The England of coach Sarina Wiegman is working towards the European Championship match with Orange with tension after the loss in the opening match. But there is (still) no crisis atmosphere at the European champion.
Anyone who enters the press room of the English team in the five-star hotel The Dolder Grand in Zurich will come across a black pillar at the entrance with a framed letter on it. The sender: Sarina Wiegman. Her signature is underneath.
“We all received that letter at the beginning of the preparation,” says The Times reporter Kit Shepard, who closely follows the English women’s team. “Sarina thanked us in it for the fact that we, together with the fans, contribute to the growth of women’s football in England.”
In the letter, Wiegman further expresses her appreciation for the English journalists who are prepared to leave their loved ones behind for a few weeks to follow in the wake of the ‘Lionesses’. The closing of the letter: “Let’s hope it will be another unforgettable summer, on and off the field.”
On Monday during England’s press moment, there is little indication that that will happen. Due to the 2-1 defeat against France on Saturday, England can be eliminated on Wednesday at the European Championship. The reigning European champion has never been eliminated in the group stage in the subsequent tournament.
But in the event of a defeat on Wednesday against Orange (kick-off at 6 p.m.), elimination is a fact. Shepard: “That would be a huge disappointment, which would increase the pressure on Wiegman.”
‘No, there is no crisis’
Yet there is little sign of a crisis atmosphere in the luxurious players’ hotel in Zurich, where England has established its base camp. In fact, the normally sharp British press is remarkably mild on Monday. Player Georgia Stanway hardly gets any really critical questions at the press conference with about thirty English journalists.
“Of course there is pressure,” says the midfielder, when we ask her about the high expectations surrounding England. “And there is criticism. It’s just how you explain it. Whether or not there is pressure, we have to make sure that this goes well.”
Whether there is a crisis in the English camp? Stanway, somewhat surprised: “No, there is no crisis.”
BBC presenter Emma Sanders also doesn’t think it’s a crisis yet. “Actually, this England hasn’t been playing well since the 2023 World Cup,” says Sanders. “They fail to reach their level a few times in a row. A defeat against France doesn’t directly mean that it’s a crisis. This was perhaps calculated somewhere.”
2:27
England wants to win ‘ugly’ from Orange: ‘Result counts above beautiful football’
Wiegman is looking for ‘new England’
According to the British journalists, there are several reasons for the decline of the team. For example, Wiegman would stubbornly stick to too small a core of players, something she also did with the Orange Women. Her substitutions are also questioned and there was surprise about the run-up to the tournament.
The experienced players Mary Earps, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright were told in a direct Dutch tone towards the European Championship that they would be on the bench and thanked for the honor. “Those three were popular in the group,” says Sanders. “The fact that they dropped out towards the European Championship was not ideal and even chaotic.”
Replacing the trio is part of Wiegman’s plan to create “the new England”. The team played a great European Championship in their own country in 2022 and reached the final of the 2023 World Cup with result football. but then it got worse. “The new England has still not been found,” says Sanders.
But Shepard doesn’t think that Wiegman and her players doubt themselves. “They are in a bubble in Zurich,” he says. “The concerns live more with the English public. Many fans only started cheering for England around the European Championship victory in 2022 and are not used to losing.”
Do the words of the chairman stand?
That also applies to the English press after successful years, who have started to treat Wiegman differently. The coach from The Hague previously said that she notices that English journalists are approaching her differently now that the results are getting worse. The European Championship title and the World Cup final have faded into the background.
Shepard speaks of “a natural process”. “In the first years there was little to criticize about Sarina. She shaped England to her liking, won everything and often with good football. Now you notice that things are going less well and we are more critical. But a crisis? I think that’s too early. Ask me again on Wednesday evening.”
Chairman Mark Buckingham of the English Football Association FA said before the European Championship that Wiegman may serve out her contract until mid-2027 regardless of the result in Switzerland. But will that statement stand if England is ignominiously knocked out of the tournament by the Dutch national team on Wednesday?
“I think Sarina will only leave if she wants to herself. The FA will let her sit anyway,” says Shepard. Sanders shakes her head: “If England flies out now, the pressure on Sarina will be increased. That is also our job as the press. Yes, even now that she has sent us that letter.”