Grace Clinton has arrived! Winners and losers from the Lionesses' first games of 2024 as Ella Toone also makes statement in England's thrashings of Austria and Italy

The biggest compliment that can be paid to Grace Clinton after her performances for England this week is that it hardly looked like this was the camp in which she made her international debut. Awarded that first cap on Friday against Austria, she marked the occasion with a superb goal, was unlucky not to get a second, and backed it up with another terrific display in the win over Italy.

On loan at Tottenham from Manchester United this season, the 20-year-old has been in sublime form and she showed it in these friendlies, her clever footwork and ability to carve defences open making her one of the most eye-catching players across England's two games. But Clinton worked hard off the ball, too, ranking second for tackles won and third for possession among the Lionesses' squad. That she shone in two different midfield roles, box-to-box against Austria and then as a No.10 in the win over Italy, was also impressive.

"She just went out to play, played with a lot of freedom and showed her quality," Wiegman said of the youngster in a perfectly-put piece of praise. Given how well she slipped into England's starting XI, it'd be a surprise not to see more of her in the April window as qualifying for the 2025 European Championships begins.

As Wiegman says, there were tons of positives for England in this camp but there were also a couple of negatives. The first came before the Lionesses had even got together as Leah Williamson's long-awaited comeback was delayed further, a minor hamstring injury causing the Arsenal star to pull out of the squad.

Williamson has worked so hard to get back on the pitch after a devastating ACL injury that ruled her out of the Women's World Cup and this camp felt like the perfect opportunity for her England return, the friendly games removing some of the pressure. However, she'll be targeting a chance to pull on her country's colours again in April instead.

Every cloud has a silver lining and Williamson's absence opened the door for Lotte Wubben-Moy, her Arsenal team-mate who she will have no doubt been pleased to see get a rare opportunity to show what she can do for England. There have been plenty of calls for Wubben-Moy to receive more game time, especially given her sublime recent form at club level, and she saw significant minutes in both games this week.

Though starting from the bench against Austria, the 25-year-old came on at half time and got an assist thanks to a strong header. She then went one better in the game with Italy, scoring her first England goal with just 60 seconds on the clock, this on her first start since June 2022 and just her third overall. Her defensive work and general play in both matches was superb, too.

Asked if Wubben-Moy had taken a step forward in her thinking after the two performances, Wiegman told ITV: "She's definitely taken a step forward because she's developing a lot and very well. That's what we see weekly at Arsenal and that's what she shows here, too." The coach did add that the competition at centre-back is "really high" but Wubben-Moy has certainly done nothing this week to harm her chances of getting more of a look-in when the opportunity presents itself.

After losing Williamson before the camp had even begun, England suffered another blow in the warm-up for the clash with Austria when Fran Kirby felt some irritation in her knee. The Chelsea star was replaced in the starting line-up by Ella Toone and, in the following days, withdrew from the camp altogether. "We didn't want to take any risks so she's being assessed at the club," Wiegman explained. "We don't expect it to be a bad injury."

Though it doesn't sound overly-concerning for Kirby, it is another frustration for the 30-year-old in what has felt like a real stop-start period of her career. After coming back admirably from some health scares in recent years, it is these knee injuries that are now plaguing Kirby as she looks to rediscover the form that made her one of the most talismanic footballers on the planet.

Chelsea have long been excellent at looking after the playmaker and will no doubt take the necessary steps to deal with this issue. Meanwhile the Blues, England and essentially every football fan will hope that she is able to ride this storm and get back to that level that made her so wonderful to watch.

Just like with Williamson, though, Kirby's absence opened the door for someone else and it was Toone who took that opportunity. The Man Utd star experienced a dip in form last year, enduring an 11-game run without a direct goal involvement in the Women's Super League. However, she has scored five times and provided eight assists for the Red Devils since opening her account for the season in early November and her confidence was evident this week.

Against Austria, Toone was brilliant on the ball, completing 13 more passes in the final third than any other player on the pitch and creating two chances, but she worked hard off it, too, winning possession back eight times, more than any other Lioness. Her performance was all the more impressive given she was thrown in at the last minute as Kirby pulled out in the warm-up. The playmaking midfielder then backed that up with an impactful display off the bench in the win over Italy, scoring a sublime volley just a few minutes after she had come on.

Toone faces a lot of competition for a place in this England team at the moment but, amid Jess Park's great form and Clinton's emergence, the 24-year-old caught the eye and reminded everyone what she can bring to the table.

In a camp that was all about trying things out, one might have expected Wiegman to wheel out the 3-5-2 set-up that got England to the World Cup final. It worked a treat Down Under and helped get more out of several players while being a bit of a surprise for opponents. When the Lionesses have lined up in it since the World Cup, teams have been able to poke holes in them more readily. This international break, with two friendly matches, felt like a good opportunity to work on its weaknesses.

However, England set-up in a 4-3-3 for both of their February outings. Does that mean that the 3-5-2 has been consigned to the scrapheap? If not, the issues the Lionesses have in it are yet to be ironed out and worked on. If Wiegman does use it again, she's missed out on a chance to improve it. Could that be costly?

It might not sound particularly significant for Hannah Hampton to have seemingly secured her status as England's second-choice goalkeeper, but it is. Mary Earps is an immovable object in the Lionesses' goal, such have been the quality of her performances on the biggest stage, but the role as her understudy has become complicated because of a lack of gametime among the shot-stoppers.

It was a position previously occupied by Ellie Roebuck, the Manchester City star, but she hasn't played all season for club or country and has since lost her place in the England squad altogether. Hampton was in a similar position at new club Chelsea, all while teenager Khiara Keating has been making waves as Man City's new No.1 and one of the latest additions to Wiegman's squad.

But Hampton made her first start for the Blues in December and has been a regular since, with her impressive form even earning her a rare chance in goal for England on Friday against Austria. "This is an opportunity to show herself," Wiegman told ITV ahead of Hampton winning just her third cap. "She has done well at Chelsea. We know Mary is our No.1 goalkeeper but we need to have an option when something is happening with Mary, [to know] Hannah is ready to go. I think she can show that tonight."

It felt like Hampton did that in the 7-2 win, despite the lack of clean sheet. Her distribution was good, she commanded her area well and hardly put a foot wrong. The 23-year-old looks to have moved up the pecking order.