Sarina Wiegman said there were huge differences between the women's game in England and the Netherlands. Photo: Getty Images/Harriet Lander < p>When Sarina Wiegman left her post as head coach of the Netherlands in 2021, her rating could hardly have been higher. She led the Dutch to their first major women's trophy and first Women's World Cup final. Sound familiar?
Fast forward just two years and she accomplished the same two feats with England with striking similarity, and if possible, she now enjoys even greater recognition here as her first homecoming in role of the Lioness. the head coach arrives.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference on Monday in Utrecht, where she will face her former team for the first time in the Nations League, Wiegman admits it is strange but also «very special» to face her former team on Dutch soil However, the 53-year-old won't be doing any favors for her old friends, adding: “If we don't play the Netherlands then of course I want them to do well, but tomorrow we play against them and we want to win the game. I can turn it off, I have to, it's my job. I want the Netherlands to be the best, but we want to be first in the league.»
Utrecht's Galgenwaard stadium, the venue for Tuesday's match, was the scene of the Netherlands' first victory of their Euro 2017 campaign. against Norway, which Wiegman's old team won 1-0, and she remembers seeing «tons of people in orange.» When asked what it was like to be back, she replied: “It’s very nice! This is also a little strange.
Under Wiegman's leadership, the Netherlands became European champions in 2017 and reached the final of the 2019 World Cup. Photo: Shutterstock/Hollandse Hoogte
“Being here is something special. Of course, we know each other very well. I know most of the staff and players. When we came here, [there were] some memories that came back. But we have a big game tomorrow, so we need to focus on that.”
Wigman has a full squad of players and welcomed Arsenal's Alessia Russo back into contention after resting the striker extra last week given Russo's quick return to the club following the World Cup final.
< The Lionesses, who beat Scotland 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on Friday, will take on a Dutch side who unexpectedly lost 2-1 away to Belgium in their Nations League Group A1 opener, ahead of only the eventual group winners. to the February final and will remain hopeful of also qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.The Netherlands, runners-up at the 2019 World Cup under Wiegman, reached the quarter-finals in Australia and New Zealand this summer before, like England, they were eventually beaten by Spain. But Wigman says the English women's game is currently far ahead.
Wigman is like Louis van Gaal — and could break into the men's game
“The big difference is that the women’s game has evolved a lot. In England everything is three times larger. The media attention is greater, the number of players we have, the league is completely professional,” Wiegman said. “Also, the FA is a much bigger association than the Dutch association: there are a lot of people involved in the women's game. We are a few steps ahead.”
England comfortably beat the Dutch in their only previous meeting, a friendly at Elland Road ahead of Euro 2022, and this is their first meeting. on Dutch soil since Wiegman swapped the Orange for the Lionesses.
However, Wiegman knows Tuesday's meeting will theoretically be the toughest of the campaign and she added: «The group Now, with the new set, it is very difficult to play in the Nations League, these are different opponents with different styles of play, of course, with different players.
“If you look at it theoretically, the Netherlands are, of course, the best opponent. but on Friday we saw Scotland do well too. Nothing is easy in this group, so we just prepare as best we can for each opponent.”
Свежие комментарии