Beth Mead edges England over the line against Austria in Euro 2022 opener

Beth Mead continued to stamp on her disappointment at missing out on a place at the Olympics last summer by opening England’s account at the home Euros in a 1-0 defeat of Austria in front of a record crowd at Old Trafford.

Mead, who has said that her goalscoring form for club and country has been fuelled by the frustration of being left out of the Team GB squad for Tokyo, is the Lionesses’ top scorer under their new manager, Sarina Wiegman, who was recruited from tournament holders the Netherlands.

In front of a buzzing 68,871 fans England was made to work hard against an organised and dangerous Austria side that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2017 but Mead was the difference, flicking the ball narrowly over the line in style to give England a first-half lead.

Perhaps it was the pressure of the occasion, or the emotion of it, but England began on the back foot and Austria, with No 10 Laura Feiersinger at the heart of their play, pinned the host nation in their own half for much of the first 10 minutes.

Wiegman’s decision to bench Manchester City centre-back Alex Greenwood and play her captain, Leah Williamson, in place of her alongside Millie Bright, was immediately being tested. It held up, just, as the Lionesses steadied.

It was the dynamic attacking midfield pairing of Georgia Stanway and Fran Kirby that would provide the impetus for England.

In the 17th minute they had a goal to steady the nerves and relieve the pressure on the backline and Kirby, who was touch-and-go to make the tournament after she missed the end of the domestic season with a severe fatigue problem, showed her value to England’s campaign.

She dinked the ball into the run of Mead who chested it down before lifting it over her Arsenal teammate