Graham Ruthven: The best is yet to come from England’s rampant Lionesses

NORWAY should have been worthy opponents for England. Their superstar frontline of Ada Hegerberg, Caroline Graham Hansen and Guro Reiten in particular were expected to give the Lionesses trouble, but it was the hosts that caused all the problems in an 8-0 victory. Statement wins don’t come more emphatic.

Everything went right for England. While they lacked cutting edge in their tournament opener against Austria, Sarina Wiegman’s team were rampant in the final third against Norway. The final scoreline didn’t flatter England as they produced a performance that ranks them alongside France and Germany as tournament frontrunners.

Wiegman moved her team 10 yards further up the pitch against Norway and this allowed England to play a more proactive game. Their high press was cohesive with the Norwegians forced into mistakes on the ball – see how Ellen White dispossessed Maria Thorisdottir to score England’s third goal.

Lucy Bronze was key to England’s game plan. She was given the freedom to carry the ball into the attacking third where Julie Blakstad was given the difficult decision of whether to close down the Barcelona right back or stand off. Either way, damage was caused – when Blakstad closed down, space was created in behind for Beth Mead to exploit and when she stood off, Bronze was allowed to continue to the edge of the box herself.

Mead is currently the tournament’s top scorer after netting four times in two games, but not even this illustrates the importance of the 27-year-old to England’s set-up as a team. In another side, White might be left somewhat isolated as a traditional attacking apex, but Mead filling so much space around her prevents this and links so many different parts of Wiegman’s team.

◎ 16 games◉ 18 goals◉ 11 assists

Beth Mead has 29 G+A in 16 games under Sarina Wiegman. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kCXvCtFvil

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) July 12, 2022

WOMEN’S EUROS 2022 GOLDEN BOOT

Defensively, England were rarely troubled as Millie Bright and Leah Williamson contained Hegerberg and Graham Hansen. Not only did the Lionesses win their individual battles, the structure of Wiegman’s system opened up a disconnect between Norway’s midfield and attack. England recognised the need to cut off the supply lines.

A quarter-final meeting with Spain would test England in a different way. Spain are a ball-dominant team and so the Lionesses would need to maintain their concentration should a last eight meeting materialised. Germany, who have started their tournament with impressive wins over Denmark and Spain, would also present a challenge – England haven’t always been the most press-resistant side under Wiegman.

The best tournament teams grow with every match they play and there were certainly signs that England learned lessons from the nervy opening night win over Austria. It wasn’t just that they took their chances, the Lionesses also created better opportunities. Their was greater clarity to their play. This intelligence could be the thing that separates England from the rest.

NORTHERN IRELAND v ENGLAND

Wiegman wants her England team to play at a high tempo with the Dutch coach known to use the term ‘quick-ball’ on the training pitch. Bright, Alex Greenwood and Williamson have been given the responsibility of playing out from the back and starting attacking moves from deep. This is designed to get the likes of Lauren Hemp, Mead and White into positions where they can threaten the goal.

Tougher tests await in the knockout rounds of the tournament with England already through to the quarter-finals where they will face either Denmark or Spain, but the Lionesses have made themselves the team to beat at Women’s Euro 2022. They have spent years building to this point where they have the talent, manager, structure and self-belief to win a major honour for the first time. The 8-0 win over Norway was an historic result, the biggest victory in Women’s Euro history, but it’s possible the best is still to come.