England were left to rue several costly mistakes n a 4-3 defeat to Germany. but Jill Roord struck twice as Netherlands ran up an astonishing 15-0 win over Indonesia.
It was a special evening for our former skipper Steph Houghton who led the Lionesses out in front of more than 55,000 fans at Wembley as part of her retirement ceremony.
Houghton won 121 caps for her country during a 14-year period and received a wonderful ovation from the home supporters.
Only Lauren Hemp was named in the starting XI, with Alex Greenwood, Chloe Kelly and Jess Park all on the bench.
Despite the celebratory atmosphere, the Lionesses were a goal behind after just four minutes as Millie Bright brought down Linda Dallmann and Giulia Gwinn converted from the spot.
It soon got worse for the hosts as Gwinn doubled Germany’s lead on 11 minutes and Wembley was stunned even further as England’s shambolic start continued when Klara Buhl made it 3-0 on 29 minutes.
Georgia Stanway pulled one back from the spot on 33, but Sarina Wiegman’s side still had a mountain to climb.
Incredibly, Stanway pulled another back six minutes later as England went into the break trailing 2-3 after an absorbing first half.
Jess Park was introduced at the start of the second period, replacing Ella Toone.
City skipper Alex Greenwood came on just past the hour, but Germany scored a controversial fourth from the spot on 72 minutes through Sara Dabritz after Alessia Russo was adjudged to have fouled Sophie Wolter.
Chloe Kelly came on immediately after and Hemp saw a goal chalked off for offside before England were handed a lifeline when keeper Ann Katrin Berger’s mistake allowed Lucy Bronze to make it 3-4 nine minutes from the end of normal time.
However, the Lionesses couldn’t find a leveller in the time that remained.
Elsewhere, Jill Roord started for Netherlands in their friendly against Indonesia.
It proved something of a mismatch however, with the Dutch running riot against a nation ranked 93 places lower by FIFA..
Roord was among the scorers, planting home an angled drive on 21 minutes to make the score 2-0 - one of the six goals the hosts scored in the opening period.
Earning her 97th cap, Roord scored her second from close range on 48 minutes to make the score 7-0 and was replaced on 61 minutes by Renate Jansen.
There was still time for the Dutch to add another EIGHT goals and ultimately win 15-0.
Mary Fowler also started for Australia in their friendly away to Switzerland.
Caitlin Foord put the Matildas ahead on 47 minutes after winning and then converting the resulting penalty.
Fowler gave a typically industrious performance and saw a couple of attempts go begging.
Géraldine Reuteler levelled for the Swiss on 58 minutes.
Fowler’s evening ended on 79 when she was replaced by Daniela Galic.
Leila Ouahabi was an unused sub for Spain who were held to a 1-1 draw by Canada in a friendly,
Laura Blindkilde Brown was on target for England U23s in a Euro qualifier.
The City youngster netted on 19 minutes, but the young Lionesses were denied at the death by the Dutch who snatched a 1-1 draw in Escharen.
At England U19 level Eve Annets - on loan at Portsmouth - played the full game and Lily Murphy was a 77th-minute sub as England opened their Algarve Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over their Dutch counterparts.
