Published 11 October 2022 4 min read
England Women's Senior Team
Sarina Wiegman and latest Lioness centurion Lucy Bronze assess Czech draw
England head coach and latest centurion react after Lionesses are held at home
England boss Sarina Wiegman reflected on a frustrating night for her side, after being held to a 0-0 draw by Czech Republic in Brighton.
Despite dominating possession throughout, the Lionesses couldn’t find the crucial breakthrough in front of a lively crowd on the Sussex coast.
The result saw Wiegman’s side prevented from scoring for just the second time in her 23 games in charge, following on from a 0-0 draw with Spain earlier this year.
But the head coach herself was quick to pinpoint the reason for the result.
"We didn't score because we were just not sharp enough,” she said.
“We didn't get that many opportunities, we knew the Czech defence was very good, very compact and sometimes almost with eleven players in the penalty box so you have very little space. We had some chances but came just too short to score a goal.
"They are so compact, very physical, very good in the air, which we knew. And they were sometimes very dangerous on the counter-attack as well.
“We tried to break them down and sometimes in the last stage of the game, we tried to get more people in the 18-yard box with a little change of shape but we didn't get it in the back of the net.”
Despite dominating possession throughout, the Lionesses couldn’t find the crucial breakthrough in front of a lively crowd on the Sussex coast.
The result saw Wiegman’s side prevented from scoring for just the second time in her 23 games in charge, following on from a 0-0 draw with Spain earlier this year.
But the head coach herself was quick to pinpoint the reason for the result.
"We didn't score because we were just not sharp enough,” she said.
“We didn't get that many opportunities, we knew the Czech defence was very good, very compact and sometimes almost with eleven players in the penalty box so you have very little space. We had some chances but came just too short to score a goal.
"They are so compact, very physical, very good in the air, which we knew. And they were sometimes very dangerous on the counter-attack as well.
“We tried to break them down and sometimes in the last stage of the game, we tried to get more people in the 18-yard box with a little change of shape but we didn't get it in the back of the net.”
It was also a memorable evening for Lucy Bronze, who became the latest Lioness centurion with the game being her 100th appearance for the senior team.
And the Barcelona defender was typically self-deprecating in her assessment of her latest achievement with the Lionesses.
"I think I can remember someone asking me after my debut, what I would like to do with England,” she said. “I think someone was stood with me who had won 100 caps and I said that would never happen for me.
“I just wanted to win something with England, and now I've done both."
As for the game, Bronze was on the same page as Wiegman with regards her analysis.
"I don't think we were clinical enough,” she said.
“We did have a few chances, Hempo (Lauren Hemp) had one off the post, Fran (Kirby) got one tipped over, so we had chances to score.
“We did play well in spells and I guess we're not really used to this team not being clinical because usually the goals just come flooding in for us.
“It's disappointing, but at least we kept a clean sheet, that's the positive to take from it.
“We worked hard throughout until the very last minute but we're European champions, you've got to win games like that.
"We knew they were going to be tougher than what other people might have expected.
“We did our analysis on them like with every other team. Maybe the fact we played USA before in such a big event and came here, it was a little bit different.
“But we try to keep our standards high. We played football how we wanted to play, created a few chances but it wasn't our day today.”
And the Barcelona defender was typically self-deprecating in her assessment of her latest achievement with the Lionesses.
"I think I can remember someone asking me after my debut, what I would like to do with England,” she said. “I think someone was stood with me who had won 100 caps and I said that would never happen for me.
“I just wanted to win something with England, and now I've done both."
As for the game, Bronze was on the same page as Wiegman with regards her analysis.
"I don't think we were clinical enough,” she said.
“We did have a few chances, Hempo (Lauren Hemp) had one off the post, Fran (Kirby) got one tipped over, so we had chances to score.
“We did play well in spells and I guess we're not really used to this team not being clinical because usually the goals just come flooding in for us.
“It's disappointing, but at least we kept a clean sheet, that's the positive to take from it.
“We worked hard throughout until the very last minute but we're European champions, you've got to win games like that.
"We knew they were going to be tougher than what other people might have expected.
“We did our analysis on them like with every other team. Maybe the fact we played USA before in such a big event and came here, it was a little bit different.
“But we try to keep our standards high. We played football how we wanted to play, created a few chances but it wasn't our day today.”
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