Manchester – The real deal came at Old Trafford, which was sold after training.
With all the preparations, changes in strategy and discussions on how to respond to the pressure of the situation, facing a record crowd this summer in the career of England-led Sarina Wigman was a definite test today. The inauguration took place. European Championships of 68,871. , And thanks to Beth Mead’s 16th minute winner, he passed his first Test with a 1-0 victory, but he will know where he needs to improve.
They weren’t perfect, but they don’t have to be early matches – they rarely do the right thing for the champion-chosen one. The Euro 2022 trophy won’t be won tonight, but losing points or getting hurt could be a big blow to aspirations. Grateful for the departure, his team failed miserably and threw Austria into the bay and scored a full three points. But Wiegmann will scrutinize the second half – dominated by Austria, England have lost clear chances even though the players are open and have failed to find the passing legs.
But the Test could wait until the morning as England needed the win not only to stabilize their nerves but also to keep hope alive.
“I’ve been to some big tournaments and you’re getting those points on all the drill boards,” Georgia Stanway said. “We did not live up to the standards we wanted to be. We breathed a sigh of relief when the final whistle blew – but we got points on the board. “
This victory proved once again how effective Wigman is in his choices, the skill to make changes at the right time and the mindset of a champion. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t surprised by the stranger.
For all orders, Wigman made a late change to England’s defensive center and went against the outfield in his first 14 games. After more use of his favorite center-back partnership of Miley Bright and Alex Greenwood with Leah Williamson in midfield, she canceled it for her biggest game to date. She took Williamson back with Bright, leading Stanway to a midfield pivot with partner Keira Walsh. At number 10, she worked with Fran Kirby as England’s playmaking lynching pin.
England’s players and Vigman often talk about the pressure, but the pre-match selection gave a bold call to one of the two possibilities against the team against which she was making a mistake. Wigman was either trying to use a) champion mentality that he was too eager to enter the FA or b) cloud pressure a sign of past clarity. But, of course, the call turned out to be ex.
When the players came out at the beginning of the match, they were greeted by white and red walls. At Manchester United’s home, no rules were absent – the sound of the Liverpool song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was heard at various stages from television commercials – but tonight was a lion’s share. First page.
You may have forgiven some players for being annoyed by the noise – it was something you repeated and would not have prepared you with any preparation. But the original goal was to make this winning start with a huge amount of opportunity. He appointed Vigman to win the competition and appealed for change and selection at the right time. Although she did not start a competitive match in February due to fatigue before the announcement, she included Kirby in the 23-man squad for the Euros as of today. Vigman’s lack of match practice was enough to keep former captain Steve Houghton apart, but he learned from Kirby that he would be a game changer if he had enough time to improve match fitness.
Both believed that Wigman would make another successful comeback once Kirby and Kirby lost their flexibility. With his help, Mead broke the England opener – a well-organized effort when he lost to runner-up Manuel Zinsberger – and again Lauren Hemp had a pass that went to give Ellen White a wide header. In the second half, Kirby defended Austria with a completely wet ball to Lucy Bronze.
While Kirby was dominant in the No. 10 role, a call-up in the middle of Williamson allowed Wigman to take on the roles of Stanway and Walsh, and the former – who will be at Bayern Munich next term – played a key role. Intervention in the Austrian attack. Stanway stayed close to the dangerous Laura Fiersinger and excelled in that seated role and played a key role in England’s transitional game.
While he was looking to win the ball back, Mead returned several times as the third central midfielder on Stanway’s side, while Walsh was working with Hemp on the other side. When they reached the center of the pitch, Bronze and Rachel Daly kept a close eye on the parts that allowed England to squeeze the ball out of Austria, run down the roadblock and then Stanway pulled the ball out and confronted Bright. , Hitting your teammates with those perfectly weighted cross-field balls. Stanway was England’s best player.
At the front, England’s top four players – White, Mead, Hemp and Kirby – performed well and their move to play against them must have been a nightmare, with Mead and Hemp turning the flanks and Kirby scoring with a ball or divider. This was White’s first debut for England since signing back in mid-June due to Covid-19, which forced him to miss friendly matches against the Netherlands and Switzerland. But even if she fails to break her record, her ability to keep defenders away and make room for her teammates is invaluable. He scored close to half in the first half to give him a half chance.
White’s disappointment was indicative of this performance, and Vigman would like to improve in one of these areas. England managers often talk about the need for ruthlessness and think that England should score the first goal in the second half to quell Austrian optimism. From time to time White got a place in the box, but lacked a pass. England’s opportunities did not come from personal skill and deception rather than structure.
England also looked a bit shaky in the opening exchange – reminiscent of a friendly match against the Netherlands a fortnight ago – where England had a habit of putting pressure on themselves but their line was not being cleared. But when he needed a half-time reset to reconsider his ability to play back against the Netherlands, and here he adapted early to manage the Austrian threat.
“I think we were in a bit of a hurry in the last third,” Vigman said. “We created a lot of chances but the final touch to the ball, or shoot or cross – we can do it better. I think we lost the ball too early. We didn’t put the ball enough and then it looks like that. As they departed. He calms down. ,
The English side also looked insecure for the cross – at one point the head was scrambling to clear under its own crossbar – when Austria picked up the ball for the third time, Vigman sometimes put more pressure on England. And in the 76th minute, Mary Irps made a big save to stop Barbara Dunst’s curling attempt. The latter was dominated by Austria, but the change in the hour mark caused the Austrian invasion to fail. Chloe Kelly offered a valuable outlet to ease the pressure and her wide shot turned out to be perhaps the best opportunity for England.
The full-time whistle “Sweet Caroline” went off at Old Trafford. But the festivities are quiet – a scene of relaxation, but you can also imagine areas of lessons learned and improvements.
Yet as the early days went on, England needed just as much. As soon as the game starts from here, the target on his back will be bigger, but this was the first difficult test. The key is to win it and take it to England, to give them a platform from the opening night, but now they have to make it happen.