Ellen White marked her 100th cap with the only goal of the game as England made it five wins from five in World Cup qualifying with a well-deserved 1-0 victory over Group D rivals Austria at the Stadium of Light. 

White opened the scoring with her 45th goal for England – and moved just one strike behind Kelly Smith’s all-time Lionesses goalscoring record – at the end of a dominant first-half display that saw Sarina Wiegman’s side have 16 shots and 71% possession. 

The second half was equally action-packed but neither side could find the net, meaning the Lionesses maintained their perfect record in World Cup qualifying with a goal tally that now reads: 33 for and zero against. 

The victory keeps England top while defeat sees second-placed Austria five points adrift in Group D. 

It was a quiet opening 20 minutes at the Stadium of Light, with Austria looking compact in defence, while England moved the ball efficiently. 

The Lionesses were having the lion’s share of the chances and when Fran Kirby did well to find some space in the pocket between the Austrian defence and midfield, she tried to thread the ball through for White but her pass was intercepted. 

But on 39 minutes, White scored England’s 33rd goal of this qualifying campaign and put her within striking distance of Smith’s all-time record. 

Kirby gathered the ball after a blocked cross and pinged it across goal, finding White, who finished superbly on her 100th cap to score for the 45th time in an England shirt, which came against the same opposition as the team who she made her debut and scored her first goal against back in 2010.

The Lionesses could have scored again within two minutes of the opener after finding space down the right wing before the ball fell to Lauren Hemp, whose shot was saved by Manuela Zinsberger. 

After the break, Austria had their best spell of the game and when Sarah Zadrazil was put through on goal, Mary Earps produced a great save to stop the ball from finding the top corner of her net. 

It was the most pressure England had been under during their entire qualifying campaign but they were soon back on top when Rachel Daly nearly forced in Kirby’s corner, only for Austria to scramble it clear for another. 

Seconds later, the Lionesses had a penalty appeal after Bayern Munich’s Carina Wenninger brought down Beth Mead, but it was waved away by referee Kateryna Monzul. 

Mead forced a save after being picked out down on the right side of the penalty area as Zinsberger was equal to the task.

White almost got her second after nudging a loose ball onto her right foot, but the Manchester City star’s shot was deflected behind for a corner which came to nothing. 

Daly then had an intelligent strike from distance pushed around the post by Zingsberger as the Lionesses sought to put the result beyond doubt and although it didn’t come, England won again and continued their march toward the 2023 FIFA World Cup. 

The Lionesses' next match will be another qualifier against Latvia on Tuesday at Doncaster Rovers' Keepmoat Stadium, with tickets costing £15 for adults, £5 for concessions and £2.50 for under-16s. 

England (4-3-3): 1 Mary Earps (Manchester United); 2 Rachel Daly (Houston Dash), 3 Demi Stokes (Manchester City), 4 Keira Walsh (Manchester City), 5 Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), 6 Millie Bright (Chelsea) (c), 7 Beth Mead (Arsenal), 8 Fran Kirby (Chelsea), 9 Ellen White (Manchester City), 10 Ella Toone (Manchester United), 11 Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) 

Substitutes: 14 Georgia Stanway (Manchester City) for Toone 63, 17 Nikita Parris (Arsenal) for Mead 70, 15 Jess Carter (Chelsea) for Stokes 90

Substitutes not used: 12 Niamh Charles (Chelsea), 13 Sandy MacIver (Everton), 16 Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal), 18 Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), 19 Bethany England (Chelsea), 20 Jill Scott (Manchester City), 21 Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), 22 Alessia Russo (Manchester United), 23 Katie Zelem (Manchester United) 

Head coach: Sarina Wiegman

Goals: White (39) 

Austria (4-3-3): 1 Manuela Zinsberger, 3 Katharina Naschenweng, 5 Maria Plattner, 7 Carina Wenninger (c), 8 Barbara Dunst, 9 Sarah Zadrazil, 12 Laura Wienroither, 13 Virginia Kirchberger, 15 Nicole Billa, 17 Sarah Puntigam, 19 Verena Hanshaw 

Substitutes: 18 Katja Wienerroither for Naschenweng 59, 22 Stafanie Enzinger for Billa 87, 14 Marie Therese Höbinger for Plattner 89

Substitutes not used: 2 Sabrina Horvat, 4 Lainie Fuchs, 6 Katharina Schiechtl, 10 Lena Triendl, 11 Marina Georgieva, 16 Jasmin Eder, 20 Annabel Schasching, 21 Mariella El Sherif, 23 Jasmin Pal 

Referee: Kateryna Monzul 

Attendance: 9,159