England had no trouble at all easing past Latvia in group stage play of the FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers Tuesday, decimating the competition by a score of 20-0.
Yes, seriously.
The Lionesses had 10 different goalscorers, while four different players — Beth Mead, Ellen White, Lauren May Hemp and Alessia Russo — scored at least three goals.
Hemp scored four, her first goals with the national team. White became the team’s all-time leading scorer, bringing her career total to 48 goals across 101 appearances with the national team.
It was a record-setting win for England, besting the previous mark set in a 13-0 defeat of Hungary in 2005. Through six games, it has scored 53 goals without letting any in. Comparatively, Latvia is 0-5 through play in Group D with two goals scored and 46 allowed.
While this result is generating a lot of attention, it is only one instance of a lack of parity in professional soccer — especially in the women’s game. In Group B action, Spain has outscored opponents (the Faroe Islands, Hungary, Ukraine and Scotland) 43-0 across five games.