Beth Mead found the net twice as England beat Kazakhstan 6-0 to finish their World Cup qualifying group in style.

Sealing qualification for the tournament with a 3-0 win against Wales on Friday night, manager Phil Neville was able to rest a lot of big names to give his youngsters a chance to impress and that’s exactly what they did

Neville handed three players their first caps in Gabby George, Lucy Staniforth and Lauren Bruton with Staniforth also repaying his faith with a goal while Mead was handed her first start.

beth mead scores for england

 

The Arsenal forward scored from the penalty spot to open the scoring after just nine minutes.

Mead then found the net for England’s fifth with just eight minutes left on the clock, beating the keeper with a low effort as she rushed out to meet Mead.

https://twitter.com/AmbzRicko/status/1037000023224066048

Mead signed for Arsenal in 2017, arriving from Sunderland with the reputation of being a goalscorer. She scored 77 goals in just 78 games for the Black Cats before her move.

It capped a disappointing day for Kazakhstan all-round. Their u18s managed to lose two matches on Tuesday, first 3-0 to Turkey and then 4-1 to Zenit St Petersburg.

Scotland, meanwhile, qualified for the World Cup for the first time in their history with a win over Albania.