Women’s Euro 2022

SARINA WIEGMAN is relishing the chance to see England face Australia in one of two highly-anticipated pre-World Cups duels. The Lionesses play the Matildas in April as part of a double-header with the Three Lions facing the Socceroos in October. 
The Lionesses play Australia in Brentford on April 11, five days after their clash with Brazil at WembleyCredit: Alamy
Sarina Wiegman will use the match to gauge where her team are at in terms of their World Cup preparationsCredit: Alamy
England’s Finalissima opponents Brazil have won five of their last eight international matches going back to last SeptemberCredit: Alamy
England’s clash with the Matildas, who are skippered by Chelsea striker Sam Kerr, will take place on Tuesday 11 April.
The 7:45 pm match at the home of Brentford will follow a sold-out Finalissima duel at Wembley between the Lionesses and Brazil on Thursday 6 April. 
Both games take place just over three months before this year’s Women’s World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
This 32-team tournament will kick off on July 20 with Kerr’s side taking on the Republic of Ireland. 
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Lionesses chief Wiegman, 53, said: “We are always looking for different challenges.
“We are really happy to play two more strong non-European teams in Brazil and Australia in April.
“They will both be competitive at the World Cup, and Australia will give everything to impress because they are going into a home tournament with big expectations. 
“They will want to show they are in good shape for the finals.”
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England’s game against Australia is being billed as the Alzheimer’s Society International with the fixture being used to raise funds and awareness for the charity. 
The last clash between the sides was a friendly that ended 1-1 in October 2018.
Fran Kirby gave the Lionesses a first-half lead before Claire Polkinghorne’s late leveller. 
And 13 of England’s Euros-winning squad were part of a Team GB side knocked out by Australia in the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympics football tournament in June 2021.  
The side, managed by then interim boss Hege Riise, lost 4-3 with now-retired Lioness Ellen White netting a hat-trick. 
Wiegman, whose team play Belgium on Wednesday, added: “We know Australia have players at the highest level.
“For us it is another opportunity to see where we stand in our preparation for the World Cup.
“It will also be very special to play them at Brentford as it was a great stadium during the Euros.
“We want to create more excitement for our fans as we prepare for what we hope will be another memorable summer.”
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Tickets for England Women vs Australia Women are due to go on general sale from 3:00 pm on Wednesday 22 February.
Further details can be found on the FA’s web site.
England are currently 28 games unbeaten under head coach WiegmanCredit: Getty More

ALESSIA RUSSO has been at the centre of some boundary breaking football moments. From scoring during the Lionesses’ Euros triumph to netting a winner that saw Manchester United become the first WSL side to beat Arsenal at the Emirates in November.
Alessia Russo’s former coach at Bearsted FC says the player’s efforts has led to more girls coming to train at the clubCredit: PA
Whitfield recalls Russo scoring 76 goals in one season during her spell playing for Bearsted FC’s Under-10s sideCredit: Getty
That stoppage-time header may have given the Gunners food for thought with the club reportedly making a world-record £500,000 bid for the 23-year-old,  which was rejected by United. 
In March 2021 — five months after returning to fitness following a hamstring injury — Russo vowed to let her football “do the talking”. 
She has done just that, contributing to the Red Devils’ title charge with five goals in nine WSL games so far this term as well as nine in 22 top tier appearances last season. 
United are currently top of the table on goal difference from Chelsea ahead of today’s clash with Everton at 12midday.

And Russo could potentially be a key figure in England’s World Cup campaign in the summer. 
With her contract with United set to expire this year aside from the Red Devils other top clubs in Europe and the USA are thought to be chasing her signature. 
One individual who is backing Russo to achieve more on the pitch is grassroots football Colin Whitfield
The coach spotted the forward’s talent at Bearsted FC, the Kent-based club where she started playing at age six or seven. 
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Of the Maidstone-born forward’s efforts for the club playing for their Under-10s, Whitfield said: “From the outset she was a phenomenal player. 
“She was quick, she had quick feet, she would just sort of glide past players as if they weren’t there. 
“Her shooting was just incredible. I remember when we played Crystal Palace in a match and she scored from the halfway line. 
“It was mini soccer, so it was like a 30-yard shot, but she could score from anywhere. 
“The season that she first played for us in our Under-10s, she scored 76 goals. 
“These days she scores quite a few with her head — none of those 76 were headers!
“She really was determined, and obviously gave up pretty much all of her time to the sport.”
Whitfield, who played a leading role in establishing girls’ football teams at Bearsted, has watched Russo’s rise with pride. 
He is also among those keen to see finances flourish in the women’s game — particularly in the transfer market. 
Whitfield added: “It’s great to see the finances in the women’s game have started to creep up, and I say creep because they’re nowhere near the level of the men’s game. 
“Personally, I’d rather watch the women play
“I also think where Alessia’s concerned with the price tag, if it was ten years from now, I’m sure it would be a lot higher and I hope that’s the way that things will go. 
“But she’s an extraordinary talent.
“There are some talented footballers out there, but it’s unusual to get one that is so good with their feet, so good with their head, just an outstanding all-rounder.”
According to Whitfield Bearsted FC had multiple girls teams during the time Russo was playing for their junior side.
But as these players grew older, with some making the move to youth sides and women’s football development squads, the number of girls’ teams at Bearsted started to decline. 
But Whitfield says the club, based in Maidstone, has seen a surge in interest in girls wanting to play football following the Lionesses’ Euros win last July.
Alessia has inspired lots of people, not just at Bearsted. There’s a real sense of excitement. Colin Whitfield
He also believes Russo’s success has benefitted Bearsted FC’s efforts to have a floodlit 3G pitch and training built for their players. 
Whitfield says at present the club are paying £25,000 a year in fees to hire playing and training facilities for their teams.
The club hopes to raise 20 per cent of the funds required to have a training area installed for their sides.
Whitfield added: “With the girls, we had quite a few at the time Alessia was playing, but it petered out for a while.
“When some of the players on my girls’ teams turned 18 and got into women’s football, there were no players coming up behind them.
“We had a seven-year gap in the club with no girls teams
 “It’s great the current girls have started up and reinvented the girls’ side of the game in the club.
“The girls in particular all want to be the next Alessia Russo.
“She has inspired lots of people, not just at Bearsted. There’s a real sense of excitement. 
“Off the back of her success, I can’t see it ever disappearing.
Man United will be aiming for a win against Everton to maintain their spot at the top of the WSLCredit: PA
“There’s so much interest from the girls. And that side of the game is really growing at the club
“Before the Women’s Euros we put an application in for a floodlit 3G training area and that’s never really come into fruition 
“But post-Euros the local councils and the Kent FA are really sort of pushing for that work to go ahead.
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“At the moment the club are paying £25,000 a year in fees for for hiring facilities for the teams to use.
“To be able have one of our own that we can use for our teams and also let the wider community use would be phenomenal.” More

TICKETS for the Lionesses’ clash with Brazil at Wembley have sold out with the match set to attract a huge crowd.The Euros winners will take on the eight-time Copa America champions in April in the first-ever Women’s Finalissima.   
Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses will test themselves against Copa America Feminina champions Brazil in AprilCredit: PA
Brazil are currently ranked the ninth best international side in the worldCredit: AFP
The contest between England and Brazil on April 6 will see the two sides go head to head three months before they compete in this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The game could see Arsenal centre-backs Leah Williamson and Rafaelle Souza play against each other in an international fixture for the first time since the Brazil ace’s Gunners move last January. 
Last July Sarina Wiegman’s stars set a new record for a crowd turnout at a Euros final when they beat Germany 2-1.
A total of 87,192 fans flocked to Wembley for that clash – the highest attendance at a European Championship final to date in the women’s and men’s game. 
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And England’s friendly against the United States at the stadium was the highest attended friendly match in US women’s football history.
A crowd of 76,893 turned out to watch Wiegman’s side beat the USA 2-1 last October.
Tickets for the game sold out less than 24 hours after going on sale.  
The Women’s Finalissima will take place three months after the first title tussle in the WSL between Arsenal and league leaders Chelsea. 
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And the Gunners could be on course to set a new record they for the largest crowd turnout at a WSL fixture. 
Arsenal’s WSL game against Chelsea at the Emirates on January 15 could see crowd turnout of at least 40,000Credit: Getty
Arsenal have so far sold 40,000 tickets for their derby clash with the Blues at the Emirates this Sunday at midday. 
The record for the highest number of fans attending a Women’s Super League game stands at 47,367.
This was set when the Gunners beat Tottenham 4-0 at the stadium last September. More

SARINA WIEGMAN insists player welfare should come first when it comes to fixture schedules and the load put on elite women’s aces physically and mentally. And the Lionesses chief aims to take the form of her Euros winners to the next stage in order to topple their World Cup rivals.
Sarina Wiegman says plays at the top levels of the women’s game should be given time for ‘a proper rest’ amid a rising number of injuriesCredit: PA
The Lionesses boss was in the stands at the Emirates during a Champions League game in which Vivianne Miedema ruptured a knee ligamentCredit: PA
Wiegman was sharing her thoughts with reporters a day before attending Arsenal’s Champions League duel with Lyon last Thursday.
The England boss was watching the match from the stands when her Dutch compatriot Vivianne Miedema was stretchered off after a knee injury in the first half.
Yesterday Arsenal confirmed the Gunners forward had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament after landing awkwardly close to half-time.
The injury saw the Dutch star, who won the 2017 Euros with the Netherlands under Wiegman, join a growing list of elite players across Europe currently sidelined by injuries.
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They include Miedema’s Gunners team-mate Beth Mead. 
The forward, shortlisted for the BBC’s Sports Personality of Year Award, sustained an ACL injury in November, four months after helping England to Euros triumph. 
Wiegman said: “I really feel for Beth. Everyone who gets an ACL (injury) you feel for them. 
“She did so well, she was in such a good place. I just hope she will recover. 
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“It’s too early to say whether she will be (available for the World Cup).
“We just take it easy now, (let her) first recover, and then over the next months we’ll see how it will develop. 
“She has to become fit again, taking care of herself.
“She knows she has all the support from Arsenal and all the support from us and the FA.”
The injury to Miedema comes just under a month after the Arsenal forward called for Fifa and Uefa to listen to the concerns of players regarding their workloads. 
When asked if match schedules is something that needs looking at Wiegman added: “In general, for the top, top level players, the schedule is too much. 
“Some will have (to play in) five consecutive (international) tournaments in a row including the 2024 Olympics. 
“The level of the game has improved and so the load on players physically and mentally – and you can’t split that because we are all human beings – does ask so much of them. 
“The growth has gone so quickly so players also need a proper rest to get things settled down and (at present) they don’t have that rest. 
“After the Euro’s for example, the Manchester City players only had a couple of days off because they went into the Champions League round again. 
“That is not good. You can have that sometimes, but they need a rest. 
“They need some rest just to get some headspace and get their heads and bodies right. 
“I think Fifa, Uefa and the federations just need to do a little better job and all think of the players.”
Wiegman hopes to see Beth Mead recover from her knee ligament injury and says the forward has her supportCredit: AP
Next summer will be the third consecutive one in which a major international women’s football tournament takes place with the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. 
It follows a year that has seen the profile of women’s football rise with 365 million people worldwide tuning in to watch the Euros this July. 
Some of the international players from Europe’s top divisions sidelined by long-term injuries before the World Cup include Spain’s Alexia Putellas and France duo Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Griedge Mbock.
Germany’s Guilia Gwinn, Norway’s Ada Hegerberg and United States ace Catarina Macario are also among a number of pros currently crocked.
Wiegman said: “The game is also becoming a more professional game so the commercial part of it is an important one too. 
France forward Marie-Antoinette Katoto is among a number of top players in Europe currently sidelined with an ACL injuryCredit: AFP
“We need to put the players first. But if there are no commercial parties, how do we make a living and then you have a choice of whether you are a professional footballer anymore. 
“It is (about) finding the balance and finding the best way. I think we can do a better job and give players a little more rest.”
Next summer will see Wiegman’s Lionesses kick-off their quest to become the first England Women’s side to win a World Cup
Players from the squad, set to be selected by Wiegman next year, will play their first group stage game in Brisbane Australia on July 22. 
Wiegman reckons her team, currently ranked the fourth best in the world,  will need to take their game to the next level
We’re always looking at players. The door is not closed for anyone playing at a top level.England Women’s boss Sarina Wiegman
The team are unbeaten run under their boss with 26 games without a loss since last September.  
The England chief added: “At the beginning of the tournament, because of the amount of countries that join in the groups, it will be a little bit different, 
“But when you get further in the level is going to be so high, with different styles of play, different coaches, which is exciting and challenging. 
Wiegman and her England players will begin their push to win the World Cup on July 22 with Denmark and China among their three group stage rivalsCredit: PA
“But we have to take our game to the next stage, to make the chance of being successful as high as possible.”
Wiegman admits her door for selection is open to players performing consistently at a ‘top level’ 
And the head coach says she and her team have been keeping an eye on Manchester City’s Laura Coombs.
The midfielder has netted four goals in nine WSL games with City going ten 10 games unbeaten across all contests since a loss to Chelsea in September.
The player has made two senior Lionesses appearances with the first occurring England’s 2-1 defeat of China back in 2015.
Wiegman said: “We look at Laura almost every week because she plays every week and, yes, we also see that she’s doing a good job
“It’s all about quality, what do we need in the team. We’re always looking at players. 
“With some positions, we have a lot of depth, in others not as much. It’s always open. 
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Man City’s Laura Coombs is among the players Sarina Wiegman has been watching this seasonCredit: Getty
“It’s all about talent and performing. showing up for your club team first.
“The door is not closed for anyone playing at a top level.” More

SARINA WIEGMAN revealed she mulled over whether she would be able to leave the Netherlands when the chance to manage the Lionesses arose. The head coach, 53, said the lure of managing in another ‘big football’ nation was among the draws that attracted her to the role.
Sarina Wiegman says she took classes on English football as part for her preparation to coach the LionessesCredit: Getty
Wiegman and her players have their sights set on World Cup success after their triumph in the Euros in JulyCredit: AFP
Wiegman was speaking a day after a number of pundits, journalists and football fans engaged in debate on whether a manager of England national football side needs to be English. 
Debate had arisen amid reports regarding Gareth Southgate’s future after the Three Lions boss led his side the Qatar World Cup quarter-finals this month.
On Tuesday football pundit Jamie Carragher shared his opinion that gaffers of the national team should be English. 
Meanwhile some fans have highlighted Wiegman, who led the Lionesses to a Women’s Euros crown, as an example of a coach from overseas succeeding as an England national team boss . 
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When asked if her nationality was a factor in her decision to take up her role Wiegman said: “I thought about it when I first got in contact with England when they reached out to me. 
“I was head coach of the Netherlands, but my first thought was. ‘can I leave the Netherlands [as a country], I grew up there, it’s my country’
“Most of the time when some people reach out to me to ask if I’m interested in a job, after a couple of days it would just fade ‘no I’m going to stay with the Netherlands’. 
“But this one stuck with me. This is very exciting.
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“It’s a big country, England is a big football country with the WSL and the potential of the (national) team, so I started to have conversations.”
Since her appointment last September, Wiegman led the Lionesses on a 26-game unbeaten run with England winning their first major trophy in the team’s 50-year history this July. 
Their silverware success came five years after the Netherlands-born head coach guided the Dutch national women’s team to a Euros Championship win on home soil
On her efforts to adapt to English culture after agreeing up her role, Wiegman added: “Although the countries are really close together there are some differences in culture, so I really tried to learn. 
The success of the WSL and the challenge of managing of a ‘big football country’ were factors that led Wiegman to take on her jobCredit: Getty
“I took some English classes in football. I said I will learn about your culture and try to adapt to your culture  but also bring the directness as you have to know what is good
“I will not go around it or change that. 
“I think it went really well and we really enjoyed ourselves.
“I think the FA and the players and staff enjoy it too and we have a very good collaboration. We can still grow a lot.” More