England 20–0 Latvia
On 30 November 2021, the England and Latvia national football teams played each other in a European qualifying match for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. The match was played at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, England. England set a national record for their largest victory in a senior international football match, winning the game 20–0.
| Event | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 30 November 2021 | ||||||
| Venue | Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, England | ||||||
| Player of the Match | Ellen White (England) | ||||||
| Referee | Veronika Kovářová (Czech Republic) | ||||||
| Attendance | 10,402 | ||||||
The fixture was a multi-record breaking occasion, as four players scored a hat-trick for the first time in an England game and it represented the largest victory for both men's and women's senior England sides, surpassing the women's team's 13–0 win against Hungary in 2005 and the men's 13–0 win against Ireland in 1882. Substitute Alessia Russo's 11-minute hat-trick was the fastest by any England player. In addition, England's Ellen White became the team's all-time top goal scorer during the match, with her hat-trick moving her on to 48 goals, past Kelly Smith's total of 46. The result was only a single goal away from equalling the known record (21–0) for any official senior women's international match.
The outcome of the match led to debates about the format of qualification tournaments, with England manager Sarina Wiegman feeling that preliminary rounds should be reintroduced to avoid such unbalanced matches, views shared by the continental footballing body UEFA.