Sarina Wiegman felt that England grinded out a “difficult” 1-0 victory over Iceland in their 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifier.
Alessia Russo netted the Lionesses’ 21st-minute winner in Reykjavik from Lauren Hemp’s pass but Iceland gave them several second-half scares, which forced Hannah Hampton to make crucial saves to seal England’s victory in their 500th international fixture.
“It was a very hard game,” reflected Wiegman post-match on the contrast in performance between the two halves, which saw England dominate the first half but defensively struggled in the second half due to the ball movement on the hybrid grass pitch.
“There was a big difference between the first and second half. It is hard to keep the ball moving on this pitch, in the first half we played okay but the tempo could have been higher.
“We could have created more opportunities. The goal was a good one. In the second half, they pushed higher and we had to make better decisions.
“It was difficult circumstances, we know they are good at throws and corners. I thought we defended really well but there were some tricky moments. I am happy we won it.”
Wiegman however is pleased to have at least got the win despite having scored just one goal which proved the difference, as they remain top of League A3 from Spain by three points with just the group winner getting automatic qualification for the main tournament.
“You hope we do that better and we made better decisions and stay in our shape,” acknowledged Wiegman as she vowed that the squad will learn from the performance. “You always want to understand why it happened and learn.
“They came back into the game and we helped them, but then we had two chances with Georgia and Beth and we could have killed the game.
“They came back again. It was a very hard fight but we got over the line and that is most important.”
England are next in action away to Spain in Mallorca on Friday 5 June and Wiegman felt that it is “important,” that they are sat top with 12 points and three points clear of Spain, as she iterated that no match will be easy and their opponents can’t be underestimated.
“No game is easy anymore. We don’t take anything for granted. We know we are in a good position now and we know how good Spain is.
“We are happy with six points. Players go back to clubs now and we go again in June.”
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