England will benefit from shoot-out experience – Jess Carter

England defender Jess Carter admits her side’s first taste of a penalty shoot-out under boss Sarina Wiegman could ultimately benefit the Lionesses’ imminent quest to lift a maiden World Cup.

The European champions added more silverware to their cabinet on Thursday night when they beat Brazil 4-2 on penalties to win the inaugural Women’s Finalissima in front of 83,132 fans at Wembley.

Ella Toone’s first-half strike was the only goal until the third minute of second-half stoppage time when Andressa Alves levelled, forcing the contest to be decided by a nervy set of spot-kicks.

Carter said: “It’s huge. Obviously moments like these are the highest pressure, and I think as much as we would have liked to have won the game in 90 minutes it’s really good experience for us, who is able to step up in the highest-pressure moments. You have to figure that out and there were some top goals and saves, so it’s great going into the World Cup.

“Obviously we want to play the top teams, we don’t want to play lower-ranked teams and win comfortably, we want these challenges and I think for us to be the best we’ve got to have these challenges.”

England, ranked fourth in the world, begin their quest for the global title when they take on Haiti in Brisbane on July 22nd.

They next face Australia – who are hosting the World Cup alongside New Zealand – in a friendly at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium on Tuesday, with Carter’s Chelsea team-mate Sam Kerr set to feature in the opposing line-up.

The prolific striker has scored 13 goals and picked up four assists across all competitions for the Blues this season and will pose a threat to an England side hoping to stretch their unbeaten streak to 31 games.

Carter insisted the Lionesses are more than prepared to face a world number 10-ranked Matildas side determined to test their mettle against top competition before they welcome the world in just over 100 days.

She added: “Obviously Sam is a top talent but I don’t doubt that we’ve got enough quality in our squad to be able to deal with Australia and the whole of their squad and hopefully be able to put up a great performance.

“I don’t think anything ever feels like a friendly. Obviously we set our mindset to win every single game, and we want to compete at the highest level and be the most competitive that we can be, so our only aim was to come home with that trophy and we did it.”

While England’s Finalissima line-up is likely a good indicator of how the Lionesses might shape up in July, Wiegman still faces a few key decisions.

One still plaguing her is who will start at number nine with both Manchester United’s Alessia Russo and Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly – who started at left-back last summer, but was invited to April’s camp as a forward – vying for the vacancy created by the retirement of Ellen White.

Russo was given the nod at Wembley, while substitute Daly’s spot-kick was among England’s successful four. The latter, however, could be seen as a potential solution after England announced Alex Greenwood – who picked up a knock against Brazil – had withdrawn from the squad on Friday.

Russo agreed Thursday’s shoot-out, and England’s resilient response to conceding late, could ultimately pay dividends against the world’s top sides.

She added: “It’s great preparation. You can be in those situations almost every game coming up, so it’s going to be tough but that’s what you live for and pressure-filled moments like that people step up and we got the win.

“I always want to play as much as I can for England. The competition is so high, I just try to go out there and add as much to the team as I can.

“As a striker you want to obviously score and create, but sometimes there’s different roles you have to play – but yeah, positive and looking forward to the next one.”