“Lovely,” said Sarina Wiegman, peering inquisitively at a television screen in the far corner of the room. The England head coach was responding to the news that Jess Fishlock had just scored Wales’s first goal at a major women’s international tournament, but given the mood in the press conference room, she could easily also have been referring to her own team’s performance after they steamrolled the Netherlands.
The tone and the atmosphere of the post-match exchanges was wholly contrasting to the scene in the same media room four days earlier, after the Lionesses had been second-best against France. This time, here was a proud Wiegman, a coach whose players had carried out her gameplan to perfection, and a coach who – while admitting she had felt “a little tension” before kick-off – clearly had always had conviction that her team would deliver under pressure. The back-to-back Euros winners made some big decisions for this pivotal match and they all paid off.
