It’s late June and England’s Lionesses are talking to the press in the traditional whole-squad media day that takes place before each major tournament. As a handful of journalists huddle around Georgia Stanway, there are a lot of questions about Germany, the midfielder having just won the Bundesliga title in her first season with Bayern Munich.
But when one journalist asks if England head coach Sarina Wiegman might tap into her expertise should the two nations meet in the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup, Stanway is dismissive.
“To be fair, Sarina probably knows everything already,” she says. “She probably knows more than me. She’s a genius that way.” It’s a response that sums up the way the Dutchwoman is viewed by the players she is taking to Australia.
There are a lot of fantastic coaches at this tournament but Wiegman, three times named the Best FIFA Women's Coach, is right up there – and there are a lot of reasons why that is the case.
