Sarina Wiegman is looking for a response from her England players after the 4-0 defeat to Spain that left some of the Lionesses suffering from a sleepless night.
The defeat in Mallorca was not only the biggest in Wiegman’s tenure but also the worst for the Lionesses since 2009 and one that has left World Cup qualification out of their hands.
England go into Tuesday’s game against Ukraine knowing that they need to better Spain’s result against Iceland to earn automatic qualification for next year’s tournament in Brazil, or they will have to qualify via a two-legged play-off.
However, Wiegman is more focused on her players atoning for their poor performance against the world champions than trying to better Spain’s result.
“Of course it was a difficult Friday night that hurt. But we’ve moved on too because we have another game [on Tuesday]. There was good energy in the team, the team stuck together and we really want to show that.
“We sat on the pitch straight after the game and said, ‘okay, this one is really hard to take’. It felt like a hit on the chin.
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Sky Sports reporter Anton Toloui gives the verdict on England’s 4-0 thrashing against Spain and what’s next if they don’t secure automatic qualification to the 2027 World Cup.
“It’s really easy when things go well that everyone sticks together and we have conversations. But at moments when you’re having a setback like this, then we really see who we are.
“You can’t always control everything. We wanted to control more last Friday, definitely. We want to get control of the game tomorrow also. But how are you going to make sure that it’s never going to happen?
“You’re not going to be sure. You want to make the chance as high as possible to improve your style of play, and to get your game plan right and execute it. And that’s what we always want to do.”
Wiegman doesn’t want her players to be distracted by the events in Spain’s game with Iceland
Wiegman confirmed there will be a member of her staff watching Spain’s game against Iceland, which kicks off at the same time as the match at Hill Dickinson Stadium, but said no information will be passed onto her players.
“We have someone there, so we will know,” she added. “We’re not planning on sharing that with players. We know what to do. We have to win this game and that’s what we’re going after. But for us [the staff], of course, we want to be updated.”
Hemp: Spain defeat left Lionesses suffering sleepless night
Lauren Hemp said that she and some of her team-mates ‘struggled to sleep’ following the defeat to Spain
The manner of defeat is uncharted territory for much of the England squad and Lauren Hemp revealed she and other members of the squad couldn’t sleep after the humiliation in Mallorca.
“The best thing that we’ve done this week is continue to be positive and upbeat because the last thing we want is everyone to be flat going into a game like we’re going into [against Ukraine],” Hemp said.
“We’ve all stuck around each other and lifted each other up. That first night, it was very hard for me to get some sleep and for the rest of the girls.
“As soon as we review the game, it’s then important to look forward on to the next.
“We didn’t play how we wanted to. We didn’t execute the game plan like we should have. For us as players, the thing we love doing is getting back out on the pitch and improving ourselves as a group.”
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