Published 06 April 2023 4 min read
England Women's Senior Team
Sarina Wiegman on 'great learnings' for Lionesses
Lionesses head coach reflects on a big test from Brazil in latest title win
England boss Sarina Wiegman watched on as her squad landed another honour on Friday evening, after witnessing a thorough test for the team against Brazil at Wembley.
The Lionesses lifted the first-ever UEFA Women’s Finalissima with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over South American champions following a 1-1 draw in normal time.
And while Wiegman was happy to see her players celebrating in front of another packed-out Wembley Stadium, she was also impressed with the challenges they faced as they continue to prepare for this summer’s World Cup.
“It was a great game, two different phases and great learning,” said Wiegman.
“Brazil played in two different formations and in the first half we played very well and they weren’t able to get press on the ball and we should have scored a couple of more goals.
“In the second half, we said they might switch back to 4-4-2 because that is what they’re used to playing and they did - they pressed a lot higher and we had a lot of problems to get out of their press.
The Lionesses lifted the first-ever UEFA Women’s Finalissima with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over South American champions following a 1-1 draw in normal time.
And while Wiegman was happy to see her players celebrating in front of another packed-out Wembley Stadium, she was also impressed with the challenges they faced as they continue to prepare for this summer’s World Cup.
“It was a great game, two different phases and great learning,” said Wiegman.
“Brazil played in two different formations and in the first half we played very well and they weren’t able to get press on the ball and we should have scored a couple of more goals.
“In the second half, we said they might switch back to 4-4-2 because that is what they’re used to playing and they did - they pressed a lot higher and we had a lot of problems to get out of their press.
“That was a struggle for us, but again it is good for us to get so much learning out of this.
“There’s lots of learning for us in preparation for the World Cup and learnings are nice but we really wanted to win this one too.”
The Lionesses will now turn their focus onto their next match, which sees them welcome World Cup co-hosts Australia to Brentford next Tuesday.
And Wiegman is looking forward to getting back onto the training pitch with her squad over the weekend.
“I feel privileged [to coach this group], I’m very happy working here,” she added.
“It’s such an incredible group and it’s so much fun, the team are so committed and we want to learn every day and it is so nice to be part of.
“That [game] is what we needed so I'm happy, it’s good that we have that information and we will take it from here.
“We have the game on Tuesday and then hopefully one more and then we will be ready.”
“There’s lots of learning for us in preparation for the World Cup and learnings are nice but we really wanted to win this one too.”
The Lionesses will now turn their focus onto their next match, which sees them welcome World Cup co-hosts Australia to Brentford next Tuesday.
And Wiegman is looking forward to getting back onto the training pitch with her squad over the weekend.
“I feel privileged [to coach this group], I’m very happy working here,” she added.
“It’s such an incredible group and it’s so much fun, the team are so committed and we want to learn every day and it is so nice to be part of.
“That [game] is what we needed so I'm happy, it’s good that we have that information and we will take it from here.
“We have the game on Tuesday and then hopefully one more and then we will be ready.”
MATCH CENTRE: ENGLAND v BRAZIL