Sarina Wiegman's side may have come up short against Spain, but her injury-depleted squad adapted superbly to give hope for the future
When the referee blew for full-time at the end of Sunday’s Women’s World Cup final, the scenes were predictable but heart-wrenching and heart-warming all the same. You’ve seen it before – while one team drops to their knees and considers what could have been, the other celebrates wildly at having achieved a lifelong dream. On this occasion, the former was England and the latter was Spain, two teams that, in truth, not many would have foreseen going all the way to the end in this tournament.
Spain’s off-pitch chaos is well-known by now. After last year’s defeat in the quarter-finals of the European Championship, the players called for change, and when they didn’t get it in a satisfactory fashion, 15 of them withdrew from selection. While a small handful returned for this World Cup, 11 stuck by their decision and, sadly, that sacrifice meant they were not part of Sunday’s historic triumph. That La Roja still became champions of the world is a nod to just how much depth is in their player pool.
England also came into this tournament missing several top-quality footballers, albeit in very different circumstances. Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby were all ruled out of the World Cup through injury, three key pieces of Sarina Wiegman’s success as head coach of the Lionesses. With starting No.9 Ellen White retiring after last year’s Euros win and Jill Scott, one of the most valuable characters in the group, also choosing to hang up her boots, Wiegman had a fair bit of change to deal with in the year between the two tournaments.
In the same half of the draw as two-time champions Germany, a rejuvenated France, co-hosts Australia and Olympic champions Canada, there weren’t many who had them going beyond the last eight, really.
So while Sunday’s defeat will have hurt a whole lot, and they were so close to the ultimate glory, when the dust settles, England should be proud of their journey to a first ever Women’s World Cup final. After all, it’s more than most anticipated this team achieving.
GettyFinding a new No.9
During the Euros last year, Wiegman found a formula in the No.9 role that worked a treat. White would work hard from the start and tire out the opposition defenders, and then Alessia Russo would come off the bench and bring new energy and a new threat.
It wasn’t White’s greatest tournament in terms of goalscoring, but her role was important and allowed Russo to rack up four of her own efforts along the way.
When White retired after the Euros, then, Wiegman had a problem to solve. She did it by absorbing Russo into the starting XI and it worked early on, with her scoring in both of England’s first games after the tournament. The goals, though, soon dried up and there were questions about whether she was the right player to lead the line for the Lionesses.
Rachel Daly’s outstanding form as a striker for Aston Villa was putting her under pressure in particular, the 31-year-old netting 22 times in 22 league games last season, as was the purple patch Bethany England was having following her January switch to Tottenham.
Yet, despite handing opportunities out to Daly on several occasions and seeing her take them, Wiegman largely kept her faith in Russo – a talented footballer, no doubt, but one that was not scoring enough goals for England to be a World Cup contender.
AdvertisementGettyStill no left-back
Another significant problem this team had – and still has – concerned the left-back position. It was Daly, as a striker-turned-defender, that operated in the role throughout the Euros, and while she did a fine job adapting, she was understandably limited defensively and not maximised in an attacking sense, either.
With her performing exceptionally as a striker at club level, Wiegman needed to move her up and the pitch and that she did, re-opening the left-back problem.
In February, it looked like the solution could be to play Alex Greenwood there, the left-footed centre-back who had been a full-back in previous years. But when Williamson suffered an ACL injury in April, Greenwood was needed in a central area.
Wiegman had a number of versatile defensive options at her disposal in Jess Carter, Esme Morgan and Niamh Charles, the former two able to play across the whole back line while the latter can be a full-back on either side. She trialled Carter there in April, then, but the friendly defeat to Australia – Wiegman’s first as England boss – saw the Chelsea star exposed massively.
It was a massive area of weakness coming into this World Cup.
GettyLoss of central creativity
And then there was Kirby’s absence. Though a player that England have probably never got the best out of, her ability to produce a moment of magic has been a huge miss for the Lionesses during the last 12 months, while she has been plagued with injuries.
During the Euros, Ella Toone was often her replacement off the bench, and so when the Chelsea star was absent, Wiegman brought her into the starting XI instead. Like Russo, it appeared to work with ease at first. But then Toone’s form dropped, something that’s perhaps not a surprise given the lack of rest she’s had for club and country in the past year, and her relative inexperience at the top level.
With few other natural options available and no possible alternatives really trialled, it wasn’t incredibly apparent where those playmaking passes and moments of magic were going to come from at this World Cup. Add that to a lack of goalscoring form from Russo and England came into the tournament having scored once in open play since February.
Getty ImagesBest coach in the world
But Wiegman proved that she is the best coach in the international game when she solved all of this, to an extent, with a change of formation. The 3-5-2 set-up had never previously been seen in her tenure, but that’s how the team lined up in their final group-stage game, a 6-1 win over China, and from there on out.
It fixed so many of England’s problems. The issue in the No.9 role was relieved by a front two, which made the Lionesses more potent; the lack of a left-back was covered by a rock solid back three and the hard work of Daly at wing-back; and the decision to move Lauren James into the No.10 proved magical, with her the star of the group stages.
Huge credit has to go to the players for how successful the system was, too. Several of them were moved to roles they were either completely new to or not particularly familiar with, but they adapted excellently, using all their experience and talent to do so.
It wasn’t just in that moment of the change, either. When Keira Walsh was stretchered off against Denmark, Katie Zelem came in for her first England start and was superb. When James was sent off in the last 16 against Nigeria, Toone returned and put her patchy form behind her to score a stunning goal in the semi-finals against Australia.
These players stepped up time and time again when it was needed on this run to the final, just as their coach did.