Published 16 July 2024 4 min read
England Women's Senior Team
Sarina Wiegman pleased with point to seal EURO spot
England's Sarina Wiegman speaks after draw in Sweden seals EURO 2025 qualification
Match Report: Sweden 0-0 England
Sarina Wiegman will take England into another major tournament next summer, after seeing her side seal qualification for UEFA EURO 2025 in Switzerland.
The Lionesses took a point from their game with Sweden in Gothenburg on Tuesday night, which was enough to secure second spot in their qualifying group and an automatic route to next summer’s Finals.
And they had to show their character against a Swedish side who knew they had to win to overtake England into second place, but will now face the play-offs.
“I am happy and very relieved because indeed it was a tough game,” said Wiegman after the match.
“[There were] two different phases - the first half I think we dominated, but when you play so well and you are so dominant, we have to create more chances to score goals.
“And the second half we couldn’t keep up that level - that’s something we now have a year to prepare, we absolutely want to improve and keep the level, we had that against France too.
“But yes, we did fight for it. And of course, they brought more people up front and they want to press earlier, but I think we can do a little bit better.
“But keeping the 0-0 and qualifying from this group, which is a very hard group, I am indeed relieved."
The Lionesses took a point from their game with Sweden in Gothenburg on Tuesday night, which was enough to secure second spot in their qualifying group and an automatic route to next summer’s Finals.
And they had to show their character against a Swedish side who knew they had to win to overtake England into second place, but will now face the play-offs.
“I am happy and very relieved because indeed it was a tough game,” said Wiegman after the match.
“[There were] two different phases - the first half I think we dominated, but when you play so well and you are so dominant, we have to create more chances to score goals.
“And the second half we couldn’t keep up that level - that’s something we now have a year to prepare, we absolutely want to improve and keep the level, we had that against France too.
“But yes, we did fight for it. And of course, they brought more people up front and they want to press earlier, but I think we can do a little bit better.
“But keeping the 0-0 and qualifying from this group, which is a very hard group, I am indeed relieved."
Despite the late Swedish pressure, England weren’t without their own opportunities either, and that’s one area which Wiegman and her coaching staff will be looking as they now begin their preparation for the Finals.
“You can all say ruthlessness, but we had one huge chance in the first half,” she said.
“Then we have to have the numbers so we need to come across quicker to just finish that one and we had some moments where we could shoot on goal but we passed it.
“I think we had some great opportunities in the first half with free-kicks - they defended well but we could have done better to make the chance bigger.”
England will head to Switzerland to defend their EURO title with confidence though, as Wiegman admits there’s plenty to be positive about.
“I am very happy and take many, many positives,” she added.
“The France game and this game showed that, in moments, we play such good football. But we just need to keep it up and also not make it dependent on what the opponent does. Even when the opponent presses, we want to do better.
“What you see now is moments we play really well. We want to do that longer and also when the pressure goes up, they are going to press us earlier, so that’s what we need to learn.
“We have some experienced players in the team who have experienced many moments - like this is a big moment - it’s really hard to come on the pitch with the pressure today.
“And now, hopefully with friendlies we can play some very good games and we can develop, give players minutes who are knocking on the door. When you get that moment, you can take big steps.”
“You can all say ruthlessness, but we had one huge chance in the first half,” she said.
“Then we have to have the numbers so we need to come across quicker to just finish that one and we had some moments where we could shoot on goal but we passed it.
“I think we had some great opportunities in the first half with free-kicks - they defended well but we could have done better to make the chance bigger.”
England will head to Switzerland to defend their EURO title with confidence though, as Wiegman admits there’s plenty to be positive about.
“I am very happy and take many, many positives,” she added.
“The France game and this game showed that, in moments, we play such good football. But we just need to keep it up and also not make it dependent on what the opponent does. Even when the opponent presses, we want to do better.
“What you see now is moments we play really well. We want to do that longer and also when the pressure goes up, they are going to press us earlier, so that’s what we need to learn.
“We have some experienced players in the team who have experienced many moments - like this is a big moment - it’s really hard to come on the pitch with the pressure today.
“And now, hopefully with friendlies we can play some very good games and we can develop, give players minutes who are knocking on the door. When you get that moment, you can take big steps.”