As England prepare to take to the hallowed Wembley turf once again on Wednesday for the second match of their UEFA Women’s Nations League campaign, Sarina Wiegman told reporters that the Lionesses are “not here to answer critics” after a tricky run of form.
Following a 1-1 draw with Portugal last Friday, England’s second game of the February international window will see them take on Spain in the first meeting between the two sides since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, which saw la Roja emerge victorious at Sydney’s Stadium Australia through an Olga Carmona strike.
While an injury crisis heavily affected Wiegman’s squad selection opportunities towards the end of 2024, England find themselves under scrutiny for perceived underperformance in recent matches, with just two wins from their past six outings.
Despite their form, Wiegman insists that the Lionesses are “not playing football to beat the critics – we’re playing football to win games.”
During Tuesday’s pre-match press conference, the Dutchwoman told reporters that “we will try to be at our best again tomorrow and be connected as a team. What we want to do is get more consistency so we create momentum in the game and keep it longer.”
But not only is Wednesday’s meeting with the reigning World Champions an opportunity to exact revenge, it is a chance for England to prove themselves as title contenders ahead of this summer’s UEFA Euro 2025 tournament, set to take place in Switzerland between 2 – 27 July.
Wiegman guided the Lionesses to their first major trophy at UEFA Euro 2022 when Chloe Kelly struck in extra-time against Germany at Wembley – but the England boss suggested that her team “have evolved” since and “can’t relate to the Euros or the World Cup anymore.”
“We have so many new players coming in, the game has evolved too. The opponents have changed: now with the Nations League, we have different matches at a much higher level and that’s what we want. We are still developing, adapting and trying to improve every day.”