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Ellen White scored on her 100th appearance to maintain England's winning run in Women's World Cup qualifying with a narrow victory over Austria at the Stadium of Light.
White, who is just one goal off equalling the all-time Lionesses goalscoring record, pounced on a rebound a few yards out to make it 1-0.
Beth Mead and Fran Kirby also went close in freezing conditions.
England have won all five of their qualifying matches without conceding.
Manager Sarina Wiegman expected this to be England's toughest test in qualifying to date, and so it proved with Austria keeping them at bay for almost 40 minutes.
The conditions in Sunderland were also a factor - severe weather warnings prior to kick-off meant supporters were advised not to travel and there were flurries of hail for spells in the second half.
But White, who was presented with a commemorative shirt before kick-off to acknowledge her landmark cap, eventually provided the goalscoring instinct England needed, after Kirby's strike was deflected into her path.
That capped off a dominant first half from England, who controlled possession and began to open up spaces as the break drew nearer.
Kirby and Mead combined well down the right on several occasions but could not capitalise, while Lauren Hemp came close to picking out White in the middle a few times.
The visitors were well organised however, making it difficult for England to break them down, but Wiegman's side were patient and eventually got their reward.
Austria threatened early in the second half, forcing two saves in quick succession from goalkeeper Mary Earps, but otherwise England remained on top and should have extended their lead.
The Lionesses travel to Doncaster on Tuesday for their next qualifier, taking on Latvia, who they thrashed 10-0 last month.
White closes in on record
Kelly Smith's record of 46 goals for the Lionesses is being hunted by White and she had chances in the second half to at least equal it.
She did not match Smith's record in Sunderland but it was fitting that on her 100th appearance it was the ever-reliant striker and the Lionesses' top scorer at the 2019 World Cup who provided the one goal her side managed.
She was applauded before kick-off by fans, team-mates and supporters as Baroness Campbell presented her with a special "100" shirt and fellow forward Mead jumped into her arms in celebration when White scored.
Mead herself was playing in front of home fans in the north east - an area where she grew up and began her career - and every time she touched the ball there was an eagerness from the stands.
It was also a special day for Chelsea defender Millie Bright, who captained England for the first time under Wiegman and kept a clean sheet.
She returns to her hometown of Doncaster on Tuesday hoping for an easier evening against world number 102 side Latvia.
In all, it was another successful 90 minutes for England, who have now scored 33 goals without reply in qualifying.
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England
Squad number1Player nameEarps
Squad number2Player nameDaly
Squad number6Player nameBright
Squad number5Player nameGreenwood
Squad number3Player nameStokes
Squad number8Player nameKirby
Squad number4Player nameWalsh
Squad number10Player nameToone
Squad number7Player nameMead
Squad number9Player nameWhite
Squad number11Player nameHemp
Squad number14Player nameStanway
Squad number15Player nameCarter
Squad number17Player nameParris
Austria
Squad number1Player nameZinsberger
Squad number12Player nameWienroither
Squad number7Player nameWenninger
Squad number13Player nameKirchberger
Squad number19Player nameHanshaw
Squad number9Player nameZadrazil
Squad number17Player namePuntigam
Squad number5Player namePlattner
Squad number8Player nameDunst
Squad number15Player nameBilla
Squad number3Player nameNaschenweng
Squad number14Player nameHöbinger
Squad number18Player nameWienerroither
Squad number22Player nameEnzinger
Line-ups
England
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Earps
- 2Daly
- 6Bright
- 5Greenwood
- 3StokesSubstituted forCarterat 90+2'minutes
- 8Kirby
- 4Walsh
- 10TooneSubstituted forStanwayat 63'minutes
- 7MeadSubstituted forParrisat 70'minutes
- 9White
- 11Hemp
Substitutes
- 12Charles
- 13MacIver
- 14Stanway
- 15Carter
- 16Wubben-Moy
- 17Parris
- 18Nobbs
- 19England
- 20Scott
- 21Hampton
- 22Russo
- 23Zelem
Austria
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Zinsberger
- 12Wienroither
- 7Wenninger
- 13Kirchberger
- 19Hanshaw
- 9Zadrazil
- 17Puntigam
- 5PlattnerSubstituted forHöbingerat 89'minutes
- 8Dunst
- 15BillaSubstituted forEnzingerat 87'minutes
- 3NaschenwengSubstituted forWienerroitherat 60'minutesBooked at 62mins
Substitutes
- 2Horvat
- 4Fuchs
- 6Schiechtl
- 10Triendl
- 11Georgieva
- 14Höbinger
- 16Eder
- 18Wienerroither
- 20Schasching
- 21El Sherif
- 22Enzinger
- 23Pal
Live Text
Match ends, England 1, Austria Women 0.
Second Half ends, England 1, Austria Women 0.
Georgia Stanway (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Sarah Puntigam (Austria Women).
Substitution, England. Jessica Carter replaces Demi Stokes.
Attempt missed. Lauren Hemp (England) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Georgia Stanway.
Attempt missed. Barbara Dunst (Austria Women) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Sarah Puntigam.
Substitution, Austria Women. Marie-Therese Höbinger replaces Maria Plattner.
Substitution, Austria Women. Stefanie Enzinger replaces Nicole Billa.
Offside, England. Alex Greenwood tries a through ball, but Nikita Parris is caught offside.
Corner, England. Conceded by Manuela Zinsberger.
Attempt saved. Rachel Daly (England) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ellen White.
Georgia Stanway (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Sarah Puntigam (Austria Women).
Attempt blocked. Ellen White (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Corner, England. Conceded by Carina Wenninger.
Alex Greenwood (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nicole Billa (Austria Women).
Foul by Ellen White (England).
Manuela Zinsberger (Austria Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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