Hege Riise had evidently made up her mind. “The player report hasn’t been great,” England’s then interim manager said as she explained why Beth Mead had been omitted from the squad for a friendly against Northern Ireland.
It was February 2021 and the Norwegian coach who bridged the gap between Phil Neville’s departure and Sarina Wiegman’s arrival was preparing for the additional task of taking the GB women’s football team to the Olympic Games in Japan.
