On the train, as Brazil slipped past Jess Carter and sent Kathy Robinson the wrong way, England’s World Cup badges flashed right in front of their eyes. This was quickly forgotten as Chloe Kelly scored her Finalissima winning penalty and the Liones lifted their third trophy in 10 months; but it was England’s first serious decision that fourth place in Sydney this summer would be too far off utopia.
Before Sarina Wigman leaves for Australia, they should give back hospitality by inviting Matilda to Gtech Stadium in Brentford. With the exception of the last international break this summer, this is the last chance to prepare for the World Cup.
The risks are well known, although this would make Australia less dangerous than Brazil. Chelsea striker Sam Kerr is expected to return from Australia’s 1-0 defeat to Scotland after the break, but they will be without Arsenal duo Caitlin Furde and Steph Catley.
That’s reportedly two-thirds of what would normally make an encounter with Australia a more daunting prospect. They will almost certainly lose the midfield battle again, especially if Kira Walsh repeats last Thursday’s performance.
What Wigman needs to see is the control that was fully handed over to Wembley last week. The Liones boss did her part by promising she would limit manipulation in the selection of the starting line-up to lead England in their first group stage match against Haiti in July.
Defense attorney Steph Houghton issued an ultimatum this week that Wigman probably didn’t like. In conversation with BBC Radio 5 LiveThe former captain acknowledged that her ongoing exile was “mentally difficult”, adding: “Sometimes, no matter what you do, you won’t please anyone.
“I just want the situation to be closed. Do I have a chance or is it impossible? But I understand that she can’t give that degree because the World Cup is coming up and you need to have as many players as possible.
“I respect what she has done for the country and I am proud of all the girls and what they have achieved, but as a professional footballer you want to play in the best teams and tournaments and this is definitely the World Cup.”
Alex Greenwood’s injury left the back four looking a little jaded for a while, but Millie Bright will be back in shape this summer and there’s probably no room left for Houghton, and he’s absolutely right. She seems to be pushing the closed door.
Instead, Wigman’s real dilemmas come to the fore. Lauren James, Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly are expected to be three of her favorite characters, but that’s before the roles of Lauren Hemp and Rachel Daly are over. The Hemp could be deployed across three fronts, although in its current form it would most likely be an attack submarine.
Only Khadija Shaw has scored more goals than Daley since the Aston Villa striker returned to England, and Wigman has taken notice: she is no longer considered a left-back for either club or country. Meanwhile, Canoply has the same number of goals as James in the WSL this season – Beth England is just one ball short of Russo thanks to a resurgence after joining Tottenham, but he was not scored in the April games.
Nikita Parris, Jess Park and Ebony Salmon have the rest of the season to make sure they’re in the conversation too. And this one simply because it would take Beth Mead a “miracle” to get back from her ACL tear in time for the World Cup, and Fran Kirby’s fitness remains an ongoing problem, as Wigman puts it.
After a narrow victory over Brazil, Wigman did not admit that it was more or less a justified “wake-up call”. England need to be better to win the World Cup but they still have a chance to do it right.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.