England wins SheBelieves Cup with 3-0 victory over Japan
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — England scored three goals in the first 30 minutes and the Lionesses went on to defeat Japan 3-0 on Tuesday to win the SheBelieves Cup.
Lucy Staniforth scored from out front in the 12th minute for her second international goal, giving England the early lead. Karen Carney's header in the 23rd minute made it 2-0 before Beth Mead's goal into the left corner put England in firm control.
Both teams were using the four-team, round-robin tournament as a tuneup for the World Cup in France, which starts in June. The United States was set to play Brazil in the late match.
England, ranked No. 4 in the world, was coming off a 2-2 draw with the United States in Nashville, Tennessee, after defeating Brazil 2-1 in the tournament opener in Chester, Pennsylvania. With two victories, England won the tournament on points.
Goalkeeper Carly Telford started against Japan after Karen Bardsley started against the Americans.
Eighth-ranked Japan was coming off a 3-1 win over Brazil after a 2-2 draw with the United States.
England, which finished third at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, has four exhibition matches scheduled before heading to France. The Lionesses will host Canada and Spain in April, Denmark in May and New Zealand in June.
Japan has friendlies against Germany and France scheduled before the World Cup.
England and Japan play in the same group in France and meet on June 19 in Nice.
