Aggie Beever-Jones nets hat-trick as England thrash Portugal in Nations League

Independent

2 days ago

Aggie Beever-Jones scored a hat-trick in her first Wembley start for England as the Lionesses completed a 6-0 Nations League group stage rout of Portugal.
The Chelsea forward led the line in place of the injured Alessia Russo, and fired the hosts in front in the third minute before club-mate Lucy Bronze nodded in a second less than two minutes later.
Beever-Jones struck twice more either side of Beth Mead's 29th-minute goal to hand England a 5-0 lead in the 33rd minute, and substitute Chloe Kelly added a sixth after the break.
The 21-year-old Beever-Jones is just the second Lioness to score a hat-trick at Wembley and third woman on record to have done so, after Mead and Italy's Carolina Morace.
England's triumph ensures they are still in contention to advance to the autumn Nations League finals, but will need to beat group leaders Spain on Tuesday night to finish top of their group.
News of Euro 2022-winning goalkeeper Mary Earps' retirement from international football just a few days earlier had dominated the Lionesses discourse leading up to the encounter, arguably the first in which Chelsea's Hannah Hampton was – unequivocally – England's number one.
Lauren Hemp, who has returned to Sarina Wiegman's squad after recovering from a long-term knee injury, started an England contest for the first time since October 2024, while Arsenal striker Russo was missing, for at least this contest, with a calf issue.
Beever-Jones got started early, taking full advantage after Andreia Norton was caught out under pressure, darting around a couple of red shirts before finding the bottom left after a deflection off of a Portugal player.
Bronze then quickly made it two, an opportunity facilitated by Hemp's cross and Mead getting a touch before the ball pinged off a Portuguese foot and into the air for the Chelsea right-back to nod home.
It was all England – save a Norton header which clipped Hampton's right post – before Bronze turned provider with a pinpoint cross to set up Beever-Jones, whose header caught the underside of the crossbar as she made it 3-0 in the 26th minute.
Mead extended England's advantage just before the half hour, latching onto Jess Park's through ball and – after cleverly nutmegging Amado – fluidly finished past Ines Pereira's outstretched leg.
Beever-Jones then completed her hat-trick, this time released with a lovely long ball from captain Leah Williamson, and – utterly unfazed as a sea of red closed in – made it 5-0 in the 33rd minute.
England boss Wiegman called on three second-half substitutes just before the hour, one of them Kelly, the newly-crowned Champions League winner with Arsenal.
The Manchester City loanee – whose contract expires in June – replaced Hemp in the 58th minute and got on the scoresheet four minutes later, nodding in a delivery from fellow Gunner Mead.
Alex Greenwood nearly made it seven, clipping the crossbar from a free-kick, before Pereira denied Mead from doing the same with a diving stop late in the half.