England facing up to new reality as Sarina Wiegman's key challenge identified

Daily Mirror

11 hours ago

European Championship holders England will begin their title defence against France on Saturday and manager Sarina Wiegman will be tasked with ensuring her squad is ready
England need to adapt to being the hunted rather than the hunters after their transformation under Sarina Wiegman, according to former Lionesses goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis. Wiegman's team go their Euro 2025 opener against France as one of the pre-tournament favourites, and with good reason.
Wiegman took England all the way in 2022, winning the Euros on home soil. One year later, at the World Cup, only Spain prevented the team from adding another major trophy to the cabinet.
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The situation has brought a new reality, and one to which Wiegman and her squad need to be accustomed. Even France - themselves one of the pre-tournament favourites - will recognise how big a deal it will be to get the better of the holders in Zurich on Saturday.
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"I think there's been a period of time where England have been the hunters, during my era, to have switched that to being the hunted," BBC commentator Brown-Finnis told Mirror Football. "The majority of teams would see it as a huge scalp to get something from a game against England nowadays, and certainly to beat England, and that includes the likes of France and the Netherlands.
"Based on rankings, based on tournament predictions, England - probably bar Spain - go into it as favourites. Yes they are holders of the title and that is a unique situation, but that will have been something that's been discussed over these past 12 months if not before with Sarina Wiegman, knowing what was coming in the future."
England finished a point behind France in qualifying, but the two teams exchanged wins during qualifying. Both will start afresh in Zurich, though, and England will do so off the back of a 7-0 win over Jamaica in their final warm-up game, and Brown-Finnis believes Wiegman's squad will be well aware of what's required of them after losing some senior stars in the lead-up to the tournament.
"Like anything, if a new situation is discussed, it's almost put to rest, how you're going to feel," she added. "You've been through it with your brain, you've explored those emotions of how you feel, and I think Sarina Wiegman and the staff are very accomplished at pre-empting pressure, pre-empting scenarios and situations, and they'll have run through those situations.
"They'll have talked about them, they'll have mentally been able to put players in that place so that when it comes to matchday one against France, they'll have already been there and done it in their minds. And so it takes a percentage of the edge off, [takes the] additional thought process or pressure out of it.
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"And I think that's a huge step and a huge change in our psyche as England women's players, and that has come with the success that's underneath. But it's been in the ascendancy pre-Sarina Wiegman. Getting to semi-finals and then finally getting to a European Championship final and winning it.
"Yes of course that's a new situation, but not for her. because she's been there and done it with the Netherlands and knows what it feels like to be the hunted, knows what it feels like to go and be the team that everybody wants to beat. So I think if we have any manager who's capable of helping the players deal with that situation we have the best one in the world."
Women's Euro 2025 is on the BBC with matches available to watch live on BBC One, Two & iPlayer, or listen to on BBC Radio 5 Live & Sounds.