The Lionesses don’t want to just beat Wales, but to make a statement as they reach the quarter-finals
If there was any question about how England would prepare for Sunday’s “derby” against Wales, Sarina Wiegman revealed it the moment the build-up started. The coach had been asked whether goal difference had been a consideration in the minutes after the 4-0 win over the Netherlands.
“No,” Wiegman responded. “We discussed how to play at our best.”
As simple as that sounds, and as different as the Wales game is to playing the Dutch, it does illustrate the mentality running through the squad.
England are now driven by a sense of focus, arguably aided by the opening 2-1 defeat to France. In the days after that, they held a group meeting, where the aim was to step back and remember what they did to get here. No more external noise. They’ve tried to shut themselves off from social media.
That is perhaps an admission that overconfidence had overtaken the group. The theme of “egos” growing since Euro 2022 was an undercurrent to this tournament’s build-up.
The France defeat was a jolt. It has sparked an intensity to training. Wiegman has since demanded full commitment to everything they do. It is of course the way to try to win a tournament, but it might be particularly helpful for a fixture like the one against Wales.
On Friday, Lauren Hemp praised Wales for their historic qualification for this competition. “It’s going to be a really tough match,” the forward added.
But, it’s probably not true. Wales have already been beaten by three goals in both of their matches, and the 4-1 to France could have been worse. If all goes normally, England should win this by four or more. That isn’t “arrogance”,
Except, these aren’t normal games. The fact that such a fixture falls in a final group game is illustration enough of that. It has that strange contradiction of serving as one of the most exacting games you’re supposed to face, and yet England are fully expected to win easily.
The great danger in such matches is that the superior team can start with the subconscious knowledge they are going to win, but aren’t urgent enough to actually make it happen. Then, the longer they go without scoring, the more a nervous tension infuses the occasion.
Wales’ own feelings towards their neighbours, as well as the aim of getting their first point in a tournament, add another layer. This is going to be a team giving everything to stop England.
Hemp said of the fixture: “We’re taking each game as like a final. I think that shows the mentality of the group to be able to bounce back in the way that we did. Like we didn’t just beat [Netherlands] 1-0, we beat them convincingly and we put in a great performance that this England want to show.”
Such words reveal something else about the squad, that is only being said behind the scenes. As with the Dutch, England don’t just want to win. They want to offer something convincing, to “hit them hard”, to “lay down another marker”.
That would almost certainly mean England finish second in the group. The only way they can go top is if the Netherlands beat France. Such a result would leave all three teams on six points, taking it to a three-team mini-league to decide the top two where the results against Wales don’t count.
Of course, the England squad might not want to win the group. The reality is blunt: if you finish second, you won’t get Spain until the final. And, if you’re playing Spain, it is probably better to get them in a fixture where the tension is heightened. More things can go wrong. Anxiety can increase if things don’t start going your way. In other words, a much higher-scale version of what can happen in a match like England-Wales.
That does point to one other consequence of the victory over the Dutch, mind. The Netherlands were supposed to be one of the six top-level sides in this tournament, but they were dismal. England looked several classes above, and that is a team that had been beset by issues.
With France the only team outside Spain and England to put in such a display, and that of course by beating Wiegman’s side, it’s hard not to think a route has opened.
We wait to see how all of Norway, Sweden and Germany look once they proceed to the quarter-finals, but it’s already possible to envisage another England-Spain final.
Wiegman, of course, won’t allow that kind of thinking. By now, the England players won’t either. It’s about getting their next jobs done, starting with this Wales match. Do that, and more might well be possible.
England vs Wales kicks off at 8pm on Sunday 13 July. Coverage starts at 7pm on ITV 1 and ITV X.
Category: General Sports
