Sarina Wiegman has said England will not compromise on the way they play for the sake of improving their unpredictability, as the team prepare to take on France for the second time in four days on Tuesday night.
The Lionesses endured a 2-1 defeat by France at St James’ Park to put them in a vulnerable position in Euro 2025 qualifying Group A3. England sit third at the halfway point, behind France and Sweden, who they are also yet to play away, and ahead of the Republic of Ireland.
“There were some details we could have done better,” Wiegman said of the France game, in which England conceded twice from set pieces. “We have an identity, we’re not going to throw everything overboard because we want to be unpredictable to the opponent, because then we’re going to be unpredictable to ourselves. We want to build on what we already have, do a couple of things better, make a couple of little tweaks and build on our strengths to try to capitalise on their weaknesses and take away their strengths.”
Beth Mead said England had a “target on our backs” as European champions. With the increased attention that brings, Wiegman said they were working on how they prevent themselves from becoming predictable while maintaining their identity.
“We’re working on that every time we’re together, we’re trying to be unpredictable,” she said. “In possession, what we want to do is keep the ball better, then we can rotate more and challenge the opponent more. That’s the first thing we have to do – be tight on the ball – and then we can create. We saw that on Friday: being tighter on the ball made it easier for us. When we have too many turnovers it becomes harder to be unpredictable.”
Wiegman would not concede that the game on Tuesday was must‑win, though a home victory would secure France’s qualification and leave England and Sweden battling for the second qualification spot that would avoid the playoffs.
“It’s a want-to-win,” Wiegman said. “We always want to win games, and of course it would really, really help to put us in a better position if we win the game. Of course that is how we’re going to approach it, and with the experience on Friday we feel comfortable that we can get a good result.”
Everyone trained for England on Monday, confirmed Wiegman, who said Mary Earps would probably return for the Lionessess’ next camp in July after sustaining a hip injury on Friday that has ruled her out here. Hannah Hampton is expected to start, after coming on for the Manchester United goalkeeper in Newcastle.
About 10,000 fans are expected at Saint-Étienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, which has a capacity of almost 42,000, and France’s manager, Hervé Renard, urged fans of the club, whose men’s team won promotion to Ligue 1 on Sunday, to show up and back the women’s national team.
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“All the supporters of Saint-Étienne are welcome to come even to celebrate their promotion in Ligue 1,” he said. “They can come with their green jerseys and everything – we welcome them. This France team is having very good results, so they need support.”
Wiegman said she hoped the attendance would rise. “When we arrived last night, Saint-Étienne had got promoted so there was a huge party going on in the airport and they made some noise, so we know that France can make noise.
“I hope overall, the women’s game is growing, more people get excited and I hope that tomorrow we can put a great performance on the pitch together with France.”