By The Telegraph (World News) | Created at 2024-10-25 17:10:38 | Updated at 2024-10-25 19:23:40
2 hours ago
England’s Lionesses face Germany at Wembley this evening in a repeat of the 2022 European Championship final, but reshaping the team to win major honours again is Sarina Wiegman’s next challenge.
There is no doubt that England suffered from a post-trophy funk after their Euros triumph - disappointing in the Nations League and failing to qualify for the Olympics in Paris - even if they did reach a World Cup final last year, where they were outclassed by Spain.
Qualification for next summer’s Euros was far from plain sailing, although England did rebound impressively to beat France away and confirm progression with a draw in Sweden.
Despite Wiegman’s masterful tournament record, there have been concerns about the team going stale tactically and this upcoming sequence of friendlies offers a chance to experiment.
“We always want to [progress] faster but I think the game has increased, the level of the leagues in international football has increased and developed,” said Wiegman.
“That’s what we want, so that means we have to develop too. There’s competition in the team, with other players coming in, and more experienced players have to help the younger players so we are all on the same page.
“We just know where we want to get to in July.”
Wiegman’s Arsenal contingent of Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Alessia Russo are not exactly bouncing into camp after a tough start to the season culminated in head coach Jonas Eidevall’s resignation. Russo is yet to score in the WSL this season while Williamson will face competition at centre-back from Manchester City’s Alex Greenwood.
Wiegman made a big call by replacing goalkeeper Mary Earps with Hannah Hampton, in part because of Earps’ struggles since her move to Paris St-Germain. Hampton has performed well for England since taking the No 1 shirt, although made a mistake of her own for Chelsea last weekend against Tottenham. It feels as if there is still a battle to be England’s first-choice goalkeeper, which can bring tension and scrutiny.
Manchester City’s Jess Park and Manchester United’s Grace Clinton are two of the emerging talents in the squad, and injury to Lauren James offers Clinton the chance of minutes in an attacking midfield position.
Confirmed team news on the way shortly.
