England 2-1 South Africa: Leah Williamson marks her 50th cap with a goal

When Sarina Wiegman reflects on this England camp she will likely have more questions than answers.

There are seven months until the Lionesses begin their defence of their European Championship crown, but they do not look anywhere near the team that was victorious on home soil in 2022.

After a humbling defeat by Germany, where her defence was exposed, this game against South Africa was a chance to experiment and to see whether any new faces could take their chance to impress.

Wiegman made eight changes to the team that was beaten by Germany - including a first start for Tottenham striker Jess Naz.

Grace Clinton, who scored the second goal in what turned out to be a narrow victory impressed during a dominant first half and will certainly be pushing for a starting place come July.

But England continued to look shaky in defence, particularly down the left-hand side, which will perhaps be Wiegman’s biggest concern ahead of next summer.

The evening had started so positively when captain Leah Williamson marked her 50th cap with a goal. The England captain has not been in the best of form for Arsenal and struggled against Germany, with the defender giving the ball away in the build-up to the first goal. But in the second half she was at fault for the goal that allowed South Africa back into the game, again giving the ball away in her own half.

The sloppy passing seemed to catch on and, on another night, England would have given up their lead. South Africa got in behind far too often but could not take their chances.

Wiegman must look at where her side is going wrong - and quickly. South Africa are ranked 50th in the world and still managed to cause England significant problems. Better teams will punish them.

There was a shaky moment in the opening minutes when a careless Williamson pass nearly led to a South Africa attack. But the defender recovered to put her side ahead twelve minutes in. The captain’s punch of the air in celebration showed how much it meant to her. This is the first time the defender’s form has been questioned at a domestic and international level and the celebration was perhaps a release of built-up frustration.

England dominated possession and on the odd occasion a careless pass gifted South Africa the ball, they did little with it. The Lionesses had been threatening a second goal before it arrived in the 23rd minute. Chloe Kelly played the ball out to Maya Le Tissier on the right and her deep cross into the box was met by the powerful head of Clinton.

After a dominant first half, England started to fizzle out and sloppiness crept in. Williamson misplaced what should have been a simple pass to Stanway and Thembi Kgatlana pounced, out-pacing Alex Greenwood to send a cool finish past Mary Earps.

There was frustration in the face of Williamson again, who was substituted for Millie Bright not long after. Bright too was careless in possession as her stray pass set Kgatlana through on goal again. The forward was flagged offside after she had sent an emphatic finish past Earps.

While Kelly hit the bar with a superb long-range effort at one end, Kgatlana continued to cause England’s defence all sorts of problems and saw another effort blocked by Bronze, who had come on in place of Esme Morgan.

The Lionesses managed to steady themselves after South Africa’s spell of pressure but it was far from convincing - much like this camp.

Emma Hayes’ United States team, who were crowned Olympic champions this summer, are the next to take on England. They will not be as wasteful as South Africa at Wembley next month.