England reached the semi-finals of a sixth consecutive major tournament with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Sweden but amid the euphoria of victory there are plenty of tough questions for manager Sarina Wiegman to answer.
England reached the semi-finals of a sixth consecutive major tournament with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Sweden but amid the euphoria of victory there are plenty of tough questions for manager Sarina Wiegman to answer.
For an hour, possibly longer, England delivered one of their most disjointed and error-strewn performances on this sort of stage. Blunt in attack, outplayed in midfield and shaky in defence, only the heroics of goalkeeper Hannah Hampton kept the score at 2-0 and allowed the late comeback.
Telegraph Sport takes a look at the problems Wiegman needs to solve before their semi-final against Italy on Tuesday, with many of England’s issues echoing Gareth Southgate’s at last year’s men’s Euros.
The Keira Walsh conundrum
This has been an issue for England ever since they won the Euros three years ago. Teams know that, if you can rush and pressurise Walsh, England struggle to play through the lines. It was Walsh’s poor control, albeit from a sloppy pass from Jess Carter, that gifted Sweden their opening goal and set the tone for what followed.
Walsh improved after one of her worst 45 minutes in an England shirt, but Sweden, like so many other teams before, had done their homework. Walsh usually had at least two, if not three, opposition players around when she got the ball and was forced to go backwards.
England have tried to counter this tactic by playing more direct, but Sweden had seen the damage this had done against the Netherlands and Wales, and merely dropped the defence back 20 metres to nullify that threat too.
Do England need to change formation to a 3-5-2 so they are not outnumbered in the middle and there are more players to receive a pass from the centre-back and for Walsh to link up with? It might be the only answer as Georgia Stanway also struggled on Thursday night.
Where to play Lauren James
Even on a quiet night by her standards, James still did more impressive things than the other creative players in the side. But she was too easily isolated when she was wide. Everybody knows how dangerous the Chelsea forward is if she is given time and space so they are double marking her and cutting off the supply to her.
When she did get the ball out wide, she had no room to manoeuvre. But when she drifts inside there is no width and England are forced to try to play in tight spaces through the middle.
It might seem harsh, but Ella Toone was so poor against Sweden, it might be wise to shift James back into the No 10 position and bring in Chloe Kelly, who created both England’s goals with pinpoint crosses, on the right. The other option would be Beth Mead but she also likes to drift inside and is perhaps better as an impact substitute in the second half.
Slow and cumbersome defence
Where to start with this. Other than Lucy Bronze, all of England’s defenders had a night to forget against Sweden. Carter was constantly exposed by balls played in behind for strikers to run onto. She looked like she was running with a fridge on her back at times.
Captain Leah Williamson repeatedly gave the ball away and was neither physical enough to break up play nor clever enough with her positioning.
It was also a bad night for Alex Greenwood, who failed to make tackles, was knocked off the ball and was persistently caught out of position at left-back. Sweden kept attacking down that side of the pitch and Italy will look to do the same.
Why did England’s players not make more tactical fouls to halt Sweden’s attacks before they got close to goal. Williamson may well miss the Italy game with the ankle injury that forced her off in extra time – she left the stadium on crutches and in a protective boot – and that could lead to Esme Morgan coming in. The Washington Spirit defender is not great on the ball but has more speed than the other England centre-backs and it was noticeable how less effective Sweden’s through balls were when she came on. Williamson will play if fit, but maybe there needs to be a change alongside her regardless.
Late substitutions
It was a surprise that England did not make any changes at half-time given how bad they had been in those first 45 minutes against Sweden. It seemed like an act of self-harm when there were still no substitutions on at the hour mark.
Wiegman has been accused of failing to make substitutions early enough in games for a long time and had the Lionesses lost in the quarter-final she would have faced a barrage of criticism for sitting on her hands.
England’s fortunes changed the moment Kelly and Michelle Agyemang, who scored the second goal on only her third England appearance, came on with just over 20 minutes left.
Agyemang is raw but she is strong and quick. She roughed up the Swedish defence, occupied the defenders and created space for Alessia Russo, who suddenly looked dangerous again. England might just have a huge talent emerging. Could she start alongside Russo on Tuesday in a 3-5-2?
Kelly was a super sub three years ago and scored the winning goal in the final against Germany at Wembley. This time she delivered two wicked crosses that led to her team’s two goals and also scored a thumping penalty.
Credit should also be given to Mead, who was aggressive and streetwise when she came on. She won free-kicks to relieve pressure and put Sweden’s defence under pressure. England needed her experience to turn things around and her impact should not be ignored.
It begs the question, would England have won the game in normal time if they had been put on sooner?
Category: General Sports
