What do England need to improve?

The Lionesses now have just over a year until Euro 2025. What needs to change?

There has been much discussion over the past few months about England’s development as a squad. The failure to qualify for the Nation’s League semi-finals and thus the Olympics prompted the general conclusion that the Lionesses have grown stagnant and tired. The first signs of that were on show at the World Cup where despite England reaching the final, it is fair to say the performances were not as sparkling as they had been 12 months earlier at the Euros.

England looked much better in their two friendly matches since missing out on the Olympics. They comfortably beat Austria 7-2 followed by Italy 5-1. To score 12 goals against two nations in the world top 20 is not bad going. Defensively there were still wobbles in both games - from set pieces against Austria and in transition against Litaly - but the Lionesses look far less goal shy.

So how much do England actually need to change?

They have not yet qualified for the European Championship in Switzerland but with the Nations League format, they stand a very strong chance. England will be seeded second in a League A group whereby the top two teams will automatically qualify for Euro 2025. There are certainly some potential banana-skins in the third seed pot, including Sweden and Norway, but even if England were to finish third, they would have a play-off match against a League C team. Top-seeded sides in that League include Slovenia, Greece, Belarus, Romania and Albania. Given all this, we can fairly safely look ahead to that tournament I think.

For all the interest in England developing, the starting XI for Euro 2025 feels quite predictable.

Providing there are no significant injuries, I suspect we will see this:

Seven of these players were in Wiegman’s set starting XI at Euro 2022, whilst two others played the super sub role. Only two - Niamh Charles and Lauren James - have properly broken into the team in the past two years.

The concern with this is that it has made England too predictable. It is a charge that has been levelled at Wiegman before, although her switch to a back three during the World Cup showed she can be versatile when required.

There were two positions that really did not work for England during the World Cup and that was their two wing/full backs, Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly. The Daly half of this has already been sorted. Niamh Charles’ progression has seen her become Chelsea’s starting left back and one of their best players this season. It has been relatively uncontroversial to see her repeatedly start at left back.

The Bronze portion of the problem is harder to solve. There is no obvious replacement for Bronze in that role, and Bronze’s pedigree means she is more firmly entrenched than Daly. Despite this, she was also one of England’s biggest liabilities at the World Cup, including being responsible for the goal that they conceded in the final. 

There is a possibility that someone makes a big leap forward in the next year or so, much like Charles did, but it is harder to see who. Maya Le Tissier has been used at right back by Wiegman but plays at centre back for her club Manchester United. Esme Morgan is more often used at right back by Manchester City but is played at centre back by Wiegman. Jess Carter could be an option and is clearly very trusted by Wiegman but she also is playing as a centre back for her club. It feels like there is a high chance that Bronze remains as England’s starting right back by the time we get to 2025.

Despite a couple of errors recently, I don’t see Mary Earps being unseated as England goalkeeper anytime soon. Equally any concerns about Alessia Russo’s goal scoring will be outweighed by her all-round ability. The fact that neither Daly nor Beth England are having a great season is helping her case. Nikita Parris may be on a hot streak in front of goal but her overall game is nowhere close to Russo’s level.

Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway are bankers in midfield and I suspect Lauren James will be first choice as the number 10. Grace Clinton started both matches in this international break and what she offers off the ball is clear consideration for Wiegman. James’ talent however is too high for her not to start.

Lauren Hemp is also obvious and the only tricky attacking choice is whether to start Beth Mead or Chloe Kelly on the right. Kelly is having an immense season but, a bit like Earps, Mead finds a different level when she plays for England. Either is obviously a very strong option.

Centre back is the area of the field that England have the most depth. All of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have first choice English centre back pairings whilst Manchester City have Alex Greenwood as a nailed on starter. That is seven English centre backs playing regularly when fit in the top four English teams. The development of Lotte Wubben-Moy and Jess Carter has caused an interesting problem for Wiegman because of the temptation to start a settled club duo, either Williamson/Wubben-Moy or Bright/Carter. However if Bright and Williamson do make it to Euro 2025 fully fit, I think we will see a reversion to the Euro 2022 pairing. 

In terms of current form, Greenwood and Wubben-Moy are probably the two best English centre backs, although both are playing on the left side. Wiegman did play Greenwood and Wubben-Moy together against Italy but it does feel like Wubben-Moy is sat behind Greenwood in the pecking order.

Given all this, what reinvention actually needs to happen for England? Bronze is the only player who probably should not be starting for England by 2025 but something needs to shift markedly with the options England have available in order to change that. Even at under 23 level, there are no obvious candidates there.

The area of England’s squad which is less clear are their super subs. In the heady summer of Euro 2022, the super subs were much focused on but it obscured how blunt England looked at points until they came on. All three of England’s knock out matches relied on their subs helping  get them across the line. Determining and developing that handful of players feels like the key task from here to next summer. 

Whichever one of Mead or Kelly who does not start will be an obvious first substitute. But the other two or even three are less clear. There are a number of good options for a substitute number 10. Obviously Ella Toone played that role at Euro 2022 and it is hard to argue against her record in international tournaments for England. But both Jess Park and Clinton will feel like they have the opportunity to grab those minutes. For Clinton, it is particularly fascinating as she will presumably be back at Manchester United competing with Toone in the 2024/25 season. 

Park and Clinton can both play out wide so perhaps their versatility will help them get the nod, with James also able to take on that role. Katie Robinson seems to have fallen down the pecking order significantly since going to the World Cup whilst if Aggie Beever-Jones continues to impress, she could also be an option out wide, particularly if Wiegman still feels like Lauren Hemp is an option through the middle. 

What really worked for England was having those changes nailed down, and that is the biggest development that needs to happen over the next year. At the World Cup, it was clear that Wiegman was not certain about how her starting XI developed over the course of a match, particularly after James’ red card meant that Toone had to start. Nowhere was that more obvious than the World Cup final where Daly and Russo were hooked at half time for Kelly and James in a demonstration that Wiegman felt like she had got it wrong but left England without a striker on the pitch.

Realistically, the key starting XI for England is relatively set. So developing the substitutes and finding clear roles for them is the most important decision for Wiegman to make over the next year.