Sarina Wiegman has iterated that England managed to “learn” lessons in their ruthless 8-0 friendly win over China.
Georgia Stanway’s hat-trick alongside a brace from Beth Mead and further goals from Lauren Hemp, Ella Toone and Alessia Russo saw the Lionesses clinically dispatch China to record a 50th victory under Wiegman.
“You always learn something from a game,” commented Wiegman amidst scrutiny over her decisions to name an experienced line-up for the friendly at Wembley Stadium, London, as she felt that China’s shape tested them but allowed them to be more ruthless.
“I think we started really well and they played in a different shape that they haven’t done before so we had to adapt to that which was really good.
“They gave us a little too much time on the ball and when we get that time you could see we were really good, and that we know how we want to play and what we want to do and the connections were very good and there were some really good goals.
“We want to be more ruthless in the final third and create chances to score more goals and reward ourselves and that is what we did today.”
Wiegman proceeded to speak about the connectivity within her squad as she explained that they had spent the week developing their connections on the pitch, although she felt that China’s poor spacing allowed them to click easier than against top opposition.
“I think it is combination of things. We clicked really well and I also think at moments China left a little bit too much space and were less ruthless than Brazil was but you still have to make the moments or win the ball that falls out and be really composed to shoot, like Georgia did
“You have to be there and have to be connected. It has clicked well in other games and we have just missed the final touch or the defence has been so good that we haven’t scored but today we did.”
The 56-year-old Dutch manager praised Stanway for her performance and consistent effort to improve her game, after she had missed the first half of the year with a serious knee injury.
“She was really enjoying herself today and if you look at her journey this year, with her injury that was not nice but it says everything about her – how she really works so hard and is so committed to come back and show up and try to be better every single day and it is really impressive,” reflected Wiegman.
Mead also drew praise from Wiegman who believes that the 30-year-old isn’t the finished product and still has more quality to add to the squad,
“I think she is still improving,” acknowledged Wiegman. “She has always been a smart player. She picks up positions and is very calm in the final third and sees the picture of the final third and that is what she did today too.
“We invited her to make more motivations, pick up more positions and have the freedom to do that and she has done that.”
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