Friday night marked the first time that England and Germany had reunited since that fateful summer evening in the European Championship final of 2022.
A seven goal thriller, and the manner in which the game was played out, was a far cry from the 2-1 scoreline seen two years ago when the Lionesses ran out victors of Europe in an epic 2-1 thriller under the arch. Following the final whistle, England manager Sarina Wiegman addressed the media following a lacklustre performance from her side at Wembley Stadium.
Wiegman reflects on ‘disappointing’ display
Expressing initial disappointment on a personal note, but also on behalf of the team, she admitted that “I didn’t want the result. We must do a couple of things better, of course. I am not the only one, the players too, so that was kind of disappointing”.
The England boss was also quick to credit the quality of the fixture, expressing “I do think that it was a very high level game where there were so many challenges. For us, but also for them. That’s what we want at this stage. So I think it gave us so much information and it shows us exactly what we need to do better.”
When asked about whether she was concerned by the ease at which the German team exposed her side’s defence, Wiegman insisted that “most of the chances they created developed during transition moments. There were a couple where we were doing a high press and just didn’t get it right and they exploited that straight away, so there is a huge learning for the team.”
Wiegman reiterated the fact that the high press was planned, but not executed how she had envisioned. She said, “We‘re losing the ball at moments we don’t want to lose the ball and we wanted to press high and at moments we didn’t get press right. Then they are really powerful and they’re good in the counter attack so that exploited us. Again, that’s what we need to improve. We want to press higher but we need to find out the triggers, when do we wait and when do we go.”
‘Germany exploited us’ admits Wiegman
It was the porous backline that had most people talking after the game, a normally robust defensive unit looked arguably the most out of sorts it had ever done throughout Wiegman’s tenure. Asked whether having four right footed players in the backline could explain why Germany found such joy on the left flank, Wiegman was quick to disagree with the observation, expressing that it was something they were aware of.
She said, “To try and address this we bought them on and Keira [Walsh] and solve it that way. When you saw Alex come in and send balls behind them then that helped us. It’s [the left footed option] the most ideal in possession.”
The media were quick to follow up on the space down the left flank, highlighting an example with the second goal, in which Jess Carter got dragged forward leaving the defensive line scarce. The England manager nodded as the question was posed, admitting “We didn’t do that right. It started on the right side, and we didn’t press how we wanted to and Germany exploited that really well. So it was like a chain reaction in that moment, which of course we want to do better.”
Wiegman was heavily questioned on her choice of centre-back pairing in Leah Williamson and Millie Bright. This time, it was less about the notable omission of Alex Greenwood, and more about the decision to play Williamson on the left and Bright on the right, when both play the other side for club more frequently.
Wiegman acknowledged that it’s something that has been “spoken about”. But after proving successful within the camp, “We left it for now, but that could be an option [in the future].”
Wiegman responds to lineup criticism: ‘I’m not going to make changes just for the sake of it’
Wiegman had spoken all week regarding the opportunities that these four friendlies would provide her with the chance to experiment, so when an all too familiar line up was released prior to kick-off, questions were dutifully raised.
The Dutchwoman stood firm in her decision, citing “Players are knocking on the door, patiently competing for minutes and I’m not going to make changes just for the sake of it. I’m happy with team, and what we want to do is also see other players which we did. They are all coming into the team, they’re challenging, they’re fighting for minutes, and yes, there’s a competition going on.”
A further challenge awaits the Lionesses on Tuesday as they head to Coventry where they will take on South Africa, in their second friendly of this international break. When asked how the team will prepare for the Banyana Banyana, Wiegman stated the obvious that “We are going to review this game and we will recover and see how everyone comes out of this game and then we make decisions for Tuesday.”
Elaborating on her upcoming selection, she admitted that she will “Make some changes. So as I said, we have an opportunity to play many players.”
