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In an ideal world for England, by the time July 31 ticks around, the intricacies of this impressive 5-1 win against the Netherlands on Friday will be long forgotten. This brilliant result will be regarded as a fundamentally important lesson and confidence boost as part of their journey to a European Championships final on home turf.
Or alternatively, if England fall short in the Euros, then we’ll look back on this match as a cautionary tale in which they failed to recognise and solve some of the warning signs on show in the first half at Elland Road before England pulled away.
But ultimately, when you beat the reigning European champions 5-1 and showcase the brilliant depth within your squad, then you have justified your moniker as one of the pre-tournament favourites, especially when the competition is in your own back garden.
All in all, this was the perfect night for England manager Sarina Wiegman against her former side. The Lionesses got yet another win — extending Wiegman’s unbeaten run as England manager to 13 on the bounce since she took charge in September 2021 — in arguably their best performance yet. They showed the ruthlessness she called for pre-match in the second half. And they came through injury free to give themselves the perfect send-off ahead of their last warm-up match in Switzerland on Thursday before their tournament opener at Old Trafford on July 6.
Wiegman judged her substitutions perfectly and, after a shaky first half in which England struggled to play out from the back and through the Dutch high press, the introduction of Beth Mead at half time and the next batch of reinforcements on the hour mark swung this match in England’s favour.
“It was a tight game at the highest level,” Wiegman said post-match. “In the first half we had a hard time, and in the second half it went better. It was good we got behind for the first time and how we reacted from that and how we came back from not playing well.”
England headed into this match…
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Source : espn
