Plenty of questions have been asked of the manager throughout this tournament, despite the defending champions reaching a third-successive major final
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Sarina Wiegman is the best manager in the international women's game today. No coach out there can compete with her track record, which was enhanced on Tuesday when she guided England to a third-successive major tournament final. In the last eight years, with the Netherlands and now the Lionesses, she has won two European Championship titles, reached two World Cup finals and, on Sunday, has another shot at continental glory at Euro 2025. If it wasn't for a quarter-final exit at the 2020 Olympic Games, we'd be talking about five successive major finals – and even with that uncharacteristically premature elimination in Japan, Wiegman's achievements remain exceptional.
Yet, she is not immune to criticism and, more than once at this tournament, England's mantra of 'In Sarina we trust' has certainly been tested. Last week, the Lionesses were 2-0 down with 11 minutes to play in their quarter-final against Sweden, only to somehow muster an incredible comeback that was completed in a nerve-ridden penalty shootout which, after 14 kicks, Wiegman's side won 3-2. Five days later, England pushed their luck again, with there less than two minutes of added time remaining when Michelle Agyemang equalised in the semi-final clash with Italy. Chloe Kelly would then book the Lionesses' place in the final with a winner in the penultimate minute of extra-time by converting the rebound of her saved penalty.
These wins have exhibited a lot of the incredible traits in this England team, those which have allowed them to enjoy such wonderful success under Wiegman. These players are resilient, they never give up and they are always able to find a way to win. That, after all, is what champions are all about. But there remains a feeling that Wiegman will not be able to lean on luck in Sunday's Euro 2025 final against Spain, and that she will have to showcase everything that makes her the best manager in the international women's game in order for England to retain their European title.
Getty ImagesWaiting and waiting and waiting
When Kelly entered Tuesday's semi-final in the 77th minute and Agyemang followed in the 85th, the reaction up and down the country was the same: 'Finally' was the word fans uttered in the direction of their televisions and typed frantically into group chats, as the Lionesses' time continued to tick away. Italy had taken the lead through Barbara Bonansea in the 33rd minute, and while England had certainly ramped up the pressure since half-time, when Beth Mead replaced the injured Lauren James, chances remained few and far between. Something else was needed.
It was the same in the quarter-finals, when Wiegman didn't make changes until the 70th minute despite Sweden taking the lead after two minutes and doubling it after 25. The more cynical fans will dub this as typical of a manager who has a rather unfair reputation for being stubborn. This is the same coach who switched formation midway through the 2023 Women's World Cup, remember, because things weren't working as she liked, even if her team had still won both of their games to that point. She is not adverse to changing things up, not at all.
But the hesitancy has been quite incredible during this tournament, given England have been staring elimination in the face on a regular basis. Good fortune and lucky breaks have come to their rescue as much as the top-quality finishing of Agyemang or goalkeeping heroics of Hannah Hampton, and it has been jarring to see Wiegman show such a lack of urgency amid the chaos.
In some ways, that calmness she exudes is important for the team and ensures them not to panic. However, it's hard to ignore the feeling that England's luck will eventually run out at this tournament if the manager doesn't react in a more timely manner to the adversity her team are facing.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesUnresolved issues
That isn't just when it comes to substitutions, but also the continual issue on the left-side of England's defence, which has been a weak point well-targeted by opponents since Euro 2025 began. To Wiegman's credit, she did make a change after the 2-1 defeat to France with which the Lionesses started their tournament, opting to swap Jess Carter and Alex Greenwood around so that the latter was playing left-back, a role she used to operate in on a full-time basis, and Carter was central. It worked in the group stage, giving the defence more security in wins over the Netherlands and Wales which booked a quarter-final spot. In the knockout rounds, though, it has been exposed for merely papering over the cracks.
There is a long-term issue here which Wiegman has to take some blame for. England are not blessed with left-back options, that much is well-known and has been the case for the manager's entire tenure. Yet, there are some out there who play the role on a regular basis for their clubs who could potentially have provided a solution at some point in the last few years. Instead, Wiegman has opted for makeshift full-backs, first in Rachel Daly, who played as a striker – and a Golden Boot-winning one, at that – for Aston Villa, and more recently in Carter and Niamh Charles, although the latter was first turned into that makeshift left-back by Chelsea rather than the England boss.
That pursuit of temporary solutions has come back to bite the Lionesses at times, but never as drastically as in this past month. It was down the left that Sweden tore England apart to go 2-0 up last week, only to fail to get the job done, and it was there where Italy sliced through the defence to set-up the opening goal on Tuesday, despite Wiegman opting for another change that brought Esme Morgan into the left-sided centre-back role over Carter.
Getty ImagesUnderused solutions
These issues have made it all the more perplexing that Wiegman has hesitated to bring back the 3-5-2 shape that helped mask the same problems so effectively at the 2023 World Cup. When the Lionesses switched formations during that tournament, it brought the best out of Carter – who has notably struggled in Switzerland – while offering more security down the weaker left side and giving Alessia Russo more support up front, something she has lacked this summer. It would make perfect sense for England to line-up in that shape right now.
However, Wiegman continues to only use it in cases of emergency – and on those occasions, it is working. It's not some crazy gung-ho system that cannot be opted for from the get-go in a game; the World Cup two years ago was perfect evidence of that. Yet, England continue to trod out in a 4-3-3 shape that is doing little for them right now and has to be tweaked and, eventually overhauled in order for the Lionesses to drag themselves back into matches.
Getty ImagesOpportunities for opponents
That might feel like a lot of criticism for a manager who has just led England to a third-successive major tournament final, but it is also a sign of the high bar Wiegman and her team have set for themselves. To be in a final again is amazing, yes. However, the manner in which the Lionesses have reached it has been unconvincing and surely encouraging for Sunday's opponents.
Spain know that they can get at England down that left-hand side, they know that they can prevent Russo from getting quality service up front and, in another issue that remains problematic and unresolved, they know they can limit the Lionesses significantly by marking Keira Walsh out of the game. These are things that Wiegman, to varying degrees, has fixed or tried to fix during her near-four-year tenure, albeit without doing so completely.