Sarina Wiegman admits she doesn't know strongest England XI ahead of 2023 World Cup - 'Actually really exciting'
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Published 21/02/2023 at 17:27 GMT
During the 2022 Euros, Sarina Wiegman named the same starting XI for six consecutive games as she led England to success at Wembley. Now, however, the Lionesses manager has a selection headache with a number of players impressing of late. Not that Wiegman is panicking, though. "We don't really know the strongest XI at the moment but we don't need to know yet," she said.
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England boss Sarina Wiegman admits she is still unsure of her best starting XI ahead of the 2023 World Cup this summer.
Wiegman made nine changes to her team for the 2-1 victory over Italy in the Arnold Clark Cup on Sunday, as only Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter kept their place from the Lionesses side that started the 4-0 win over Korea Republic three days earlier.
It is a change in policy from the Dutch boss, who named the same XI for all six matches in the triumphant 2022 European Championships, which culminated in a 2-1 win over Germany in the final at Wembley.
Speaking ahead of the final Arnold Clark Cup fixture against Belgium on Thursday, Wiegman – whose side are undefeated in the 28 matches since her appointment – said: "It shows the team is really good and it's hard to make decisions.
"We don't really know the strongest XI at the moment but we don't need to know yet.
"I think the depth in the squad is growing.
“What you see now is that it's really hard to make decisions. We have such a big group that are able to play on that stage [at the World Cup].
"We have more than 11 players who could start in the team. It's not that they're not good enough to start, it's just technical choices we make.
"We don't have to make that decision now. But it's actually really exciting."
England top the round-robin competition's table with two wins, level on points with Belgium, making Wednesday's match – to be played in Bristol – a winner-takes-all encounter.
"We want to win the tournament,” Wiegman added, whilst expanding on the group that she is evaluating ahead of the World Cup.
“So far I'm very happy. In sport it's normal for new dynamics and changes. The depth in the squad is growing. There are more than 23 that are able to play at a World Cup stage.
"We have more than 11 players who can start. We want to know what our options are. I hope the [club] managers trust me to manage the players, that's my responsibility.
"We'll pick the best players for the World Cup. In your team you want balance with experience - not just age, playing in big games, playing in front of big crowds, that's also what we look at.
"What we do right now is to be ready for July. Every game we play we want to win. Whoever is on the pitch goes on the pitch to win the game."
After England U23s beat Belgium in a friendly on Monday, Wiegman was asked about the perceived lack of diversity at youth level.
"It cannot change overnight," she said.
"Over the last few weeks the Football Association launched an improved pathway which is really about performance, inclusivity, diversity and accessibility.
"Hopefully in the future, I don't know how long that will take, we will get very good players and they will represent more the diversity of our community."
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