Without several key players like Fran Kirby, and Arsenal’s Leah Williamson, and Beth Mead, England may not feel as confident as they would have felt heading to the Women’s World Cup if these players were completely fit and thus present in Australia.
Anyway, with players like Ella Toone, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo, Lauren James, Beth England, and Rachel Daly on her side, Sarina Wiegman still has a quality squad to lead her team to being World Champions.
However, there is one thing the Dutch coach must address in order to get the most out of her players. Wiegman needs to know which defensive unit she’ll rely on, because without Leah Williamson and doubts about Millie Bright’s fitness, there could be a lot of changes in the Lionesses defensive unit, which could turn out to be weaknesses due to a lack of rapport in the new defensive formation unleashed.
Jonas Eidevall has spoken at length in the Guardian about what we can expect from the Lionesses. Other than speaking of their strengths, he noted why the defence could determine England’s World Cup campaign, saying, “What they need to get right before the tournament is defensive organisation and building relationships between the new back four, really getting that to work as a unit because that is what will be tested against the top teams in the later stages of the tournament.
“Williamson’s ability playing out from the back and her leadership qualities make her hard to replace. The team and the coach, Sarina Wiegman, have not had a lot of preparation playing without her in the backline. I would not necessarily describe the process of replacing Williamson as trial and error, but it is going to require time on the training pitch to work out how to deal with the captain’s absence.
“The status of Bright, who is working her way back from injury, is crucial. The question is whether Wiegman looks for the best possible partnership for Bright in anticipation of her playing, which would be the preferred option, or does she plan without her?”
We cannot deny that Wiegman is a tactical genius. I hope she gets her defensive unit right, and I hope Lotte Wubben-Moy is one of the solutions to help the Lionesses be rock solid and a nightmare for opposing forwards.
Michelle Maxwell
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