from England 2-1 defeat to France in Newcastle left them with some work to do if they are to secure qualification for next summer’s Euros.
The team is five points behind leaders France in Group A3, having lost one and drawn one in their two home games so far.
Apart from a routine victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, it has been a difficult qualifying campaign for the European champions, albeit against tough opposition.
Things couldn’t be easier for Sarina Wiegman’s team, who travel to Saint-Etienne for their second meeting with France on Tuesday.
“We have to win in France if we want to be in a good position in July,” Wiegman told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Today we wanted to win and most of the time we played well. As a team and on defense, we did very well.
“We’re very disappointed now, that’s very clear because we all felt it was very unnecessary – but then we’ll move on to Tuesday.”
No injuries to Greenwood and Earps
Wiegman believes that England’s performance was better than the level they presented against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.
But they were still far from convinced.
With Millie Bright and Leah Williamson available to play together for the first time since February 2023, Wiegman opted for them at centre-back, leaving Manchester City defender Alex Greenwood on the bench.
Bright’s lack of sharp play was evident as the pacy French attackers threatened, while the English defense was undone by two set pieces on the night.
Their concerns were compounded by an early injury to goalkeeper Mary Earps, who was forced out of the game with a hip problem minutes into her 50th appearance for England.
The Lionesses took the lead through Beth Mead, but France responded well and were rewarded when Elisa de Almeida and Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s shots beat substitute goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.
“It’s very disappointing. We should have won the game,” Wiegman added.
“No matter how good the goals were, we have the opportunity to stop them. The first one was fantastic and the second one too. We definitely need to be more rigorous with the second balls.”
Wiegman was asked about her decision to leave Greenwood out, especially with four starting right-handed defenders.
“Of course it’s ideal to have a lefty too, Millie [Bright] can play with her left foot on her right side, Leah [Williamson] is pretty comfortable on the left side,” Wiegman said.
“That was also taken into consideration for this game. Alex is a good defender, she did very well in the last period.
“Today I chose Millie and Leah. I thought we needed this defense in the center because of France’s qualities. They are very fast, very powerful. I think it was the right decision.”
‘I still thought we did well’
It was Wiegman’s 50th match in charge and she said it was “a very unnecessary defeat” but maintained her belief that England played well for most of the game.
However, question marks are increasing due to the lack of rotation in the starting eleven.
Despite calling up several new players in recent months, including Manchester United midfielder Grace Clinton, Manchester City’s Jess Park and Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones, Wiegman chose a team against France that consisted of eight of the starting 11. Euro 2022.
Asked if Wiegman believed she needed to mix things up more, she said: “I think if you look at last camp, we played a lot of players and we brought in a lot of players.
“We’re trying to get players closer to more minutes. With the coaching staff and I, we decided that before the game.”
She waited until the 79th minute to bring on midfielder Fran Kirby and forward Chloe Kelly, but Wiegman says that’s because she didn’t want to change the dynamic.
With England controlling more possession (58%) and having more shots on target (12) than France’s seven, the statistics suggest their team were on top.
But England lacked intensity and lost the ball sloppily.
“I took so long [to make changes] because I thought we played well,” Wiegman said.
“If you bring in other players, the dynamic changes – which we sometimes want because you want new energy. But I still think we did well.
“Then we suffered and we talked about what kind of midfield we wanted to have slightly different players. That’s why we waited a little longer.”
Wiegman was upbeat in his responses, appearing calm and assured of his decisions, but knows England cannot afford to slip up in France and fall further behind in the qualifying campaign.
