Wiegman: 'It answered a lot of our questions'

Sarina Wiegman believes there were ‘so many positives’ to come from England’s camp in Spain and said it helped answer a lot of the questions staff had ahead of UEFA EURO 2025 qualifying getting underway in April.

The Lionesses followed up Friday night’s 7-2 victory over Austria with another impressive win on Tuesday, as they beat the ever-improving Italy 5-1 at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador, Algeciras.

But arguably as important as the victories and 12 goals was that the friendlies provided Wiegman with the chance to give opportunities to other players.

The likes of Hannah Hampton, Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan and Grace Clinton were all given starts against Austria, whilst on Tuesday night one of the five changes to the XI was the inclusion of Lotte Wubben-Moy and Millie Turner was also given her senior debut from the bench.

Thanks for your support, #Lionesses fans!

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— Lionesses (@Lionesses) February 27, 2024

On the topic of whether this camp answered some of the questions she had, Wiegman replied: “You never know because things in football can change quickly but it gave us many answers to questions we had.

“We could take this opportunity to see so many players play two good games and also to train – along with seeing the Under-23s – so there have been many positives about this week.”

She added: “I think in the camp a lot of things pleased me; we had the opportunity to play many players, basically everyone except for Fran Kirby who had to go home [and young goalkeeper Khiara Keating].

“We got to see the level and see players in some positions and the connections between players and the competitiveness of each other.

“When you have two such good wins as we did tonight and last Friday, it's really nice.”

Wubben-Moy has long been a part of England’s senior squad but has sometimes found starts hard to come by because of the form of players like Leah Williamson, Millie Bright, Alex Greenwood, Jess Carter and Esme Morgan.

But the centre-back has really impressed for Arsenal this season and gave her team the lead against Italy inside a minute, before going on to play really well in the heart of defence.

Wubben-Moy was joined in central defence by Turner for the final ten minutes and Wiegman was asked about both players during her television interview with ITV.

She said: “I think Lotte has definitely taken a step forward because she's developing a lot and is playing very well, that's what we see weekly at Arsenal and that's what she shows here too.

“What you can see is the competition in the position she plays is really high.”

All the love for #Lionesses debutant @MillieTurner_! 🫂 pic.twitter.com/049LRtpUaV

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) February 27, 2024

And on Turner, Wiegman added: “It was really nice [to give Turner her England debut]. She trains very hard and she's so proactive in that she wants to learn things and is an absolute team player.

“She wants to improve every day. She came on and did well, just as I think every player who came on did.”