Advertisement
Soccer
England will not settle for a draw in crucial Spain qualifier – Sarina Wiegman
England boss Sarina Wiegman insists the Lionesses will play to win despite knowing a point against Spain would book them a place at next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Wiegman’s side lead qualifying group A3 with a flawless record and sit three points clear of World Cup holders Spain ahead of their meeting in Mallorca on Friday.
England just need a point in their penultimate group game to secure the lone direct World Cup berth and avoid the play-offs, but a Spain win would take the battle down to the final match.
“Of course (direct qualification) is what we want,” said Wiegman. “We’re in a good position, and we’re ready for tomorrow, and we just want to qualify as quick as possible.
“It’s a hard group, it’s a difficult game. We know what the consequences are, so no matter what happens we have another opportunity, but we go out there to play and win.”
Wiegman’s travelling squad are fully fit, though the Dutch boss will be without captain Leah Williamson, ruled out earlier in the week with a hamstring issue and replaced by Liverpool skipper Grace Fisk.
Chelsea attacker Lauren James was also able to settle back into training “very quickly” after picking up a small injury before the Blues beat Manchester United to lift the World Sevens trophy over the weekend.
Her club team-mate, defender Lucy Bronze, said the number of English holidaymakers in Mallorca had already made the Lionesses feel at home, and joked it did not take much to convince family and friends to fly to Palma to support her side.
Wiegman led England to a first World Cup final in 2023, when the tournament was hosted by Australia.
That loss to Spain only served as further fuel for what has become an entertaining rivalry between England and Friday’s hosts.
Bronze added: “I think they bring out the best in us. It’s one of those rivalries where we’ve made each other better over the years, which is good for the game and good for each other.
“The way Spain has improved over the last four or five years has really pushed this England team on to improve as well, and that kind of filters through to the rest of Europe and the rest of the world.
“The rest of Europe, all the teams are improving as well. It’s just a really good, fun rivalry that I think both teams absolutely love.”
