Sarina Wiegman insists she is not thinking about Euro 2025 after watching England’s concerning form continue with a tepid 1-1 draw in Portugal.
Alessia Russo put England on course for victory in their Women’s Nations League opener, the Arsenal striker side-footing home from Lucy Bronze’s cross.
But the Lionesses’ standards dropped in the second half, when they only mustered an expected goals (xG) figure of 0.19, compared to 0.92 in the first 45 minutes.
Kika Nazareth finished an excellent Portugal move in the 75th minute, earning the hosts a deserved point to kickstart their Group A3 campaign.
England have now won just two of their last six games in all competitions, with the European champions approaching this year’s title defence in Switzerland in worrying form.
But Wiegman is not thinking that far ahead, telling ITV Sport: “I’m not thinking about the Euros.
“I’m just thinking about next Wednesday against Spain. It will be a tough game and we’ll try to win it.”
Reflecting on Friday’s performance, she added: “I’d hoped to come out with more. We played a very good first half but we could’ve got more goals.
“In the second half we had to adapt to their change in shape. They brought more players on up front and we were figuring that out.
“They scored a great goal but we could’ve done better there. Then we got the organisation better but couldn’t get another goal.”
It ends in a draw out in Portugal.#UWNL pic.twitter.com/20A6Cziz0C
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) February 21, 2025
Defender Millie Bright, meanwhile, lamented their failure to take their chances at 1-0 up.
“I think when it’s just 1-0 you keep a team in it, and the longer it stays 1-0 the more the opposition gets confidence and there are tired legs out there towards the end of the game,” she said.
“We definitely need to be more ruthless in front of goal and take our chances. As we know, the game is so competitive and I think we need to create a few more chances as well.”
The Lionesses are back in action on Wednesday, as they face Spain at Wembley Stadium in a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final.
La Roja claimed a stunning 3-2 victory over Belgium in their Nations League opener on Friday, having been 2-0 down with 77 minutes played.
Claudia Pina halved the arrears before stoppage-time goals from Lucia Garcia and Cristina Martin-Prieto – the latter’s strike coming in the 96th minute – handed Spain the points.
