Fran Kirby highlights the importance of progress to England Women

Fran Kirby has stressed the importance of England continuing to build ahead of this summer’s Euros following their “special” Arnold Clark Cup triumph.

The Lionesses were crowned winners of the new four-team invitational tournament they were hosting after following up draws with Canada (1-1) and Spain (0-0) with Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Germany at Molineux.

That victory was a seventh in England’s nine-game unbeaten start under boss Sarina Wiegman, and only the second time they have beaten Germany in 27 meetings.

Kirby, who teed up Ellen White’s opener before netting England’s third goal herself in stoppage time, said: “Over the three games we’ve played well in some patches. I think (against Germany) we were a little bit loose in possession of the ball in some cases.

“But obviously the end goal is to make sure we’re in the best possible place going into the Euros.

“For us now, we’ve won this tournament, but we know we still have to build. We still have to progress as a team and we still need to work on certain things – but right now we’re in a really good place, and to win this tournament is special.

“Overall we’re happy. We’ve played some top-quality opposition and we’ve learned a lot about ourselves in moments, and how we can improve and move forward.”

We still have to progress as a team and we still need to work on certain things - but right now we're in a really good place, and to win this tournament is special.- Fran Kirby

Kirby played in record scorer White to flick in her 49th Lionesses goal on the quarter-hour mark before Germany equalised via an excellent Lina Magull free-kick just prior to the interval.

Millie Bright subsequently put England back in front with an 84th-minute finish, and Chelsea team-mate