England needs to make up ground if they hope to qualify for the Euros the following year after losing to France 2-1 in Newcastle.
They have played two home games thus far, losing one and drawing the other, leaving them five points behind leaders France in Group A3.
The European champions have faced tough competition, but aside from a resounding victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, their qualifying campaign has been challenging.
For Sarina Wiegman’s team, things do not get any easier when they head to Saint-Etienne on Tuesday for a rematch with France.
Wiegman stated to BBC Radio 5 Live, “We have to prevail in France if we want to be in a good position in July.”
“We played well most of the time and wanted to go and win today. We played solid defense and as a team.
“We’re very disappointed now, that is very clear because really we all feel it was very unnecessary – but then we’ll move onto Tuesday.”
No injuries to Greenwood and Earps
According to Wiegman, England performed better than they did against the Republic of Ireland and Sweden.
Still, they were not at all persuasive.
Wiegman selected Millie Bright and Leah Williamson as a center-back duo, benching Alex Greenwood, a Manchester City defender who had been in excellent form, for their first game together since February 2023.
There was a clear lack of match sharpness in Bright as France’s nimble strikers attacked, and two set-pieces that night completely undid England’s defense.
Their worries were increased by goalkeeper Mary Earps’s early injury. Just minutes into her 50th game for England, she had to be replaced due to a hip issue.
Beth Mead gave the Lionesses the lead, but Elisa de Almeida and Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s volleys past Hannah Hampton, the replacement goalie, as France rallied.
It is really disheartening. The game should have been ours,” Wiegman continued.
“You have the ability to halt it, regardless of how well the aims were achieved. Both the first and the second were excellent. We must unquestionably tighten up on second balls.”
Regarding Wiegman’s choice to bench Greenwood, especially with four right-footed defenders starting, questions were raised.
“Of course it’s ideal to have a left-footer too, Millie [Bright] can play with her left foot on the right side, Leah [Williamson] is pretty comfortable on the left side,” Wiegman stated.
That was taken into account for this game as well. Alex is a skilled defender who has performed admirably lately.
I decided on Millie and Leah for today. Given France’s advantages, I believed that defense was essential in the middle. They have a lot of power and speed. That, in my opinion, was the proper choice.”
“I still believe we performed well.”
Though Wiegman called it “a very unnecessary loss” in her 50th game in charge, she stuck to her assessment that England performed admirably for the majority of the contest.
But there are increasing doubts about the starting XI’s lack of rotation.
Eight of the eleven starting from Euro 2022 were on Wiegman’s squad against France, despite Wiegman having called up a number of new players in recent months, including as Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones, Manchester City’s Jess Park, and Manchester United’s Grace Clinton.
When asked if she thought she needed to vary things up more, Wiegman replied, “I think if you look at the last camp, we have brought in and played a lot of players.”
“Our goal is to move players closer to playing more minutes. Before the game, the technical staff and I made this decision.”
Wiegman claims that the reason she held off on substituting midfielder Fran Kirby and striker Chloe Kelly until the 79th minute was because she didn’t want to alter the chemistry.
The stats indicate that her team was winning since England had more shots on goal (12) and greater possession (58%) than France did.
However, England was lackluster and carelessly handed the ball away.
“I took so long [to make changes] because I thought we played well,” Wiegman stated.
“The dynamics shift as additional players are added, which is sometimes desired because it provides fresh energy. Still, I felt that we performed well.
After we conceded, we discussed our desired midfield configuration and brought in a few more players. We waited a little bit longer because of this.”
Although Wiegman seemed confident and composed in her replies, she is aware that England cannot afford to make a mistake in France and lose ground in their qualifying campaign.
