Sarina Wiegman says she is not concerned by England’s current lack of creativity after an experimental side recorded a slender win against Switzerland, the European Championship hosts next summer.
The England head coach gave her young players a chance to impress and there were several strong individual performances from new faces but the side recorded only three shots on target, having similarly managed just one effort on goal last time out against the USA.
On a freezing Tuesday night at Bramall Lane, the Manchester United midfielder Grace Clinton’s early goal proved enough to secure a second victory for England in this autumn’s four friendly fixtures.
Wiegman explained that these games have all been a work in progress, saying: “I was not concerned about the lack of creativity in the first half. In the second half I thought we needed some more creativity, better decisions. I’m not really concerned.
“To be creative, create chances, score goals – that we have to improve, absolutely we know that. A big concern? Well, at least, not yet.”
Wiegman had declared last Friday that she would be making “a lot of changes” for this fixture and she was true to her word, making no fewer than 10 alterations to her starting lineup compared to the goalless draw with USA on Saturday, to such an extent that this was one of the most youthful teams the Lionesses had seen for multiple generations.
With an average age of 23.9, significantly lower than the average for all teams participating at the most recent Women’s World Cup (26.8), this was a side that included four 21-year-olds, two of whom – Ruby Mace and Laura Blindkilde Brown – were making their senior international debuts.
Before the game on Tuesday night, England’s starting XI had accumulated just 127 senior international caps between them, 83 of which belonged to the Chelsea centre-back Millie Bright. The second-most experienced player in the team was the Manchester City playmaker Jess Park, who earned her 13th cap on Tuesday.
Asked about the youngsters, Wiegman replied: “Some were maybe a little more anxious than others, but that’s OK, you have to get through it. Of course I’m happy with the win. In the first half we played really well with a very young team. In the second half our level dropped. We were more sloppy. We didn’t find the pockets well enough. So that was a little bit harder.”
Park’s eighth-minute free-kick from deep was headed on to the post by the Manchester United centre‑back Millie Turner, with the rebound pounced on first by an instinctive Clinton, who scored her third England goal on the night she won her fifth cap.
Despite both making their debuts, Mace and Blindkilde Brown were holding the centre of the midfield together and did so impressively early on against a Switzerland side ranked 25th in the world.
The Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was forced into a save by Iman Beney shortly after half-time in a rare counterattack from Switzerland, but England were seeing most of the ball and Blindkilde Brown’s effort was well palmed away by the RB Leipzig goalkeeper Elvira Herzog. Nonetheless, the crowd were scarcely on their feet, as the hosts appeared to prioritise tactical tweaks with an eye on next summer.
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England had put in a solid defensive display against the USA at Wembley and it had been hoped this performance might be rather more entertaining and adventurous. In reality it was still a game relatively low on goalmouth action and clear-cut chances.
Wiegman had made it clear before this camp that her team might not necessarily look at their best before next summer’s tournament. Perhaps we will only know that in July but what was certainly encouraging was the performances of the youngsters.
In Maya Le Tissier and Clinton in particular, England have clearly got two stars of the future, whilst the Chelsea striker Aggie Beever-Jones showed good energy and movement. Leicester’s Mace was calm and steady in possession, despite being given the crucial task in the holding role, and Blindkilde Brown demonstrated herself to be useful in linking between the lines.
When some more senior faces were brought on late on, Bayern Munich’s Georgia Stanway struck the post with a good low strike in second-half stoppage time.
England rounded off their calendar year here with a seventh victory from 12 games in 2024, with the reigning European champions having drawn three of the other five and losing twice, at home against France and Germany.
A set of six competitive fixtures await in the first half of 2025 when the Nations League returns, including two tantalising meetings with the world champions Spain, before the chance to defend their European title arrives. The draw for Euro 2025 will be made on 16 December.
Source: theguardian.com
