Sarina Wiegman says her England side will go on the attack in their decisive European Championship qualifier against Sweden and are still hoping to win their group, insisting they are not thinking about the draw that would secure them a spot at the finals in Switzerland next summer.
Only the top two sides in the group will qualify automatically for Euro 2025 with the teams in third and fourth having to settle for a place in the two-round playoff process this autumn. England, the defending European champions, would drop into the playoffs if they lose in Gothenburg on Tuesday.
Avoiding defeat would guarantee a top-two spot thanks to the Lionesses’ three-point advantage over the Olympic silver medallists. France have already qualified while the fourth team in the group, the Republic of Ireland, will be in the playoffs.
“We are never playing a match to draw,” Wiegman said. “We are playing a match to win. And, [if] we win the game, we might even top the group too. Everyone expects France to win but you never know what happens in football.
“Tomorrow is a very important game for us, we can still become third in the group as well as first. That’s how we approach it. We’ve had some very good training sessions, everyone is fit and we’re ready.”
Wiegman called on her side to produce an improved performance compared to that which secured a 1-1 draw at Wembley in April. She also emphasised the significance of potentially having more time to prepare for next summer’s major tournament if they can qualify on Tuesday rather than potentially through the playoffs – which do not conclude until December, seven months before the tournament begins.
Speaking at the Gamla Ullevi stadium, she said: “You can prepare, you can play friendlies – you want to pick the games [for the autumn] yourself, so we really want to qualify tomorrow.”
The Dutchwoman, who has won back-to-back European Championships with the Netherlands and then England in 2022, praised Sweden’s “structure”, saying: “I think it’s a real team. [They’re] powerful with lots of experience. They’ve basically always been in the top level so we are aware of that and we will be prepared.”
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The Lionesses were handed the toughest of qualifying groups, with three of the 2022 semi-finalists alongside another team that reached the 2023 World Cup in the Republic of Ireland.
Leah Williamson, the England captain, who lifted the trophy two years ago at Wembley, believes her teammates will thrive under the pressure on Tuesday, saying: “What this team is very good at [is] taking pressurised situations and turning them into exciting ones for us, and we look at the opportunity that’s there.
“We’re coming out here to play the style of football that we think is effective and we think is fairly good at. So I think if we deliver that gameplan it will be an exciting game but hopefully we come out on top.”
Source: theguardian.com
