England captain Leah Williamson spoke to the media after the Lionesses clinched a 1-0 victory over Spain last night.
Jess Park found the opener in the 33rd minute thanks to Alessia Russo, and Sarina Wiegman’s side fought hard to preserve their lead in this 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final rematch.
With anticipation building toward EURO 2025 in Switzerland, the centre-back described the meeting as ‘hard” and said the Spanish side are “World Champions for a reason.”
Providing her initial reaction to the performance, Williamson said: “You want to get back up the pitch, because Spain do keep you [in your own half] for a while, but I think we did well. The balance was good, and I think there was some really nice passages of play. You hope as we grow, there will be more.”
Win over Spain ‘takes a lot of pressure off’ declares captain
Stressing the importance of the win, which sees England go top of their UEFA Women’s Nations League group, Williamson said: “We’re in a competition. The Nations League is a competition, it’s not a friendly, even though you want to win them too.”
Friday night saw the Lionesses share the spoils with Portugal in the Algarve. Williamson spoke positively about England’s process under Wiegman, affirming “We do have a plan and we are on a journey. It sounds cliché, but we are.”
“We know what we’re doing, and hopefully with performances like that and wins like that, it’s clear. Naturally, it takes a lot of pressure off,” she added.
Lionesses ‘want to be brilliant’ says Williamson
The visitors looked lively during the first 20 minutes of the game and Williamson’s backline as well as goalkeeper Hannah Hampton had to remain on high alert, but it wasn’t long before the hosts found their feet and made their mark.
Wiegman continues to integrate some younger talent such as Park and Grace Clinton into her squad in the absence of Lauren Hemp and Georgia Stanway. Reflecting on how the tie played out, Williamson explained “Some people haven’t played that fixture at international level, so that takes a bit of getting used to. I think we were just figuring things out.”
She continued, “Obviously, you want it to be brilliant from minute one, but that’s okay. As long as we’re defensively secure [to] prevent them having chances and growing into it. The product of that, then, towards of the end of the half [was there].”
The Lionesses will be back in action on April 4, when they continue their Nations League campaign against Belgium at Ashton Gate.
