Sarina Wiegman expressed her disbelief as she addressed the devastated England team, who were gathered together upon learning that the Netherlands had secured a fourth goal against Belgium, eliminating them from the Nations League due to goal differential. This also ended their hopes of qualifying for the upcoming Olympic Games.
At the end of 90 minutes, England appeared to have secured a win with Lucy Bronze’s header in a 6-0 game against Scotland. However, the Netherlands quickly caught up in League A Group 1 with a 4-0 victory thanks to Damaris Egurrola’s goal in the 95th minute, just after England’s game had finished.
After the Netherlands scored their third goal in the 91st minute, Wiegman, who had been communicating the score to the team through Bronze, who was positioned closest to the dugout at right-back, encouraged them to continue attacking.
She stated, “I emphasized the need to score at this moment.” We were determined to score that goal regardless, as anything can happen in a game. However, they ended up scoring and we knew we had to act quickly since there was little time left. Our only option was to move forward and try for the goal. It was a great effort, but unfortunately, it was not enough to secure the win.
Team GB’s chances of qualifying for the Olympics were dashed when England was eliminated from the Nations League, leaving only the top two European teams and France as the host country to compete in Paris 2024. The remaining teams were arranged in a circular formation.
The manager expressed disappointment, stating that they had waited for a long time and believed they had achieved their goal, but ultimately fell short. They admitted feeling at a loss for words and could only express pride in their team’s efforts throughout the week. However, the outcome was not satisfactory and left them feeling greatly disappointed.
Did England’s players benefit from having a summer break and some necessary rest in a jam-packed schedule? Wiegman expressed that every player wants to participate in major tournaments, but the overall calendar must be taken into consideration.
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The athletes are not machines and they also require time to relax. This is quite obvious. But replacing a tournament? That seems a bit excessive, in my opinion.
Source: theguardian.com
