England thrash Scotland to send a warning to Euro 2017 rivals

England 6 Scotland 0

England underlined their billing as genuine title contenders at the Women's Euro 2017 tournament as they thrashed Scotland in their opening game.

Arsenal striker Jodie Taylor became the first England player to score a hat-trick in a major tournament as Mark Sampson's side thumped their arch-rivals 6-0 in the Netherlands.

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Further goals from Ellen White, Jordan Nobbs and Toni Duggan completed the rout as England proved they have gone up another level since finishing third at the World Cup two years ago.

"This was the floor that was slippery when wet, the trip wire concealed in the undergrowth, the pot hole in the road, but England’s Lionesses did not slip, or stumble," says the Daily Telegraph. "They skipped serenely through a tricky looking test against Scotland to launch their European Championship campaign in ominous style.

"This performance will have been noted by all their rivals, most notably Germany and France, who were far less impressive in their opening games."

Taylor gave England the lead after ten minutes and doubled their advantage from a tight angle midway through the first half.

White's seventh goal in nine games put England firmly in control at the interval with Taylor grabbing her third to make it 4-0 early in the second period. Late goals from Nobbs and Duggan added gloss to the scoreline but Sampson insists there is still plenty of room for improvement.

The England coach told the BBC: "The exciting part for me is how good we can become over the next five matches. With every good performance they put in, it excites me more for how far they can go. We could be the best team in the world."

Taylor had been overlooked by Sampson's predecessor as England manager, Hope Powell, and only made her debut at the age of 28 three years ago.

Injury then restricted her contribution at the World Cup in 2015 but she made up for lost time by putting on a "master class in intelligent movement and perfectly weighted finishing", reports The Guardian.

England take on Spain – who beat Portugal 2-0 in their opening match - in their next group game on Sunday with Scotland being backed to bounce back quickly by their coach Anna Signeul when they face the Portuguese.

Signeul said: "It was a tough debut for us. We played against a very, very good team in England. I'd say they are contenders in this tournament. But we will rise again, because in three days' time we're playing Portugal and that's the main focus now."