How does Sarina Wiegman solve England's problems after her first Euros defeat?

New York Times

2 days ago

Midway through England's victorious run at Euro 2022, there was a debate about whether Lionesses fans should sing 'Football's Coming Home'.
Some argued it was effectively England's national football anthem, regardless of gender. But many thought the words didn't quite apply to England Women, and that the whole experience of supporting that side was very different.
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Well, England's 2-1 defeat to France in their opening Euro 2025 game felt incredibly familiar to watching the men's side over the years.
There was a promising start which gave way to weariness in warm conditions as the match continued. There was a lack of control in midfield. There was a spirited late rally which came to nothing. Ultimately, there was a 2-1 defeat to France — the result that knocked the men's side out of the last World Cup.
This is England.
But this isn't Sarina Wiegman. In Euro 2022 we marvelled at Wiegman's insistence on keeping her starting XI intact for every game, despite calls to give others a chance, and despite the fact England had topped the group after two matches and could have rested players for their final group game.
Then again, it's easy to name an unchanged side when it's a winning side. And Wiegman usually is: from 12 group stage matches with the Netherlands and England, across two European Championships and two World Cups, she had previously collected 12 wins. Indeed, this was her first loss outside of the tournament's final.
So this is an unfamiliar situation for Wiegman, and it's slightly difficult to know how she'll react.
England had a couple of clear problems in Zurich. First, the midfield was overrun at least partly because of Wiegman's use of Lauren James in the advanced midfield role. James was England's brightest player in the opening moments, and it's a perfectly viable system against weak opponents, but given Georgia Stanway's long injury lay-off, Keira Walsh's disjointed season and the quality of France's midfield, it was a risk that ultimately didn't pay off.
'I make a lot of considerations before I make a starting line up; sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn't go well, but I don't have regrets,' Wiegman said afterwards. 'I don't see (playing James as the No 10) as a mistake, it was a choice. If she scored in the first minute, and if the cross she made in the first where we couldn't just get a head on it, I think we'd be having a different conversation.'
The other issue was at full-back, where England found themselves overrun by France's wingers. In particular, Jess Carter was skinned three times by Delpinhe Cascarino in the first half — two warning signs, and then the assist for Marie-Antoinette Katoto's opener.
This was something of a surprise given Carter is regarded as England's best player in one-against-one duels out wide, and she was probably favoured over Niamh Charles precisely for this reason. But with England's defensive line pushing up and squeezing the play, they left space in behind into which the wingers ran.
On the opposite flank, Lucy Bronze twice went haring forward when England lost possession and allowed France to break, first when Sakina Karchaoui lobbed into the sidenetting, then for Sandy Baltimore's goal to make it 2-0, when Bronze inadvertently teed her up.
So does Wiegman make changes ahead of Wednesday night?
Well, England will face a different task against the Netherlands. The Dutch didn't field electric wingers in their 3-0 win over Wales. Jill Roord is more of a midfielder, although she offered a serious goal threat from the left, twice hitting the woodwork. On the right, Victoria Pelova is more scrappy, effective at slaloming past challenges in more central positions.
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But that could change: Lineth Beerensteyn can play either as a No 9 or out wide, and given England's struggles in the full-back positions, you wouldn't be surprised if Netherlands manager Andries Jonker showed her a couple of videos of Cascarino's performance and told her to do the same.
It's also fair to say the Dutch don't quite have the midfield quality of France, and therefore Walsh and Stanway may cope better. That said, the Dutch are feisty and aggressive, and won't stand off England or let them play.
One solution would be to keep the defence intact, but move James to a right-sided position, where she has often excelled in the past. That would allow her to attack Esme Brugts, a talented left-back but one who is better going forward than defensively. James also works well with Bronze, a good relationship that predates them being Chelsea team-mates.
That would allow Wiegman to stiffen the midfield with Grace Clinton or Jess Park, providing support for Walsh and Stanway. Ella Toone is another option, although she does her best work in the opposition box, and England need someone who can help out in deeper positions.
Wiegman's selection decision will be crucial. England suddenly find themselves in a very difficult situation. Defeat to the Netherlands would eliminate them (unless Wales were to beat France, leaving England praying for an unlikely 9-3-3-3 group and scraping through in second, which simply isn't going to happen).
But even a draw wouldn't be great. Assuming a France victory over Wales, that would leave France on six points, the Netherlands on four, England on one and Wales yet to get off the mark. France and the Netherlands could therefore engineer a draw in their final group game, which would send them both through and the champions home. Or France could rest up and allow the Netherlands to get the win they need, in the knowledge that finishing Group D runners-up might be better — it would probably mean avoiding Spain until the final.
It would be out of England's hands.
The way to avoid all this, of course, is by winning on Wednesday night. Wiegman is known as a stubborn manager, but in this situation, changes are surely needed if England are to remain in the competition.