England wins the Finalissima, and Sarina Wiegman gets some much-needed answers. There’s no question which will be more important ahead of the World Cup, but as Chloe Kelly wheeled away following her latest Wembley moment it was almost as if the Lionesses were back at the Euros again.
The game at Wembley
England’s opener, scored by Ella Toone midway through the first half proved why that is the case. It was a wonderfully crafted goal, created by an incisive exchange of passes between Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway.
It came after a period of possession that pinned Brazil into their box, built from back to front, and at that moment England looked a class above the South American champions. But it did not last: they were often careless, frequently caught out, and eventually Brazil punished them in a far more even second half.
Brazil let England have the ball but they frequently gave it straight back. The Lionesses were sloppy from the start, lacking rhythm, and it offered them some fleeting moments of threat. But then England clicked. It wasn’t an instant click, as the final movements of the Toone goal may have suggested, but it was rather a collective awakening from the European champions, a realization that everything needed to be sharper, neater, and quicker.
It was a joy while it lasted and Brazil, even with this obdurate back five, couldn’t keep up. Even with the impressive Rafaelle marshaling, and the midfielders Kerolin and Ary shuttling obediently, once England found their gear it left Brazil’s defensive discipline in the dust.
England’s not-so-perfect Brazil fail to capitalize
England’s entire structure allowed Bronze with space to bomb forward as the excellent Lauren James occupied defenders with her movement inside. The right-back combined wonderfully with Stanway to set up Toone and at that moment England looked a class above.
But the breakthrough eventually led to a change of approach from Brazil. England’s play remained sloppy and the Lionesses continued to be caught in possession. It beckoned the South American champions to take confidence and as the intensity of their press sharpened,
Brazil had three clear opportunities to level. Geyse, the Barcelona forward, was at the center of the danger, first beating Jess Carter to set up a chance for Ary before forcing Earps to tip onto her crossbar, with the ball just about bouncing out of play.
Concerns ahead
England was far from perfect against Germany in the Euros final, either, but won. England showed impressive mental strength to win the shootout, particularly Mary Earps – who spilled for Brazil’s equalizer but bailed the Lionesses out of trouble with a key save to deny Tamires in the shoot-out.
This is a team that is now unbeaten in 30 games under Wiegman and has collected four trophies now during that spell. Ahead of the World Cup, the ability to win knockout football even when not playing at their best is a quality that teams spend years trying to create.
Wiegman will ensure the scenes at the end do not cover up the fact that England will need to be better. The England manager predicted her team would be challenged more defensively in the first of two games against top-10 opposition, and they were – just not from the start.
The Lionesses had more than 80 percent of the possession at half-time as Brazil true to the word of their experienced head coach Pia Sundhage, set up a compact and organized system that negated the country’s traditional flair for the defensive stability typically associated with Sundhage’s native Sweden.
