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In Sports, there are close games that go down the wire. Then there are one-sided games where one side completely outplays their opponents. But then there is absolute destruction when one side literally wreaks havoc on the field. Something very similar happened during the recently-concluded game between England and Latvia in FIFA Women’s World Cup UEFA Qualifiers.
The match was being played at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, England and the home side were strong favourites coming into the contest. However, no one would have ever imagined what was about to happen in the one and half hour of game.
England smash 63 shots in 90 minutes
It all started with Beth Mead scoring the first goal in the 3rd minute itself which just opened the doors for a special performance by the Lionesses. There was no stopping them as the ball kept on going in the back of net of Latvia's goal and the score-line kept on increasing at a pretty rapid pace.
It was 8-0 in favour of England at the half-time but things were about to get from bad to worse for Latvia. The home side came out all guns blazing in the second half as well and scored some brilliant goals, with the match eventually ending with an astonishing score-line of 20-0.
The stats were absolutely outrageous as England had 86% possession in the whole game. They had 63 shots (30 on target) while Latvia could not manage a single shot during the entire game.
Beth Mead and Alessia Russo scored hattricks while Lauren May Hemp went on to smash four goals during the match. Meanwhile, Ellen White also netted a fantastic hattrick which helped her overtake Kelly Smith as England Women's highest goal-scorer ever with 48 goals now to her name. Here is the list of goal-scorers for England vs Latvia:
Beth Mead - 3', 12', 23'
Ellen White - 6', 9', 49'
Lauren May Hemp - 18', 44', 76', 88'
Ella Toone - 42'
Georgia Stanway - 52' (P)
Jessica Carter - 56'
Bethany England - 61', 84'
Jill Scott - 67'
Alessia Russo - 71', 81', 82'
Jordan Nobbs - 80'
Watch England's all 20 goals here:
The incredible win for England helped them retain top spot in Group D with 6 wins in 6 matches. Meanwhile, Latvia stayed at bottom of table after facing 5th consecutive defeat in qualifiers.