England 8-0 China: Sarina Wiegman's roaring Lionesses silence the doubters with eight-goal rout as Georgia Stanway bags hat-trick

'Are you certain all is well in the England camp?’ we asked. ‘Pretty much,’ came the reply.

After weeks of scrutiny following the release of Mary Earps' book and everything that followed, the noise has finally dipped. Sarina Wiegman and her world-beaters have made it clear they prefer to look ahead rather than dwell on the past and nothing signals harmony quite like an eight-goal thumping.

Yes, the ability to beat a China side who haven’t played together since July isn't something to get wildly excited about. But this team have stumbled against lesser opposition before, not least that defeat to Belgium in the Nations League before the Euros, a side four places below China in the rankings.

The point is that the Lionesses have an extraordinary knack for banding together when the outside world is asking awkward questions of them.

A major tournament-opening defeat? They will just go and win the whole thing, coming from behind in three consecutive matches, including the final.

A former player breaking the sanctity of the dressing room and criticising the communication style of a two-time European Championship-winning manager? All calm here. They’ll just put eight past their next opponents.

For Lucy Bronze, it's not about making a point. It's just about focusing on what they do best - winning football games.

'For those two players (Earps and Hannah Hampton) it's probably a little bit different but for us, it's just been about focusing on what we have here. The players we have here and supporting them,' Bronze said after the final whistle.

'When we turn up to play for England then we play for England. We've had issues in the media for a number of years, different topics, noise on the outside, whether it's people's personal lives, performances, players being picked. 

'When you put on the shirt it's about focusing on what you can do and what you can bring for this team. We showed that this week. We showed it at the Euros, when everyone doubted us then. At the World Cup when everyone wrote us off. We've always just stuck together and kept moving forward.'

With increased intensity in the public gaze comes inevitable challenges, as a couple of players reflected in the build-up to this match. But it also means Wembley Stadium is a sell-out for a friendly game in the depths of winter.

And that is precisely what this side needs in the long run-up to the next major tournament: to keep fans entertained. They certainly did that here.

We did not learn much about Wiegman’s new recruits because, as ever, the Dutch coach stuck with her first team, barring enforced changes. Anna Moorhouse was handed her first cap but China registered just one weak shot on target late on.

Maya Le Tissier was the standout player on the pitch for long stretches - her positioning and reading of the game are immense - save for when she was overshadowed by the lethal wide pairing of Lauren Hemp and Beth Mead and, of course, Georgia Stanway.

Mead has looked superb in an England shirt in recent outings, and she opened the scoring with a two-minute brace inside the first 20 minutes. From there, the floodgates opened. Hemp marked her return with a goal, while Stanway’s hat-trick capped another outstanding display from England’s most reliable performer.

Chloe Kelly, Jess Park and Lotte Wubben-Moy came on at half-time with the game long since settled. Youngster Lucia Kendall also enjoyed 20 lively minutes.

But, in a moment that summed up the opposition’s mood, Ella Toone's seventh came when the China goalkeeper rolled the ball straight to her in the penalty area.

This was a game that said a lot without saying very much at all. Exactly as Wiegman would have liked.