Sarina Wiegman can make history on Tuesday by reaching the final of the Women’s European Championship for the third time in a row. Then she and England must beat Italy in the semi-finals.
9:00 PM: England-Italy (Geneva)
Tina Theune has been at a lonely height among coaches in European women’s football for years. The German led her country to three European Championship finals in a row from 1997 to 2005. Her team also won them all.
It seemed unthinkable that someone could reach the same level as the German icon, but Wiegman can follow in her footsteps tonight. With a win against Italy, the Hague native will be in the European Championship final for the third time in a row, after the European title with the Netherlands (2017) and England (2022).
Wiegman said at a press conference on Monday that she is not concerned with her achievements at all. “Maybe I’ll think about that in ten or fifteen years,” she responded. She is already the first national coach to become European champion with two different countries.
Wiegman will certainly have taken into account in her answer that England are in the semi-finals with some luck. The defending champion escaped elimination in the quarter-finals on Thursday in a special penalty series against Sweden.
In the semi-final, England will face the surprise of this tournament. After a victory over Norway (1-2), Italy is in the last four of a European Championship for the first time in 28 years. Naturally, England is the big favorite for the win. A new final place will provide the impressive career of the 55-year-old Wiegman with a new first.