Goals from Lauren Hemp (4), Ellen White (3), Beth Mead (3), Alessia Russo (3), Bethany England (2), Jordan Nobbs, Jill Scott, Jessica Carter, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone helped England beat Latvia
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Ellen White became England’s all-time top scorer after netting a hat-trick against Latvia on a famous evening in Doncaster.
Sarina Wiegman’s team hammered their opponents 20-0 in the World Cup qualifier, with four players hitting at least three goals.
One of those was Beth Mead, who opened the scoring after just three minutes to set England on their way to their biggest ever win.
The previous record was a 13-0 triumph against Hungary in 2005. Latvia have now conceded 46 goals from their five qualifiers, scoring just two.
The result leaves England five points clear of Austria at the top of their group, having not conceded a single goal in qualification.
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Along with White and Mead (three goals), Lauren Hemp (four), Alessia Russo (three), Bethany England (two), Jordan Nobbs, Jill Scott, Jessica Carter, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone scored for the Three Lions.
“The opponent wasn’t very good, the difference was so big in level,” admitted Wiegman.
“But still you have to make the game yourself, you have to speed up the game all the time, you have to stay in shape and make the right decisions and be tight on the the ball.
“We did so well and we just kept on going and the energy stayed in the team for the whole game, and that is pretty impressive.”
White now has 48 goals from 101 senior appearances, surpassing Kelly Smith’s record set 11 years ago.
“I feel very emotional about it,” said the new record holder. “It’s been spoken about for a long time.
“I feel really proud of the girls, we’ve got some of the girls that have scored their first goal for England. I love scoring for England so seeing them score – they’re coming through now – so I feel really proud.
“It’s incredible. I feel really lucky, I’ve had amazing support from my family, my friends, coaches, teammates and staff.
“But I’m not stopping here, I want to keep going – I want to score goals for England.”
On Smith’s influence, White added: “I [look up to her] so much,” admitted the England striker. “It’s been spoken about a lot, going above Kelly Smith and breaking this record.
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“To me, she’s a legend. I have so much love and respect for her. I feel very lucky to have played alongside her, I was her team-mate. She’ll always be the best for me.
“I just want to play well, be selected and help the team do whatever we can to make the crowd and England proud. We’ll just try and enjoy it.”
Wiegman was keen to praise White, who scored her first international goal in March 2010.
“She has had a tremendous career, of course,” added the England manager. “This was a team performance, we kept on going. So many records were broken.”
England’s World Cup qualifying campaign resumes in April, with fixtures against North Macedonia and Northern Ireland.
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