‘Very exciting things to see’ - Sarina Wiegman praises England side after comeback saw Lionesses thrash Netherlands
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Published 24/06/2022 at 22:36 GMT
Sarina Wiegman told the media she's “absolutely happy” with her squad after England put five goals past reigning European Champions Netherlands. England went behind after Lieke Martens opened the scoring in the first half, but a strong second-half performance saw the hosts run away with the game. “The second half was really good, very exciting things to see,” she said.
LEEDS, ENGLAND - JUNE 24: Sarina Wiegman, Manager of England, speaks to the media prior to kick off of the Women's International friendly match between England and Netherlands at Elland Road on June 24, 2022 in Leeds , United Kingdom. (Photo by Lewis Stor
Image credit: Eurosport
Sarina Wiegman was “absolutely happy” with England’s performance against Netherlands, which saw them come back from behind to win 5-1 at Elland Road.
Lucy Bronze, Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, and a brace from Beth Mead secured the victory in a pre-Euros test against the reigning European Champions, and England manager Wiegman admitted her excitement at her team’s ability to bounce back so impressively.
“First of all it was a very tight game, it doesn’t sound like a tight game but a very good game at the highest level,” she said.
“First half we had a hard time, second half we played a lot better, and it’s very nice to score five goals but for us actually it was good that we got behind for the first time, and how we reacted on that.
“We needed to come back from not playing well and conceding a goal, and then getting the game to a higher standard, so that was good.”
England’s squad has strong strength in depth going into the Euros, which showed with Toone and Mead coming off the bench and contributing to three of the five goals.
Wiegman praised the quality in her side and insisted the Lionesses can utilise their bench to “change the game.”
“It shows this team has a lot of depth and so much quality, we showed that today,” she said.
We have so much opportunity to change the game and to have more impact on the game and also show we can keep up the tempo.
“I don’t know (on whether England have to manage expectations), maybe.
“For us, we say when we lose we go with our plan, when we win we go with our plan.
“We had a good win, today also showed that we still have lots of things to do, some things worked really well, but some things didn’t go well and we really have to improve that, so we’ll start working on that again on Monday.”
England face Switzerland on Thursday in their last game before the Euros get underway, and Wiegman expressed her excitement after watching her team pick her former side apart.
“I’m absolutely happy,” she said.
Such a high-level game, and of course the score says a lot, 5-1.
“That’s really good, the game, the second half was really good, so very exciting things to see, and yes we’re in a good place, and some things to improve.”
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