Updated:
June 23, 2023 6:11 p.m.
We are just over a month away from the start of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and Sarina Wiegman’s England are looking to make it back to back successes, after lifting the European Championship at Wembley last summer.
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It was the country’s first taste of senior success since 1966, and it has changed the perception of women’s football in the country and encouraged more women to take up the sport. The final also witnessed a record for the largest crowd at a women’s Euros final, 87,192.
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“We said we wanted to inspire the nation and that is absolutely what we did. You can see little boys and girls with the names of our players on their jerseys and they can see that they, too, can become professional players and coaches.”
Sarina Wiegman: England Soccer
Arsenal’s Beth Meed was the Golden Boot winner with six goals and five assists. She has amassed just three goals and four assists in seven games for Arsenal this season. However, The Lionesses will be without the Gunners’ lead for this tournament due to a torn ACL. This is perhaps the biggest problem for England, given how good their performances have been in major tournaments.
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Meanwhile, Chloe Kelly, who scored the winner in last year’s final against Germany, has nine goals and five assists for Manchester City this season and has been included in Wiegman’s 23rd final.
With experienced centre-back Leah Williamson also sidelined with an ACL injury, Millie Bright will most likely lead the defense line and the team.
Bright also captains Chelsea in the WSL.
However, there are concerns about his fitness as he missed training having just returned from knee surgery.
Therefore, the four options on hold are Jess Park (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United) and Emily Ramsey (Manchester United).
The squad for the World Cup is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa),
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea) (Captain), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal),
Midfielders: Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
Forward: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Alessia Russo (Manchester United)
One to Watch: Rachel Daley
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Aston Villa’s Daley has been one of the standout players in the WSL (Women’s Super League) this season. A total of 21 goals in 21 games is pretty outstanding and quite frankly she deserves player of the season.
This record also makes her the top English goalscorer in a WSL season.
Villa finished the season in fifth place and reached the FA Cup final; she had an important part to play in it.
Daley also said the players were good to meet on June 19, despite only having three weeks off.
“We have had enough time to rest and have a vacation, completely disconnect mentally and physically. “It is scientifically proven; It’s not just about choosing a date and uniting all of us. This date has been planned since Euro, I’m sure, by the backroom staff when it comes to the physical side of things. I feel like we’re in a great place.”
Daley: The Guardian
It will be intriguing to see who Wiegmann chooses as her number 9, as Lauren James and the revolutionary Chloe Kelly will also be in the mix for that role.
Following Ellen White’s retirement from international soccer, Wiegmann was reluctant to play the 31-year-old as a striker for the first few games. Still, Daley’s superior WSL form persuaded the manager to try him out, even though she wasn’t at all concerned with that decision.
She was also the main forward of the Arnold Clark Cup campaign, where she scored a brace in the final against Italy.
Can he continue to impress in front of goal in Australia?
niamh charles
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Another player looking to impress at this year’s tournament is the 23-year-old defender from Chelsea. After missing out on selection for the European Championship last summer, the Blues defense has upped its game and shown Wiegmann why he deserves to be on the plane to Australia and New Zealand.
Charles made his senior debut in a friendly against France, coming on as a substitute to replace Alex Greenwood. She was also selected for England’s provisional Euro 2022 squad, but missed the cut for the final 23.
Despite also being in the Team GB squad for Tokyo 2020, Charles did not appear in any of the matches.
However, scoring two goals and providing three assists in the last seven WSL matches earned him a seat on the plane.
Can you show why you deserve a chance at the international level?
Wiegman all at ease with friendly farewell
Another thing Lioness’s Boss is concerned about is the possibility of having a farewell friendly match before the team travels to Australia on July 5th.
“Of course, that’s frustrating because we have all our plans and we thought everything was ready and then, like a month ago, all of a sudden, things change, we didn’t expect that, it’s too late. I get it, it’s all about the calendar. It is very difficult. It is about the players resting, after the tournament the players need to rest.
“We already had this plan since November of last year. We have our principles, we have the knowledge, we have the expertise and the experience, so we made the plan, as of June 19, we talked about it with the group of captains, and then we talked about it with the players.
Wiegmann: Telegraph
England’s victory at the 2022 European Championship made Wiegman the only manager to win back-to-back European Championships with two different teams, after winning the 2017 edition with the Netherlands.
Wiegmann also led the Dutch to the 2019 World Cup final, where they lost 2-0 to four-time winners USA.
schedule
The Lionesses will be in Group D along with Haiti, Denmark and China.
These are the dates of their matches.
July 22: England VS Haiti 10:30 am
July 28: England VS Denmark 09:30 am
August 1: China VS England at 12:00 p.m.
China may turn out to be the toughest game of that bunch. Despite reaching the final in 1999, they have always been consistent in terms of reaching the later stages of tournaments.
If England win their group, they will face the runners-up from Group B, which includes Australia, Canada, Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland, in the round of 16. Second place would mean they would play the winner of that Group.
History
This will also be England’s sixth appearance at the Women’s World Cup. The Lionesses have reached the semi-finals of the last two tournaments, where they finished in third place in the 2015 edition under former England, United and Everton defender Phil Neville.
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Ellen White was the tournament’s joint top scorer with six goals, along with Americans Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan.
Apart from 2015, England reached the quarter-finals on two occasions in 1995 and 2011.
Another thing that was impressive about their 2022 triumph is that they only conceded three goals in the entire tournament. This shows that as free as you want to be in terms of attack, it’s important to have a solid foundation in terms of defensive structure, which allows you the freedom to attack, and the fewer goals you concede, the better your game will be. The chances are of winning, especially if you are relentless in front of goal, as the Lionesses demonstrated last summer.
And that’s the way they need to play if they want to be successful in this tournament, be solid at the back when they don’t have the ball, but make better use of it in possession.
What do you think, can England succeed back to back as they head to Australia and New Zealand?
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