England finished 2025 on a high as they beat Ghana 2-0 in the first ever meeting between the nations.
A first senior international goal for Aston Villa - and former Southampton - midfielder Lucia Kendall put the Lionesses in front inside six minutes at St Mary's.
But despite their overwhelming dominance - and hitting the woodwork four times - it was not until the 95th minute Alessia Russo sealed the win from the spot.
England put the pressure on from the off, and once Kendall had slammed in her first Lionesses goal, it seemed the floodgates would burst open.
That had been the case , and Ghana sat 51 places lower in the FIFA rankings than the previous opposition.
But Chloe Kelly was taken off injured after 23 minutes and a combination of a lack of ruthlessness and dominant goalkeeping from Cynthia Konlan meant the hosts only took a 1-0 lead into the break.
Moments before the whistle, though, a Kendall header bounced into the ground, up onto the crossbar and away.
England struggled to take the game by the scruff of the neck at the start of the second half, but twice in quick succession they hit the woodwork again. Lucy Bronze first cushioned a header onto the crossbar, before Aggie Beever-Jones' looping header came back shortly after.
They hit the woodwork yet again deep into second half stoppage time, but only after Russo's goalbound header hit the hand of Comfort Yeboah. The referee went to the monitor to review the incident, before turning and pointing to the spot.
And the ever-reliable Russo struck emphatically from 12 yards to finally add the second England should have scored long before.
England manager Sarina Wiegman speaking to ITV:
"I had hoped we'd score more. If we would have taken the chances better, I think it should have been more than this. I was actually a little bit frustrated.
"We played a lot of other players who we know, as individuals, are really good, but you have to find these connections again. If we had scored earlier, that would have made it a little bit easier for the team.
"We had some big opportunities, but they were just the wrong side of the post or on the crossbar, so we weren't lucky in moments, either."
England's Lucia Kendall speaking to ITV:
"It was a really special moment for me to be able to do it here, where I grew up. This place made me into the player I am today. It felt like it was written today.
"It was so special. It took a couple of seconds for it to really hit. I got overwhelmed with emotion really. It was really special.
"I pick up little bits from players here and back at club and it's just how can I continue to be consistent and start to create more? I look at players like Keira [Walsh], how consistent she is, but also how effective and forward-thinking she is.
"I want to be like that as well; I want to get the team going forward and be effective in the final third."
England's Alessia Russo speaking to ITV:
"Ghana posed a completely different threat [to China]. They were really good and put on a really good show and made it really difficult for us.
"That's what we want in these games pre-World Cup and pre-qualifiers; we want to test ourselves against lots of different playing styles and we definitely got that tonight.
"We've had a good camp, we've built on a lot and we're really looking forward to going into the next few years.
"You can tell it's a new England. We say it after almost every cycle, but we've got lots of youngsters, more making their debuts this camp. It's a really exciting time."
Sarina Wiegman has three months to prepare for the Lionesses' next matches, when they open their qualifying campaign for the 2027 World Cup.
First up is a trip to face Ukraine on March 3, then a home game against Iceland on March 7.
