Sarina Wiegman contract: Why England manager faces biggest challenge yet
Wiegman’s successful England teams have been built on a core group of players from an outstanding generation – but a few cracks have appeared this year.
Seven of the team that started against world champions Spain in June also played in the Euro 2022 final against Germany – and their 4-0 defeat in Mallorca laid bare the gap England must bridge to the world’s best.
That result also consigned England to two rounds of play-offs to reach next summer’s World Cup.
Beating Greece this month navigated the first of those, with games against Ukraine, who they have beaten twice already in 2026, to come before Christmas.
Nevertheless, finding successors to those who have spearheaded the success will not be straightforward.
Defensive stalwarts Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood will be 37 and 36 respectively by Euro 2029, while Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh will be 32.
Other key players such as Alessia Russo and Georgia Stanway will also have turned 30, far from past their best, but still a consideration.
“We have to continue the evolution of the Lionesses,” record goalscorer Ellen White told the Women’s Football Weekly podcast. “We can’t stay stagnant or keep trying to win in the same ways all the time.”
Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis thinks one of Wiegman’s strengths as a manger is her willingness to give young players a chance. “She’s not afraid of bringing in players who have never been capped before,” Brown-Finnis told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Wiegman is looking right across the spectrum and asking who’s on form, who can add to my squad, who can fill a position or a couple of different positions?”
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, former Lionesses captain Steph Houghton said: “You can see Wiegman is trying to change a few things. The last camp she brought on Lexi Potter for her debut and she is now starting regularly for Chelsea. As a young player you need that to thrive in this environment.
“She is seeing the progress of young players coming through to press those who have been in the squad for a long time.”
