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Ameé Ruszkai

Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses puzzle: England boss struggling to find balance between defence and attack as Euros edge closer

After conceding four to Germany in October, the European champions kept a clean sheet against the United States - albeit without looking like scoring

The Lionesses' last two fixtures at Wembley might have only been a month or so apart and yet, they could not have been more different. In the first, against Germany, England's defence looked abysmal, though the attack showed some bright moments in a chaotic 4-3 defeat. The second, played aganist the United States on Saturday, was the total opposite, with defensive solidity on show in spades while very little happened up the other end in a goalless draw.

The contrast is telling, representing the imbalance that Sarina Wiegman is trying to resolve as the 2025 European Championships, at which the Lionesses will be the defending champions, loom.

In Germany and the U.S, their last two opponents at the home of English football have been of the highest level, both sides who won Olympic medals at the Games' women's football tournament earlier this year. Going up against opposition of such calibre is always going to highlight shortcomings more, thus helping Wiegman to learn just what she, her staff and her players need to work on before the Euros next summer.

Against Germany, she learned important things about her defence which helped inform the changes made for the visit of the U.S, thus leading to a valuable clean sheet and a much improved performance at the back. However, that came at the expense of any attacking threat, meaning England never really looked like they would win the game. Striking that balance between these two big games is Wiegman's next task.

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    Winning combination

    At Euro 2022, England certainly had that balance. With 22 goals scored across six games, and only two conceded, there was no one factor that drove the Lionesses to success, but rather many - including the cohesion in the line-up, the fact the attack was firing on all cylinders, the impact of the substitutes and how the defence stood up tall.

    As the next Euros near, it's hard not to compare the team that won it last time around with the one that will go to Switzerland to defend that title. Are they in good shape to put up a strong fight to keep hold of the trophy? Eight months out, it certainly feels like there are several questions that need to be answered beforehand.

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    New challenges

    It's a different position to what England were in 12 months after Euro 2022, when they flew to Australia for the World Cup. Despite the retirements of Ellen White and Jill Scott, plus injuries to Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and Leah Williamson, the Lionesses were able to continue to ride that wave that took them to European glory, going into the tournament having lost just once in Wiegman's reign.

    Once there, they had to overcome some problems, with issues in defence and attack evident in 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark. But they did exactly that, Wiegman revealing a new formation that solved many of the concerns and helped England reach the final, which was a huge achievement given some of the absentees and the fact the team never really hit full stride.

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    Problems to solve

    However, in 16 months since losing to Spain in the final in Sydney, more issues have cropped up. Some of them are what could be classed as 'good problems', such as the competition for the No.10 role that no one has quite nailed down, or the battle to start in defence which is a consequence of real depth at centre-back.

    Others, though, are less so, like the question of how to get more out of Alessia Russo in attack and the enduring lack of a natural left-back. It's still not particularly clear who England's go-to impact subs are at the moment either, and hasn't been since Euro 2022.

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    Defensive improvements

    On Saturday, Wiegman experimented a little more, presenting some potential solutions to some of these problems. There were the interchangeable roles that Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter played on the left of the defence, which allowed the former to have a little more influence in possession with her wand of a left foot. Given the rest of the back four was right-footed, it gave England more balance, too.

    Another result of this was the clean sheet. Yes, the U.S. were without their first-choice front line, after all of Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson sat this camp out, but there were still positives in how England kept the Olympic champions, who still put out a strong XI, quiet.

    It's fair to be sceptical about this being the Lionesses' back four next summer, even if Wiegman said after the game, when discussing this change, "it’s about what’s best for us to do when we go further towards the Euros". Greenwood has regularly been benched in favour of Millie Bright, who was a substitute this time, and Niamh Charles, currently injured, has been Wiegman's first-choice left-back when fit. It'll be interesting to see if this quartet starts together regularly in the Nations League in the New Year.

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    Attacking limitations

    The flip side was a lack of attacking threat. England had just one shot on target all game, that a comfortable save for Alyssa Naeher from a tame Williamson header, and registered their lowest expected goals statistic of Wiegman's tenure.

    That wasn't for a lack of effort on the manager's side. She tried different things, starting Jess Naz on the right and switching Mead to the left. Yet, while both honoured their defensive duties well to contribute to that clean sheet, neither really troubled the U.S. back line. There were also tweaks to the shape out of formation and little differences in the press as England prodded and probed at Emma Hayes' side, but never really caused them great concern.

    "We wanted to try out a couple of things over four games and while you're also trying out these things, you get information while you adapt maybe a bit," Wiegman said afterwards. "I thought this formation was the best against the USA today and I also think that at moments when the team is really dynamic and changes shape in the game, in the dynamics, then that can solve some problems too."

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    Proof in the pudding

    For now, these little bits of experimentation are interesting to take note of but, in the bigger picture, no one will know just how impactful or game-changing they might prove to be until the end of Euro 2025.

    That's especially the case when considering the personnel England have been without both in this window and in the October one, when they were beaten by Germany and then defeated South Africa. Across both camps, the likes of Lauren James, Lauren Hemp, Ella Toone and Charles have been among the Lionesses' most notable absentees, meaning Wiegman has not been able to field a full-strength team while tweaking these tactical elements. It is even more reason not to judge England too harshly yet.