Lionesses approach Euro 2025 defence with more questions than answers | OneFootball

How do you prepare to scale Everest three years after reaching the summit? You are a different person, your guide may have changed, your equipment may be different, and the route may be weathered, more hazardous and overcrowded. This time, luck may not be on your side.

There is no single answer as to why Sarina Wiegman’s England triumphed at Wembley in 2022. No easily replicable blueprint for ­success. There were so many variables that could have changed the course of the Euros victory, but everything came together, a perfectly balanced melting pot. Now, all those variables have changed: ­personnel, opposition, preparation.

Six months to the daybefore the Lionesses begin their defence of their European title, their first major ­tournament trophy, what condition are they in as they attempt to reach their highest of highs for a second time? It would be easy to say England are in a worse position but that would be naive to the changes that have taken place in European women’s football in that time.

Wiegman’s perfect start to life in England, in which her team went unbeaten in the run-up to the Euros, winning 12 of their 14 games, would be almost impossible to replicate. The one-year delay of the Euros due to Covid meant an easy run of World Cup qualifying fixtures lay ahead. They scored 80 goals and conceded none in games against North Macedonia, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, Austria and Latvia. Qualification provided the opportunity to rotate and experiment as Wiegman got to grips with the players at her disposal.

Sandwiched around those games were carefully selected friendlies to test them against higher-ranked opposition. However, the realignment of the tournament schedule and the introduction of the Nations League have fundamentally changed the landscape going into the 2025 Euros in Switzerland.

Between the 2023 World Cup and 2025 Euros, the Lionesses will have navigated two Nations League campaigns and a Euros qualifying push. Their group opposition in the inaugural Nations League comprised the Netherlands, Belgium and Scotland. Sweden, France and the Republic of Ireland were the opposition in Euro 2025 qualification. Their rivals in the next Nations League from February will be Portugal, Belgium and their World Cup final conquerors, Spain. With more top-level competitive fixtures in the calendar, the scope for perfect runs is much reduced.

That is the context needed when set against Wiegman’s unbeaten 2021, across six games, and 2022, across 20 games, the four defeats in 2023 across 19 games and two defeats sustained in 2024 in 12 games.

England have changed, too. Ellen White and Jill Scott have retired, Rachel Daly has stepped aside from international football too while a spate of injuries have hampered the team’s development, with Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead missing the 2023 World Cup.

Injuries are a worry once more. It is yet to be confirmed whether Alex Greenwood is ruled out of competing in Switzerland after undergoing medial collateral ligament surgery in December, but the likelihood of ­arguably the best centre-back in the Women’s Super League featuring is slim. Lauren Hemp, who had created the most chances and provided the most assists in the WSL before her injury, had similar ­surgery in November. Meanwhile, the ­influential Lauren James has not played for England since April, Ella Toone and Kirby are nursing calf injuries picked up in November and December ­respectively, and Chloe Kelly’s lack of game time is “a ­concern”, says Wiegman.

The ­manager seems to be ­struggling to find the balance of old and new. With more competitive fixtures between tournaments than ever before, blooding young talents and ­integrating them alongside the more established players is much harder.

Regardless of form, the manager tends to rely on players who have ­delivered for her in the past, while some of her younger charges shine domestically. They are getting some minutes, but not necessarily against the opposition that prepare them for what is to come in the summer. This was demonstrated by the differently weighted starting XIs for the recent friendlies against the USA and Switzerland.

Has Wiegman’s strategy been ­correct in sticking with more ­experienced players whose form has been a little off? Is it remiss to dismiss the impact that being selected and starting can have on helping players rediscover their form? Time will tell.

Wiegman has gained plenty of respect with back-to-back European titles and World Cup silver medals and, while it’s right to ask the ­questions, it would be wrong to assume or imply too much at this stage.

The future is bright, though. Few national teams have the talent England do at their disposal. Aggie Beever-Jones, Jess Naz, Maya Le Tissier, Grace Clinton and Jess Park are ­contenders to break into England’s starting XI. Opportunities for those players to shine between now and July will hopefully be provided. What better way than to prepare Clinton, say, for the Euros than to play her against Spain at Wembley in the Nations League?

Again, there is a balance to be struck. What system best fits the available personnel? How do England balance keeping their position in the Nations League, pushing on to ­winning it? And what does that mean for their Euro 2025 ambitions? The answers will determine which players we see and in which ­formation. The road to the title defence is full of new ­obstacles, but it’s going to be an ­exciting ride.

Header image: [Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP]