England Women’s manager, Sarina Wiegman has urged her Lionesses to “fight” for automatic qualification to UEFA Women’s Euro 2025.
Following a scrappy opening 1-1 draw against Sweden, England won away at Republic of Ireland through first-half goals from Lauren James and Alex Greenwood, which put the Lionesses second in the group and on course for one of the two automatic qualification spots.
Speaking post-match to ITV, Wiegman described the match as “a hard game”, having “totally dominated the first half” in which Greenwood missed a 30th minute penalty after she had previously scored their second goal from the spot.
Ireland however dug deep but couldn’t mount a comeback with what Wiegman described as a “strong throw-in” amidst further opportunities following a lacklustre first half performance.
Wiegman though was unimpressed with England’s defensive quality and lack of spirit in the closing stages as she quipped: “So it became a fight and we actually wanted to stay out of the fight.”
The ex Netherlands boss however was pleased with the result, as she continued: “It’s good that we kept the win to nil, that’s the most important thing. We showed lots more and being really tight in possession.”
Comparing the contrastable performances against Sweden and Ireland, Wiegman believed that both games are “totally different”, with Ireland having “dropped deeper,” with more “physical” play which England exposed effectively despite moments of “loose” possession when switching play.
Defender and captain, Leah Williamson added that she is “happy” with the win, despite England’s sloppy defending in the closing minutes.
“I know that it wasn’t a convincing last 20 minutes but I’m very happy with three points, we just need to keep the ball a bit better.
“That’s what we did the first time we controlled it, and they controlled us for that last 20 minutes but we defended hard and stayed in the game which I think is important.”
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