Wiegman had a decent hand, managing two host nations and with excellent players to choose from, but neither the Netherlands nor England had won a women’s title before she took on the responsibility. Holland have slumped since leaving, while England’s transformation in a relatively short space of time has been remarkable considering how bleak things looked towards the end of Phil Neville’s tenure. How Wiegman triumphed can be seen in different ways. On the one hand, he has stuck more resolutely to Plan A than any manager in tournament history, naming the same lineup for six straight games. Mary Earps, Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright, Leah Williamson, Rachel Daly, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway, Fran Kirby, Beth Mead, Ellen White, Lauren Hemp. It is very unusual and almost unbelievable given that England’s third game was a dead rubber. On the other hand, she clearly had a late change of heart about the placement of her captain, Leah Williamson, who played as a box-to-box midfielder in one of England’s pre-tournament friendlies and then moved back to central midfield. defensive the tournament itself. A centre-back wearing No 8 seems wrong, but in Williamson’s case it tells a story. this wasn’t always Plan A. Sarina Wiegman celebrates with Rachel Daly, Lauren Hemp and Ellen White (Photo: Lindsey Parnaby/AFP via Getty Images) And Wiegman really won this game with the use of her bench. But then, even her bench usage was consistent. In the matches against Norway, Spain, Sweden and Germany, Wiegmann used the same five players as her (first) five substitutes. Alex Greenwood, Ella Toone, Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly and Jill Scott. Both goals in the final were scored by substitutes. The semi-final win over Sweden was made to look much more comfortable than it was because England had better strength in depth. The win over Spain in the quarter final was the best example. It wasn’t just that England had quality players in reserve, it was that Wiegman knew how to use them. Her decision to introduce Greenwood in place of Daly, dropping Bright forward and switching to three backs, worked in three ways. He shut down Spain’s most dangerous striker, Athenea del Castillo. He caused Spain’s defense problems because Bright is a useful target player. And then, after Toone’s equaliser, it allowed England to go back four. It’s hard to remember a previous England manager, women’s or men’s, being so capable of winning games regularly. In the two games that went to overtime, allowing her a sixth change, she twice inserted Nikita Parris for Hemp, presumably with penalties in mind. Only once, when Jess Carter made a cameo appearance in the Northern Ireland game, was there any variation on this approach. It means Demi Stokes, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Bethany England, as well as back-up goalkeepers Ellie Roebuck and Hannah Hampton, didn’t get a minute. That’s tough considering these players have been in a training camp for the better part of two months, with tighter restrictions on seeing friends and family than they first anticipated when Covid threatened to cause problems. It’s worth remembering that Roberto Mancini, Italy’s Euro 2020-winning coach, gave decisive minutes to almost everyone, even bringing on reserve goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu in the last minute of Italy’s final group game. But Wiegman couldn’t care less about it all – even with England’s dead rubber against Northern Ireland, plus games against Norway and Sweden where they cruised in the second half – her mindset was that it’s better to give playing time to players you may need as game-changing substitutes later on. Perhaps this has proved crucial. Were Toone and Kelly, the two goalscorers in the final, more prepared to make an impact as they were used as substitutes in all six games? Were they more attuned to those roles than if they had been given a start against Northern Ireland? Wiegman’s use of 4-3-3, with some elements of 4-2-3-1 at times, suited the England team very well. This is no accident. It’s worth remembering that when Hope Powell was England manager, she was also given overall responsibility for the youth teams. He got all the coaches at every age level to use a 4-3-3. “The theory was that players would find it simpler to move up to the next age level if they played in that system,” he later recalled. “I wanted players who were comfortable playing in a certain system, a pathway from under-17s, under-19s and under-23s to the senior teams. This is the type of long-term planning that is often lacking in English football, and it is notable that Powell cites the historic German, Dutch and Brazilian (men’s) sides as role models, rather than considering what England have traditionally done. It is no exaggeration to say that you can see that this generation of English strikers are 4-3-3 players. Kelly and Hemp are obviously proper wingers rather than wide midfielders. White and Russo know how to play up front alone. Despite both claiming a spot in Wiegman’s lineup, there was never any thought of it being a partnership. Chloe Kelly came on to score the Euro 22 winning goal (Photo: Julian Finney – The FA/The FA via Getty Images) Wiegman has said repeatedly throughout this tournament that she has a plan for every situation. This was shown by her calmness on earth and the cohesion of England after she made changes. It’s relatively rare to see a major tournament won by a foreign coach — in the history of the World Cup and European Championships, men’s and women’s, only Germany’s Otto Rehhagel has done it before, with Greece in 2004. And for all the talk about them Players inspiring the next generation of potential players – even the Queen got involved – what England really need is the manager inspiring the next generation of potential managers. In terms of both the women’s and men’s teams, England have a squad that few others can match, but they do not produce a number of good managers. Perhaps the legacy of England’s first successful foreign manager is that there is less reason to appoint another. (Top photo: Richard Sellers/Soccrates/Getty Images)
