Six problems England boss Sarina Wiegman needs to solve as the Lionesses kick-off 2024 with Austria and Italy friendlies

It was a bit of a surprise earlier this month to hear Wiegman say that Leah Williamson, appointed captain by the coach before the European Championship in 2022, would not automatically get the armband back on her England return. "I have to talk to the players first about that, so we'll come in, and it's also a new moment, we start again," she said. "We'll probably revisit that and have a conversation first with the group."

It's unclear whether Wiegman said this simply to pay respect to those that have stepped up in Williamson's absence or because she is considering a new leader or leadership system due to the impressive showings by other captains. The United States women's national team, for example, appoints co-captains and shares the armband around that leadership group.

Either way, the decision will not be made in this camp. Williamson was due to make her comeback for the Lionesses this week, having not played for her country for 10 months because of an ACL rupture, but she has since had to pull out with a minor hamstring issue. That does give Wiegman more time to assess the situation and what her options are before the Arsenal star's likely return in April.

On the pitch, one of the main things Wiegman needs to make a decision on is what to do with the 3-5-2 formation that got England to the World Cup final. The coach switched systems after two group games in Australia and the players adapted well, with new-found freedom and the surprise element of it all certainly helping, too.

However, when it has been used post-World Cup, it has been rather flawed. Opponents know that England have this up their sleeve now, and they know where the holes in it are. But it's a set-up that really unlocked the Lionesses' attacking potential Down Under and made them look more solid at the back. It gets more out of certain players, too.

This window, with two friendlies lined up, is a great chance to really drill home the finer details of the 3-5-2 and put them into practice in a game situation. England won't have any more friendlies in 2024, either, so this is their only opportunity this year to give it a go in a non-competitive setting. If Wiegman wants to improve her team's understanding of the formation, now is surely the time for it.

No position in this England team has more questions around it than that of centre-forward. There are two natural options for the role in the Lionesses' February squad in Alessia Russo and Rachel Daly, but Wiegman opted for someone else entirely, that being Lauren Hemp, to start up front in December's crucial Nations League games, even though both Russo and Daly were also called up. It's an illustration of how Wiegman hasn't quite got the best out of either as a starter on a consistent basis quite yet.

Daly's talents certainly haven't been maximised, with her deployed more often as a full-back or a wing-back as opposed to a striker, despite her scoring at a goal-per-game rate to clinch the WSL's Golden Boot last season. On the rare occasion that she's played as a centre forward, it's clear that Daly lacks connections with the players around her because of the few opportunities she's had to build that chemistry.

Russo, meanwhile, excelled as a super-sub as England won the Euros, but she has thus far failed to translate that form into her role as a starter, though she showed glimpses of being able to do so as part of a front two in the World Cup.

Having different options is not a bad thing, but there is a lack of consistency in the No.9 position and it's probably played a role in the lack of cohesion in England's attack. It’s something Wiegman needs to figure out.

And that is another problem. On too many occasions in the past six months, and even going back to the World Cup, the Lionesses' attack has just not looked potent enough. That's a ridiculous thing to say when you consider the options available - Hemp, Russo, Daly, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead - but it's true. Given there have been several instances in that time period where an inability to take their chances has cost England, creating plenty of them is even more important.

When the Lionesses won the Euros, Wiegman didn't change her starting XI once. There was some frustration about this, and there has been frustration since about a lack of rotation, but what that consistency does is allow players to build up relationships, and that understanding makes the attack more dangerous.

Given all the players Wiegman has at her disposal right now, it would probably be counter-productive to stick with the same 11 all the time. If we look at it in the 4-3-3 formation, Kelly, Mead and Hemp are vying for the wide spots, Russo and Daly are bidding to lead the line, while Ella Toone, James, Fran Kirby, Jess Park and Grace Clinton battle for the No.10 role - with the latter quartet all capable of picking up different positions in the attack, too. There is a lot of talent there.

If Wiegman can figure out who of those work best together and, in turn, make up England's strongest attacking combinations, she can make sure that the team always has a couple of these connections to tap into on the pitch and are thus more fluid than they have been recently.

And that feeds into the problem regarding a lack of super-subs, too. The impact from the bench was title-winning at the Euros, but with Russo, Kelly and Toone all now more integrated into the starting XI, no one has really stepped up to replace them in those 'finisher' roles.

The players who have been coming from the bench in that time are good players, too, so one question that has been asked is something that feeds into the above: Is Wiegman getting the combinations right with who she brings off, who she brings on and who that new player is joining on the pitch?

There is also the nuance that some players are better suited to making an impact from the bench than others. Russo was excellent at that at the start of her England career, so could she revive that role while someone else starts at centre-forward, for example? The issues in the No.9 role, figuring out who else starts in attack and who are the best options from the bench all feed into one another. Solve one and the others should be a little easier to fix, too.

One question prompted by external factors, meanwhile, is how Wiegman bloods the new players, those who could lead the next generation but need experience to help them get there. This February international break is the only one that England have this year that features friendlies, as the rest will contain competitive games in qualifying for the Euros in 2025. UEFA’s revamped qualification format means those matches will come against tougher opponents than usual, and the margin for error will be smaller, too, so there will be fewer opportunities for experimentation.

Park and Clinton have played their way into the attacking conversation, while Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan and Lotte Wubben-Moy are all hoping to try and get a look-in in defence. Khiara Keating, on the other hand, has the tough task of trying to get a go in goal ahead of Mary Earps. But how does the coach give them their chances to taste the big stage and possibly develop into key players?

For attacking players such as Park and Clinton, that is easier. It's much more common to bring them on from the bench to make an impact and they could well assume the super-sub roles that need to be filled. For the defensive players, though, friendlies like these are more likely to bring them chances to show what they can do. Could we see some of them get a run out in Marbella, then? And if not, how many opportunities are they realistically going to get in 2024? When and where Wiegman gives out those chances is something else for her to ponder.