‘We want revenge on ourselves’: Wiegman tells England to prove point in Belgium | OneFootball

Sarina Wiegman says England want to “get revenge on ourselves” and prove they have made marked improvements since losing in Belgium a year and a half ago, when they return to the same stadium here on Tuesday.

The Lionesses were beaten 3-2 by Belgium on 31 October 2023 on their most recent visit to the King Power at Den Dreef Stadium, a result which badly damaged their attempt to qualify for last summer’s Olympics on behalf of Team GB.

It epitomised the somewhat sticky patch the injury‑hit European champions were in at the time, their performances dipping after they lost the 2023 World Cup final.

On Tuesday the England head coach, buoyed by a 5-0 win against Belgium in Bristol on Friday, wants her side to demonstrate how far they have progressed as the defence of their European title in July edges closer.

Wiegman said: “We didn’t play our best [in Leuven] and it was at the back of the World Cup so we were struggling with our levels a bit. How I see tomorrow is that we really want to kind of get revenge on ourselves. We want to show that we are better than we were then and we can do a lot better.

“The crowd are loud in Belgium. [Our opponents] will try to be very physical, really compact and I expect they might press higher and drop deeper. We are basically expecting everything. When we are at our best, I think it is a good game.”

England, not unlike in October 2023, have arrived without a string of key, senior players, including three who have sustained injuries over the past week. Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly are back at Arsenal for assessment and Lauren James has returned to Chelsea with a hamstring injury. Wiegman said it was too soon to say how long they would be out.

To bolster the attack Wiegman gave the 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang, on loan at Brighton from Arsenal, a first senior call-up and brought in the Tottenham winger Jessica Naz.

The left-back Niamh Charles said of Agyemang: “She’s so pacy, whether that’s coming to feet or in behind. As a full‑back playing against her, straight away I’d think: ‘You can’t switch off for a second because if you give her a yard, she’s gone.’ It’s that electricity and that pace; she can probably change a game in an instant.”

England remain without their longer-term absentees Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp, all with knee injuries. Wiegman, asked whether they may be back for the next international break at the end of May, replied: “I hope they’ll be back. I can’t give any timings. We just have a lot of hopes that they’ll be back and performing and healthy, and be able to train.”

Header image: [Photograph: Harriet Lander/The FA/Getty Images]