Winger hails sum of England's parts

Isobel Christiansen was a picture of contented relief after UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship holders England "overcame the heat and the Scots" to kick off their Group A campaign with three points.

"It was hard work – the heat was absolutely mental," said the Birmingham City LFC winger, a 3-1 victory in Skopje extending her undefeated record since making her debut at this level to 18 matches. "We really had to do some grafting and work as a team. Luckily we got the result and came through together. It was a great result."

A probing threat on the right flank throughout, Christiansen played her part and was rewarded for her endeavour by putting England 2-0 up on 34 minutes, sending a crisp half-volley into the bottom corner. "We do a lot of work in training on finishing – in international football you don't get many chances so you've got to make them count and I think we did that really well," she said.

"It was a great feeling to score but I'm more bothered about the result," the 18-year-old added. "Now we can go onto the next game with three points in our pockets and hopefully do the same again." That will be on Thursday against Italy, a side England have not faced since 2005. "I've never played [Italy] before but I'm sure we've got a few things to look at while focusing on ourselves and what we can do. If we play well we can get the result. We go out to win every game – it's what England is all about." The Azzurrine have been warned.