MY ACCOUNT
Sarina Wiegman has stressed the importance of England’s friendly with USA as they continue 2023 World Cup preparations.
The European champions host the world champions at a sold-out Wembley tonight on the back of qualifying for the global showpiece last month.
While the FA are using the game to mark 50 years since the first England women’s international, it is a strictly business affair for Wiegman.
The Lionesses won all 10 of their qualifying games at a canter, netting 80 goals without conceding in the process, and she reiterated how much her side now need to face the best in the world as often as possible.
The Dutch coach, 52, said: “We need these games to see where we are. We can play lower-ranked teams but it doesn’t give you the picture you need to prepare for the World Cup.
“What we have seen in Europe is the improvement of the game. You can see the difference between the Euros in 2017 and 2022. The game has improved so much tactically and technically with many different styles of play.
“The Americans have improved too and brought in some younger players and newer players.
“I am really looking forward to it. USA are one of the best teams in the world, they are ranked No1. I think everyone in the USA team is very excited to come to Europe and play top-level teams.”
Both sides are missing some high-profile players with skipper Leah Williamson and striker Alessia Russo out for England and Alex Morgan absent for the visitors.
But Wiegman is thrilled with her squad and has called on the Lionesses to “dominate” the four-time world champions.
She added: “We are not only thinking about the result, we don’t only want to win, we want to dominate the game.
“That is what we will try to do and what we hope to do. We are a team that everyone expects to win.
“We put pressure on ourselves. We want to win every time we go on the pitch.”
USA’s air of invincibility has certainly diminished since their 2019 World Cup win as a number of stars near the end of their careers.
They only finished third at the Olympics in 2021 and 37-year-old attacker Megan Rapinoe is wary of the improvements other countries are making.
The 2019 Ballon d’Or winner said: “These teams are so good. We saw it in the World Cup, the Euros, the Champions League.
“The level of football right now is just insane. We’re happy to be right in the mix at the top.
“There’s a reason we’re at Wembley, that there’s 90,000 people coming and these two particular teams have stretched way past the field and done something special.
“I feel this is a really special moment in women’s football. This is one of those special career moments that don’t come around often.”
