“You never get bored with winning,” stated an elated Sarina Wiegman as her England team maintained their unbeaten run to book a coveted spot at the 2023 FIFA World Cup. A 2-0 victory against a resilient Austrian outfit saw the Lionesses top Group D with a game to spare.
The Lionesses return to competitive action this afternoon for the first time following their European Championship winning summer. With retirements and injuries, Sarina Wiegman has made changes to her squad, with Lauren James, Ebony Salmon and Jordan Nobbs all coming in.
“Relentless”, “attacking” and “exciting” were just a few of the words Gemma Davies, England U19s manager, used to describe her group of players on the eve of their first international championship. They showed these characteristics in abundance in a winning opening display – a 4-1 victory against Norway – that will have instilled a huge amount of confidence in this young side.
We’re used to managers and players playing down big or notable fixtures. “It’s just another game” they’ll say, “We’ll focus on ourselves”. But there is no denying that tomorrow’s friendly is going to be something special with it being the first time that England manager, Sarina Wiegman, will face her old side and homeland, the Netherlands.
As we reflect back on 2021, the return of youth-level football on an international stage has to be one of the highlights. With tournaments cancelled for over a year due to coronavirus, football federations have had to play catch up as a generation of young footballers missed out on the traditional pathways to develop their trade.
As the dust settles on international football for another year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on record breaker and history maker Ellen White.
England’s U17s were back in action on Thursday afternoon as they secured a vital win against Belgium in their European Qualifying group.
England’s U17s began their European qualifying campaign with defeat to Russia in Inowroclaw.
“What we have been trying to do is switch fields very quickly, and then find spaces and have crosses also, and be relentless. I think that was ok. When you score 10, it’s pretty good.”
These were the words of a satisfied Sarina Wiegman as England wrapped up a successful first camp, securing an emphatic victory over Luxembourg without having to move out of second gear.