by A common theme throughout Sarina Wiegman’s successful tenure was the notion that she would only select players to play for their clubs. Friday’s team selection at Wembley was in real contradiction to that principle, and in a harrowing half-hour of chaos against the most decorated nation in European women’s football, the England head coach’s decisions backfired spectacularly.
In naming an unchanged starting team compared to the one that played in the last game in July, it almost seemed as if Wiegman felt that none of the club’s games so far this season had sufficient significance to justify the performances in this goalless one Draw against Sweden three months ago. However, for fans attending the Women’s Champions League and domestic matches this season, the display will have been truly baffling, with some of England’s most in-form players completely ignored.
With England’s back four repeatedly ripped apart with ease by the Germans, Manchester City centre-back Alex Greenwood is an integral part of the team that earned and kept a clean sheet from European champions Barcelona just 17 days ago, and captains that team at the Top of the Women’s Super League table must have been wondering what she would have to do to start in an international game.
The same thought was certainly going through the mind of Manchester United centre-back Maya Le Tissier, who has been in fine form at the heart of a Manchester United defense that has conceded just one goal in five games in all competitions this season
And what about the standout young star of the WSL season so far, Grace Clinton, whose three goals in four league games from midfield demonstrated her ruthlessness in the penalty area as she watched her teammate Ella Toone score a top-class chance just wide missed?
The point is not that Leah Williamson, Millie Bright or Toone deserve to be abused, nor that any of them deserve the ridicule of fans, nor that their places in the England team should be in jeopardy in the long term. They all contributed greatly to the Lionesses’ cause and will forever be legends of English football.
They should all go to the European Championships next summer. They certainly didn’t become inferior overnight. But by leaving out the players who are in the best form of all in Clinton, Greenwood, Le Tissier and Manchester City’s clever, energetic and skilful midfielder Jess Park, Wiegman inadvertently sent a message to all of their qualified players in England Talent pool For them, the current club form is not as important a factor in their decision-making process as how well the established players have previously played for their country.
To be fair, Greenwood, Le Tissier and Park all had chances in the second half, although Clinton was not given any minutes. But during her pre-match press conference on Thursday, when speaking about how much Germany has changed since the Euro 2022 final, Wiegman pointed to her own team’s development, saying: “We are a different team because we are have also developed further.” ”
However, the starting lineup Wiegman chose for Friday was more similar to the one that secured the European title than that quote suggested. There were only four changes to the storied starting XI and two of them, Alessia Russo and Toone, hardly felt like new changes as they were the super substitutes of the 2022 season. Ellen White and Rachel Daly withdrew and Fran Kirby was missing due to injury.
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The only notable change to the starting XI was the introduction of Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton in place of Mary Earps. As for the 10 outfield positions, one could even say that as of Friday, they were the 10 that could have been expected to begin play in the fall of 2022. Remember that. Nine of them started in a qualifying game against Austria in September 2022.
The other side of that coin is the Dutchwoman’s admirable loyalty, which her captain Williamson and vice-captain Bright undoubtedly appreciated and which could prove invaluable to Wiegman next time out if the pair play as well as they did on home soil in 2022 .
Ironically, in the one area of the pitch where Wiegman bravely showed she doesn’t pick big names by bringing in Earps for Hampton, the Chelsea goalkeeper had a poor game, most notably scoring the third goal for Germany on her short one Post was exposed, although she managed two excellent saves to prevent the visitors from getting a cricket score.
There will undoubtedly be plenty of rotation and experimentation in Tuesday’s friendly against South Africa in Coventry. But this occasion will not match the pressure cooker that is a meeting with Germany at Wembley Stadium. There’s no better experience to give a young, rising star like Le Tissier or Clinton the chance to show what they’re made of. Wiegman now has three more friendlies to try new things in before the Christmas break and she can’t let these three more chances to mix things up go to waste.
