Carla Ward has rushed to the defence of England manager Sarina Wiegman, who has been criticised for her team’s drop in form since being crowned champions of Europe.
Rightly or wrongly, the Lionesses have come under fire since their historic Euros win two years ago, after failing to qualify for this summer’s Olympics and narrowly securing a spot in next year’s European tournament.
To add insult to injury, their first international break this season didn’t go exactly to plan. England lost 4-3 to Germany under the lights at Wembley Stadium in October, leaving many to question their defensive capabilities, and a 2-1 win against South Africa a few days later in Coventry wasn’t enough to silence the critics.
However, ex-Aston Villa boss Ward is confident that the team is still “in a really good position” and blamed the media for piling pressure onto the Dutch manager.
She tells 90min: “It’s tough because when you achieve as much as Sarina did it’s difficult to continue to emulate that, without a pipeline and continuing turnover and bringing players through.
“I think the media probably puts more pressure on the situation. If I’m honest, let’s just think about where we were before Sarina came in and where we are now. Beforehand, we were lost, right? She’s managed to establish a nation’s love for the game and put our female players on the world stage.
“In my opinion, this is what we should be talking about – the impact that Sarina’s had, rather than what you would call a blip at the moment. This is normal in football and we are far too quick to criticise when things don’t go well.”
The Lionesses are getting ready for their next two international friendlies, which will see them return to Wembley Stadium to face the newly crowned Olympic champions – U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) – and Switzerland at Bramall Lane.
It’s going to be a special night…
Tickets are running out – make sure you get yours before it’s too late!
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) November 20, 2024
England will be without some of their most instrumental players due to injury, including Lauren Hemp, Maya Le Tissier, Ella Toone, Niamh Charles, Lauren James and Lucy Parker. The USWNT are also missing their triple-threat attacking line known as ‘Triple Espresso’, comprising of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith.
Ward, who spent time as a scout with the USWNT during the Olympic Games this summer, says she expects the clash to be “fascinating.”
“You’ve got England, who I think everyone will expect to win it, but this is a completely different USA team, they are a different beast,” she explains. “I keep hearing people say that England are missing a couple of players, but you also have to look at the quality that Emma [Hayes] has left at home and given rest to. It’s not an even playing field here – both nations are missing players.
“I think it’ll be close because we are not talking about two nations who are going to be at their very best. But from a mentality point, you have to say the USA are going to be slight favourites. They are on the bounce from an incredible start under Emma and there’s this crazy belief that they are able to beat anyone.
“And if you look at England’s last camp, then of course there’s going to be a slight dip in confidence. I think Lauren [Hemp] being out will be massive, you know how much of a threat she is.”
Despite Saturday’s game being branded a friendly, Ward was insistent that “no game is ever a friendly”, and that it’ll be “hugely competitive”. “There is no thing as a friendly, especially not between two of the biggest nations in the footballing world,” she laughs.
“I think it’s going to be a game with lots of quality and I think it’s going to be who handles the occasion better, because I don’t care what anybody says, this is probably the biggest game for both sides for quite some time.”
