MY ACCOUNT
England completed a hat-trick of warm-up wins with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Switzerland to head into Euro 2022 in red-hot form.
The Lionesses struck each of their goals in the second half to remain unbeaten under Sarina Wiegman, who took charge in 2020.
Alessia Russo and Georgia Stanway put England ahead before substitutes Bethany England and Jill Scott added gloss to the scoreline.
We take a look at five key talking points from England’s final friendly before their opening game of the tournament against Austria.
Three out of three
England’s victory means they have won all three of their friendly matches leading up to the tournament.
They have done so by a convincing 12-1 aggregate scoreline, proving themselves among the favourites for this year’s crown.
The goals have been shared around in those three outings with only Beth Mead scoring more than once in that period.
Team game
Striker Russo got herself on the scoresheet but instead chose to focus on the team performance in what was a less convincing display than the scoreline suggested.
She said: “There were times in the first half where we could have scored chances but we were patient.
“We spoke after half-time about keeping the tempo high and the ball moving, I think we did exactly that.
“The subs came on and made a big difference, which is great.
“Obviously as a striker you always want to score but the team put on a great performance. Sometimes it’s not always going to be pretty but you have to fight it out to get the win.
“It’s really special, we can get locked in on the tournament now. We’re all really excited.”
Sharper shooting
Despite scoring four times, the Lionesses will feel they were wasteful in front of goal, particularly in the first half — as Russo alluded to.
England took 21 shots and hit the target with 12, including three excellent opportunities in the first 10 minutes. But the scoreline remained 0-0 at half-time.
Against a higher calibre of opposition in a cagey tournament match, they may not be afforded as many chances.
Defensive reshuffle
There was a surprising reshuffle at the back by Wiegman, who deployed skipper Leah Williamson at centre-back, pushing regular starter Alex Greenwood out to left-back.
Greenwood did not appear to relish the alteration and, given her effective partnership with Millie Bright at international level so far, it seems unlikely this change will be made permanent.
The absence of Lucy Bronze, who was unavailable through illness, may have been the reason for Wiegman’s experiment and the experienced full-back was missed.
Captain’s role?
Wiegman has an unusual issue to ponder ahead of the tournament — where to deploy her skipper.
Before the game she suggested Williamson “felt more comfortable” at the back than in midfield, but has largely used the Arsenal star in the middle of the park.
It remains to be seen whether Wiegman chooses to break up her tried and tested defensive partnership of Greenwood and Bright or uses Williamson as a central midfielder against Austria.
