SARINA WIEGMAN insists there will be no split loyalties when she oversees England in their upcoming clash with the Netherlands.
And the head coach admits steering Lionesses against her Dutch compatriots for the first time on home soil will be a strange and nice experience
Wiegman, 53, has been looking ahead to a Tuesday night clash between her old side and the reigning Euros champs in the Women’s Nations League.
A win in Utrecht for the World Cup finalists could deal a blow to her compatriots’ hopes of qualifying for the Olympics in Paris next summer.
Wiegman, whose England aces are second in Group A behind Belgium, said: “If we were not playing the Netherlands then of course I (would) want them to do well.
“But we are playing against them and we want to win the game. I can turn that off, I have to, it’s my job.
“I want the Netherlands to have the best but we want to be first in the league.
“It’s just very special to be here, to play the opponents and of course we know each other really well.
“I know most of the staff, the players and it’s in the Netherlands so lots of people will be in the stands.
“It’s a little bit strange too. Of course I have some memories here. I’m really looking forward to it.”
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England’s clash with the Dutch team Wiegman led to Euros glory in 2017 comes two days after their rivals’ 2-1 loss to Belgium in their Women’s Nations League opener
And the head coach, who confirmed Alessia Russo is available for the game, is wary of taking her opponents for granted.
She added: “If you look at their stats against Belgium, they had pretty good stats and I saw how the game developed.
“They were a little bit unlucky and Belgium took their chances.
“You say the last couple of games they lost – I think one of the last was (against) Spain who became world champions.
“That’s a game that was very close, and they did well in that game too.
“Of course, they want to do well because their goal is also still to come first in the group.”
England’s clash with their Dutch opponents will8 see Wiegman pits her wits against Netherlands boss Andries Jonker, who managed her during her playing days at Ter Leede.
It also comes a day after Wiegman hailed midfielder superstar Megan Rapinoe who played her very last game for the USA on Sunday – a 2-0 win against South Africa.
And she believes the Lionesses can take up the mantle of Rapinoe and her US team-mates in helping leading the fight for women’s rights in football.
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Wiegman added: “The US are the trailblazers in women’s football, but not only in women’s football but also the position of women in society.
“Megan had a big role in that. We see England players having a big role in that too.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
