Sarina Wiegman praised England’s resilience after they recovered from a late equalizer to beat Brazil on penalties in the inaugural Women’s Finalissima at Wembley.
The Lionesses led through Ella Toone’s 23rd-minute finish until the third minute of stoppage time, when Mary Earps spilled a cross and fired in substitute Andressa Alves to make it 1–1 and take the game to penalties.
In the ensuing shootout, Toone was the first player not to score, given her effort saved by Leticia, but Earps produced a great save to deny Tamires moments later.
And after Rafaelle then sent her kick against the crossbar, Chloe Kelly converted the decisive penalty to give England a 4-2 win and another trophy, in front of a crowd of 83,132.
Boss Wiegman said: ‘It was a very exciting night at the end, with of course an incredible audience and pitch – we will never take this environment for granted.
Sarina Wiegman praised her England side’s resilience after their victory over Brazil on penalties
The Lionesses won 4-2 in the shoot out after taking an early 1-0 lead in stoppage time
“I think we played really well in the first half. We had a lot of possession, created a lot of chances, we scored an incredible goal, we hoped to score a little more than one.
“The second half they went back to 4-4-2, put on very high pressure and then we struggled to get out of their press, to keep possession, so then they got dangerous, and at the end we have we conceded a goal, which can happen.
“I think the team did a really good job just showing resilience – so that was done, we moved forward, we had to do our job and take the penalties as best we could, or stop it as best we could, and that’s what we have done. did.’
It was the first time Wiegman’s European champions had been involved in a shootout during her now 30-game undefeated tenure.
And the Dutch – whose side opens their campaign on July 22 at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand – said: “I think that always helps, experiences – then you recognize situations, how you feel when you have that walk with 83,000 screaming people.
Ella Toone scored England’s opener on 23 minutes to cement her reputation as a player of the big game
“In retrospect I’m very happy with the penalties – when we drew, of course I wasn’t happy, we weren’t all happy, but we switched very quickly.
“We’ve had some rough moments (before), but we haven’t had a shootout in an environment like this yet.
“Of course you practice it and try to get as close to a real game as possible, but it can’t get more realistic than this, so I think that really helps. Every experience helps you move forward.’
It was another memorable Wembley moment for Kelly, winner of last summer’s European Championship final at the stadium.
And Wiegman added: ‘Very good, isn’t it! I also told her. In the end it’s a team thing, but it was really fun – now the last moments, in the European Championship the last moments. That looks really good!’
England will play what is expected to be their last game before Wiegman name their World Cup squad when they take on Australia in Brentford on Tuesday.
They were then forced to penalties after a late Andressa Alves equaliser, with Chloe Kelly eventually scoring the decisive penalty.
Brazil coach Pia Sundhage, whose side had come close just before the hour mark when Geyse’s shot hit Earps’s palm and the ball hit the crossbar, said of the closing stages: “When you score a goal in front of so many people, it’s it’s a feeling we’ll all remember, everyone goes crazy, which was great.
Then we lost on penalties. At the moment I think it’s tough, it’s tough, but at the end of the day this is not the World Cup.
This is a journey to the World Cup and we learn so many things from this game.
“The younger players experienced a great England, probably one of the favorites in the World Cup, but also in front of a large audience. We said enjoy this moment and I think they did, especially in the second half.’