What England need to do if they are to lift Euro crown
Sarina Wiegman’s side will attack down the wings and bring the ball out from the back – but have her players got the mental strength?
With sold-out stadiums for games such as the opener at Old Trafford – a new experience for the women’s game in this country – these England players are going to have to support each other more than ever before.
If England go one or two goals down after 15 minutes against, say, Germany, is the environment prepared for the reaction of a packed quarter-final crowd suddenly falling silent? That is not an experience we normally have in women’s football. A noisy crowd will be an unbelievable ride when things are going well but, as a manager, I want to see the team’s togetherness – digging themselves out of tough situations to win a tournament.
Under Sarina Wiegman, England have not suffered much yet. They had the easiest World Cup qualifying campaign you could imagine last season – and that is not going to help them. But winning the Arnold Clark Cup in February, ahead of top teams in Canada, Spain and Germany, was a significant moment for the group.
Whoever lifts the trophy will need lots of things to go their way in a six-match tournament. Last summer, at the men’s Euros, Italy were the best team but they could have been knocked out in the last 16 against Austria when they needed extra time, and over their campaign they had to win two penalty shoot-outs.
Champions have to be able to come through tough moments.
Outstanding talent on the wing and Greenwood’s key ball-playing
Manchester City winger Lauren Hemp is an unbelievable talent. She is going to light up this tournament. Just 21 years old and against old foes Germany, Hemp had 12 dribbles and all 12 were successful. What a player England have in her.
Another huge strength is Alex Greenwood’s playmaking ability from the back. In fact, Greenwood and Millie Bright progressed the ball further in distance than anyone else in the Women’s Super League last season. That is so important, that England have the two most progressive passers in the league. Those crossfield, diagonal balls, nobody does them better, and most of England’s play is going to involve getting it out to Hemp and Beth Mead or Chloe Kelly on the wings. That is our game.
So, are teams going to stop England’s centre-backs playing? Because if you stop that, how are England going to progress? That is when the role of Fran Kirby, linking midfield to attack, will be particularly crucial. If England’s long-ball game is not productive, Fran’s ability to link up play is key. Alternatively, will a team look to sit back in a block and let Greenwood control the game? That would be very dangerous.
England’s best weapon: recovering the ball
The single most impressive attribute in England’s game is our ability to press in the opponents’ half. We are simply outstanding, and create a lot of chances through this play. England’s ability as a team to nick the ball and create something is really high. When we beat Germany 3-1 in the Arnold Clark Cup at Molineux, we had 22 high-ball recoveries.
We have also started to limit the top teams to our lowest expected goals (xg) against stats for several years. In February’s 0-0 draw against Spain at Carrow Road, for example, Spain had an xg of 0.88, from 11 shots. That is woeful for a top team, which is credit to England.
I believe xg provides a good objective reference, and at Chelsea we use it every day. The numbers are encouraging if we look at the WSL last season: England and Arsenal forward Mead led the WSL in xg assists, and she created a league-high 64 chances over a 22-game season. Kirby and Mead were also first and second for key passes in the WSL.
Work to do: improving in possession
England are making progress in possession, although there is still work to do. In the last Euros, England averaged 45 per cent possession across the tournament, losing in the semi-finals, and had as little as 26 per cent possession against Spain – albeit that came despite a 2-0 win in the group phase.
Now, under Sarina, we average 28 shots per game and 68 per cent possession, except when we play against the top teams – then England’s possession drops to an average of 47 per cent.
It is worth remembering, though, that this England team have a young midfield. Compare us to the maturity in Sweden’s midfield of 37-year-old Caroline Seger and 32-year-old Kosovare Asllani, for example, or the profound collective experience of Spain’s Barcelona trio in midfield: Ballon d’or winning Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmati and Patricia Guijarro.
For England, that is an area that has improved recently but will get tested as we come up against the better teams.
The importance of set-pieces
On the plus side, with the amount of quality service England have got from set-pieces, and with the bodies we have got in the box, we can score more goals from them. That will be a crucial aspect for whichever team go on to win this tournament.
You have to be ruthless from set-plays. In Euro 2017, Germany topped their group without scoring from open play during the group phase. Almost exactly a third of goals scored at that tournament came from set-pieces, up from 27 per cent in 2013.
There was also a four-fold increase in the number of penalties scored in normal time – eight. Talented teams that are also well prepared for set-pieces and shoot-outs have a great chance of winning a tournament.