A full-throated appreciation of an opposition manager before kick‑off is rare, and even rarer before a competitive match, the result of which – a late 2-1 defeat of England by the Netherlands – could prove incredibly important to Olympic qualification and Euro 2025 seeding.
Sarina Wiegman’s homecoming was not pretty, for her or England, with a lack of VAR helping to punish England’s profligacy, gifting the Dutch an offside opener. However, this was a result that had been coming, England have been winning ugly and in Utrecht their luck ran out.
