‘Overwhelmed’ Lucia Kendall felt maiden England goal at St Mary’s was ‘written’ as Lionesses beat Ghana in friendly

Kendall ran onto a loose ball and capitalised on a defensive error from Benedicte Simon at the back post, which allowed the now-Aston Villa midfielder to score at her childhood ground after six minutes.

England huffed and puffed and were comfortably the better team but were unable to make that count for much of the match, with 24 shots, 10 of which were on target.

That meant their dominance was never quite shown on the scoreboard, though there was a second goal right in the dying embers of the match, when Alessia Russo converted from the penalty spot to give Sarina Wiegman’s side a perfect end to 2025.

Kendall joined Southampton’s academy from a young age and was with the senior team from 2020 until last summer, making over 100 appearances for her hometown side.

That made scoring her first England goal at St Mary’s feel like a fairytale.

Kendall told ITV: “(It was a) really special moment for me to be able to do it here, where I grew up. This place made me into the player I was.

“It felt like it was written today. It was really nice. It was so special. I got overwhelmed with emotion really, it was really special.

“The academy here instilled that in me from a young age and my family have kept me grounded – it has been instilled in me from young.

“I pick up little bits from here and back at the club, and it’s just how can I be consistent? I watch players like Keira (Walsh) and I want to be like that as well.

“It was special to get that here today, but hopefully many more (to come). I get in those positions, I just need to score more!”

Russo, who at 26 and a two-time Euros winner, is one of the more senior players in the squad, scored her 27th England goal on her 61st cap.

Alessia Russo converted from the penalty spot to wrap the evening up for England.

Image credit: Getty Images

She heaped praise on Kendall after the 21-year-old midfielder made a big impression since becoming a part of the Lionesses camp.

“She’s brilliant,” Russo told ITV. “She’s come straight into the team and it’s like she’s been here for years – she’s brilliant.

“She’s got so much quality and wants to learn off the other girls as well in midfield.

“Sometimes in football there are ‘meant to be’ moments and I think that was it for her tonight.”