style="width:70px"|England

!scope="col" style="width:90px"|Latvia

scope=row|Goals scored

|20||0

scope=row|Total shots

|64||0

scope=row|Shots on target

|31||0

scope=row|Ball possession

|85.6%||14.4%

scope=row|Corner kicks

|15||0

scope=row|Fouls conceded

|2||2

scope=row|Yellow cards

|0||1

scope=row|Red cards

|0||0

Records broken during the game

Largest victory margin of an England senior side (men's and women's): 20
Most goals scored by an England senior side (men's and women's): 20
Most hat-tricks scored by an England senior side (men's and women's): 4
Fastest England senior hat-trick (men's and women's): Alessia Russo – 11 minutes
New England women's top goalscorer: Ellen White – 47th and 48th goal (surpassing Kelly Smith)

Aftermath

In his post-match comments, coach Kvačovs praised his players' application in adversity. He emphasised the disparity between his inexperienced amateurs and the full-time professionals of England: "We have never had such an opponent. The English national team is playing really fantastic, but the Latvian national team is currently undergoing a generational change. The average age of the players in the team is 20 years."{{cite news |last1=Brože |first1=Ulvis |title=Sieviešu izlases treneris pēc 0:20: "Priecēja, ka meitenes atdeva sevi līdz galam |url=https://sportacentrs.com/futbols/latvijas_izlase/01122021-sieviesu_izlases_treneris_pec_0_20_priece |access-date=8 January 2022 |publisher=Sporta Centrs |date=1 December 2021 |language=Latvian}} A parent of one of the young debutantes posted on TheGuardian.com to lament the Latvians' "unnecessary humiliation", remarking: "there is something not quite wholesome about this whole business".{{cite tweet |user=AdamGMillington|number=1466000090066259972|date=1 December 2021|title=This is a really interesting comment from a parent of one of the Latvian players. Have to agree when she says there are a lot of people in the country trying hard to improve women's football – their online media presence for the women's team is incredible. }}

Although she had instructed her players to be "ruthless" in the match, England coach Wiegman admitted afterwards that such unbalanced matches were bad for the overall development of women's football: "Of course you want competitive games and these are not competitive games".{{cite news |last1=James |first1=Emma |last2=Toloui |first2=Anton |title=England Women win 20-0 against Latvia: Sarina Wiegman wants more competitive matches after record victory |url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/28508/12483757/england-women-win-20-0-against-latvia-sarina-wiegman-wants-more-competitive-matches-after-record-victory |access-date=8 January 2022 |publisher=Sky Sports |date=1 December 2021}} She would later, following England's Euro 2022 win and qualifying for the World Cup, say of the Latvia match that changes need to be made in order to develop women's football, that "A big score is sometimes OK but when it happens all the time you have to question if that is good for the team that wins or loses. It should be the exception and not the rule." She did not propose specific changes, admitting it was not her area, but said there were already suggestions at UEFA and with other confederations.{{cite news|date=2022-09-05|title=Premier League news and reaction, plus Lionesses latest|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/62792075?pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:ffce7c2b-9b37-456c-a49b-7b0a9b427400&pinned_post_asset_id=6315cdf2b93e504e258c6e73|access-date=2022-09-05}}

This result and their run of other heavy defeats meant that Latvia dropped 10 places to their lowest-ever position of 112th when the updated FIFA Women's World Rankings were released on 10 December 2021. England remained in eighth place.{{cite news |last1=Brože |first1=Ulvis |title=Sieviešu izlase pēc 0:20 FIFA rangā atkāpjas par desmit pozīcijām |url=https://sportacentrs.com/futbols/latvijas_izlase/10122021-sieviesu_izlase_pec_0_20_fifa_ranga_atkap |access-date=8 January 2022 |publisher=Sporta Centrs |date=10 December 2021 |language=Latvian}}

England ultimately ended the qualification campaign top of the group, qualifying for the World Cup with one game to spare.{{cite web |last=Garry |first=Tom |title=England secure Women's World Cup qualification with hard-fought win over Austria |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/09/03/austria-vs-england-live-score-womens-world-cup-qualifying-latest/ |website=The Telegraph |date=3 September 2022}} The Lionesses won all ten matches, scoring 80 goals without conceding.{{cite web |title=England finish qualifiers with perfect 10 as Stanway sparks Luxembourg rout |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/06/england-luxembourg-womens-world-cup-qualifier-match-report |last=Wrack |first=Suzanne |website=The Guardian |date=6 September 2022}} Latvia finished bottom of six teams with one win and nine defeats, scoring eight goals and conceding 63. Their lone win was a 1–0 victory at home to Luxembourg on 24 June 2022.{{cite web |title=Women's World Cup - Standings |url=https://www.uefa.com/womensworldcup/standings/#grp-2009795 |website=UEFA}} In total, 19 of the 236 matches played during the group stage of UEFA's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification ended in double-figure margins of victory, 5 of them England's.

The qualifying tournament for the next international competition, the UEFA Women's Euro 2025, divided the national teams into three leagues, making such mismatched ties less likely.{{cite web |date= |title=Women's European Qualifiers for Euro 2025: Who is in what league? |url=https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropeanqualifiers/news/0288-19a5a64372a2-ae88ecad6900-1000--qualifiers-who-is-in-which-league-so-far/ |website=UEFA |publisher=Union of European Football Association}}