A first defeat in 31 games is no reason to panic. The Lionesses better lose their unbeaten streak under Sarina Wiegman now than at the World Cup.
What is more concerning is how England lost to Australia on Tuesday. This was the kind of performance we saw during the Hege Riise interim period or the end of Phil Neville’s reign. This was not a performance from the Wiegman textbook.
It was clear that the Dutch coach was frustrated by what she saw. Every time the TV cameras rolled to the dugout, the England manager looked angry.
Perhaps that’s because Australia has exposed flaws in this England team that were previously well hidden.
There has always been the fear that the Lionesses under Wiegman could become too predictable. She started the same XI for every match at the European Championships and made the same substitutions for the most part. It worked, just like when she was manager in the Netherlands.
Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman (center) suggested she is already planning her World Cup lineup
England’s 30 match unbeaten run came to an end when they suffered a first defeat under Wiegman
Australia had analyzed England’s approach to games and dismantled the Lionesses in London
But England’s squad has changed since then and the players who came off the bench last summer to make a big impression are no longer the ‘super subs’.
The energy of Alessia Russo and Ella Toone as substitutes provided the spark England needed in the latter stages of the games. Both are solid starters now and the options from the bench aren’t as strong. That means when England loses or struggles in matches, it’s harder to fix the problem.
“I think we still have depth in the team, but yes, there were more players who were not available,” Wiegman admitted.
“But we don’t want to compare now, we move on, we go to a World Cup and we want to think about what a possible starting line-up could be.
“Now they’re going back to clubs where they play very important games, we need to think about the starting line-up and players who can influence the game and we’re working on that and we’ll see where that takes us.”
Australia had a clear plan to play against England. They took up the pressure and counterattacked. Other teams have adopted this approach since the European Championship.
England were hit by the same tactic against the Czech Republic in September and Norway in November, drawing both matches. Australia, led by Sam Kerr, were better at seizing the opportunities when they came.
Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson outlined how they worked out their perfect way to play against England.
England had to pay for their mistakes when Australia punished them on the counter-attack
Wiegman was unable to secure a comeback win against Australia as England failed to score
“We are scouting the opposition and I have to thank my analysis team and my assistant, they have done a phenomenal job identifying the key areas in the England game.
“They have a lot of guns and I mean a lot of guns. They can play through you, they can play around you, they can play over you and they have a lot of combination play, a lot of individual tools. If you don’t defend as a team you get exposed – as we did a few times in the second half. They can score in many different ways.
“I think we had a very, very clear plan of what to bring from England. We’ve done it enough times to win this game. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close enough to win the game.’
England will face this kind of tactics during the World Cup and they need to come up with a better plan to play against them.
The defensive issues the Lionesses encountered in Millie Bright’s absence are also a concern. Bright and Leah Williamson make the perfect central defenders and England looked lost without the strength and presence of the Chelsea defender.
The absence of Chelsea and English defender Millie Bright (photo) also worries Wiegman
The Lionesses’ head coach (center) revealed she is already planning her World Cup line-up
Bright was pictured on crutches over the weekend, but Wiegman insisted she’s not worried. However, there is concern about Fran Kirby – who hasn’t played since January.
“I’m not too worried about Millie. I think the expectation is that she will still come back to play. With Fran, I’m a little more concerned.
“She’s progressing, we’re following her very closely and hopefully she can progress quickly so we can see her on the pitch.”
England has problems to solve, but there is no need to panic. “I’m not worried,” Wiegman said. ‘I don’t worry that easily. This is just a really big learning moment for us that we need to get to the next level.”