Sarina Wiegman said she is “getting closer” to knowing her starting XI for the Women’s World Cup but still has some experimenting to do before the tournament kicks off on 20 July.
England play Portugal in Milton Keynes on Saturday in one of two preparatory games that they will play before the World Cup begins, with a behind- closed-doors friendly against Canada taking place in Australia after the send-off game.
“We’re getting closer [to knowing the starting XI], that’s clear,” the manager said. “But we’re still trying out some things. In some positions I don’t know what the starting lineup will be. There’s still competition going on. That’s why we need those two games too, but it could also be the case that it’s not very clear what the starting XI is after those and in the next game we could make another tactical choice and start another player.”
Wiegman stuck with the same side throughout their successful Euros campaign. However, four of that team are not available for the World Cup, with captain Leah Williamson and her Arsenal teammate Beth Mead both having suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries, Fran Kirby also out with a knee injury and record goalscorer Ellen White having retired. There is a question mark over new captain Millie Bright’s fitness, with the centre-back fighting to return from knee injury in time for the tournament and unavailable on Saturday, alongside Jordan Nobbs. Who replaces those players has been a much-discussed topic, with Rachel Daly’s well-earned shift from her left-back berth last summer into contention for the No 9 spot also rupturing the stability of the back line in particular.
The most likely scenario is that last summer’s supersubs, Alessia Russo and Ella Toone, who have a strong relationship at club level with Manchester United, replace White and Kirby respectively. Alex Greenwood, who “is fine” after a heavy knock in training during the week, will probably fill Williamson’s shoes but who slots in for Bright against Portugal and who comes in at left-back are bigger questions.
“Of course the team has changed a little bit, that’s what always happens, so there’s always different team dynamics,” said Wiegman. “Some players are not part of the team any more, some players come in, there’s different experiences, there’s different competition now. In some positions there is really high competition. So, we’ll see what that brings about, it gives me and our technical staff more options in who we want to play, and at what moment we want to play some players.
“We are still figuring out the last things, but we are starting those conversations about what the roles are. Some roles are not clear yet and some roles, as we know in football, will change from one minute to the other because things happen. So that’s how we approach it.”
Wiegman had hoped that the Lionesses would play more games during the run-in to the tournament but said she was “happy” with only having the two games. “Of course, yes, we would have wanted to play a few more games, but this is the schedule we have,” she said. “You want to do what’s best in preparation, but also what fits in the schedule from a physiological point of view. So, we’re happy with this, these are the facts, we have to travel to the other side of the world too which needs some time to adapt to, and then we go into the group stage. We’re ready and I think our training sessions make us grow anyway.”
In terms of confidence, the manager said the team were “in a good place” before the World Cup despite the changes. “We have lots of quality players in our squad. We’re in a good place in that way,” she said. “We’re just now working every day on how we want to play in all the different parts of the game and what can change and how we react to that. So, we are thinking in scenarios too, and when that’s really clear then it makes it a lot easier to play very good games and make the chance of winning really high.”
