For at least 15 minutes on Friday night, almost everyone watching England’s Nations League game in Portimão could sense that a goal for Portugal was coming. Everyone except, it seemed, Sarina Wiegman. Jess Carter had replaced Lucy Bronze as a precaution at half-time but the head coach felt no need to make another substitution until the 84th minute. By then the damage was done, and the Lionesses were hit by an all-too-familiar feeling of frustration after a game they knew they should have won.
In isolation, a draw away against a Portugal team ranked 22nd in the world would be a touch disappointing but not cause for great alarm. The problem, though, is that it is not an outlier, and three themes have continued to crop up in the past 18 months: England’s inconsistency, their profligacy in front of goal and the concerning ease with which opponents are creating chances against a defence that had once looked almost impenetrable.
