England are evolving but Wiegman is finding that can be a slow and difficult process

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A European champions badge was stitched onto the sleeve of each England player’s shirt for their opening 2025 European Championship qualifier against Sweden on Friday, a game which ended in a 1-1 draw. It serves as a reminder, which will remain throughout the qualifying campaign, of their greatest achievement.

That, though, is now in the past and, with the under-23s squad watching on at Wembley in a nod to the future, the truth is that right now England’s senior women’s side are in something of a rut.

Before August’s World Cup final, England had lost just once in 38 games under manager Sarina Wiegman. However, in their past 10 matches they have won six, drawn one and been beaten in three, including that 1-0 loss to Spain in Sydney.

The performance against Sweden was disappointing and the goal conceded was “unnecessary”, according to Wiegman. England struggled to press Sweden and found it hard to cope when pressed themselves. They were undone by simple long balls and Lucy Bronze, who was exposed against goalscorer and Barcelona team-mate Fridolina Rolfo, said England “lost the ball too easily”.

Wiegman called for sharper decision-making, keeping the ball for longer periods and moving it more quickly. They are words we have heard before.

💬 'The goal we conceded was really unnecessary'

🗣️ Sarina Wiegman spoke to @KatieShanahan3 after England's draw with Sweden#ENGSWE pic.twitter.com/dPRp0JPQzV

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) April 5, 2024

Only four of Friday’s 10 first-choice outfielders — Bronze, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp — started at Euro 2022. It does not feel like there has been a huge overhaul but Wiegman, in her quiet and considered approach, has introduced new faces, tinkering with the team. It is yet to yield the now-expected standard of performance.

“We’ve had a lot of change in terms of new faces from the Euros,” said Bronze, 32, who will go level with former England captain Steph Houghton on international appearances (121) if she starts the next qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin tomorrow (Tuesday). “We’ve got a very young team, excluding myself, Alex (Greenwood, in central defence) and Mary (Earps, the goalkeeper). In that respect, we’ve got a lot to learn. But we’ve got plenty of time to keep improving.”

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Having said this, the average age of this England squad is only marginally younger (25.8) compared to the Euro 2022 one (26.4) and on par with the group that went to last year’s World Cup (25.6). As for the number of caps, Wiegman’s current side are more experienced than at that World Cup (40.4 compared to 31.8) and just as experienced as in the previous Euros (40.4 compared to 40.1).

Despite the new personnel, the team’s basic structure under Wiegman remains the same: 4-3-3 in possession with a single pivot, Walsh, and two more attacking midfielders. “We’ve got a DNA and we want to stick to it,” said Hemp. “It just feels like one person comes in, they go off and then another person comes in and sort of does the same thing.”

But opponents have figured out Wiegman’s England.

A key component of their DNA is Walsh pulling the strings in midfield. Sweden, like many sides, watched her like a hawk, preventing England’s build-up play, forcing them to go wide. Finding alternative threats when Walsh is targeted is not a new problem and one Wiegman said they have to solve every game.

Within their shape, there are different elements to this England team compared to the Euros.

Of the six new outfield starters, Greenwood and Lotte Wubben-Moy were Wiegman’s centre-back pairing instead of captain Leah Williamson, who Wiegman said was available, and Millie Bright, who is returning to full fitness after a long injury lay-off. Niamh Charles is a more natural fit at left-back than Rachel Daly. Grace Clinton, a midfield disruptor and very similar player to Stanway, earned her third cap and a first outing at Wembley. She was preferred to Fran Kirby and Ella Toone in the No 10 role, while Wiegman opted for Lauren James over Beth Mead and Chloe Kelly on the wing and Alessia Russo as England’s No 9.

🅰️ James
⚽️ Russo

England have their first goal on the road to Euro 2025 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🙌#ENGSWE pic.twitter.com/K4xGAMWG4h

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) April 5, 2024

James has panache, as demonstrated by her assist, but if she is going to be put out wide, she needs dynamic runs to either allow her space to roam or to thread a pass into the box. Wiegman said she “wanted more energy in the team” and “more tempo”, hence her decision to bring James off.

It also seems the question surrounding who should play at No 9 has not gone away.

Russo is a different player to the retired Ellen White, who led the line two years ago. Her hold-up play is better and she tends to drop deeper to link play more often but, despite her opener on Friday and the player of the match award, she is yet to rattle in goals for England or Arsenal, scoring just six in the Women’s Super League (WSL) for her new club this season. Interestingly when Russo came off against Sweden, Wiegman opted to put Hemp, who said after the game her “main priority is the wing”, as centre-forward, reminiscent of the second half of the World Cup final.

In the past, Wiegman’s message was all about ruthlessness but England did not put the game to bed on Friday.

We have not seen free-flowing attacking football from them against high-level opposition for a while now. Against Sweden, England registered their fourth-lowest expected goals (xG) total (1.11) since the start of the World Cup. When you see Spain beat Belgium 7-0 away (the Belgians defeated visitors England 3-2 last year), it puts their performances into perspective.

Wiegman and her staff have a keen eye on helping their players develop and the way they do that is respected among the squad. Wiegman’s assistant, Arjan Veurink, visits players such as Clinton at their WSL games.

“Throughout my whole journey with England, Sarina has spoken to me, what I need to work on, what I’m doing well,” said Wubben-Moy, a squad member who did not play a minute at either the Euros or the World Cup. “Delayed gratification brings a lot of joy.”

“My relationship (with the manager) is exactly the same now as it was then,” added Greenwood, who did not start a game at the Euros. “It was obviously frustrating, of course, but I was a big team player. Playing now, I’m in confident form, I love playing in this team. Nothing changes for me and Sarina.”

This England side are not quite there yet. There is no need for drastic change but there is concern over recurring issues. Taking the development of Wubben-Moy and Greenwood over the years as examples, there must be improvement and there may well be further changes before Euro 2025, should they qualify, in Switzerland next summer.

(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)