England win the Finalissima – is the World Cup next?
The Independent says England win the Finalissima, and Sarina Wiegman gets a much-needed challenge. There’s no question which was 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. Victory over Brazil adds to wins against the United States and Germany here, and if it feels like the Lionesses are knocking off the continents, the world might be next.
But it very much depends on how you view this. As a one-off final, England won. They took charge from the start, scored an excellent goal when they were on top, but then rather escaped after allowing a spirited Brazil back into it. Indeed, as an examination ahead of the World Cup, there were some difficulties here after Brazil switched systems and pressed England, revealing some flaws and vulnerabilities that a match of this level may not have otherwise presented.
Wiegman was happy with that, though. “We were really challenged,” the England manager said. “That’s what we needed. It was a real game.” The Lionesses were pushed into errors and struggled with Brazil’s aggression, but that was what Wiegman wanted ahead of tests against the South American champions and Australia, two games against top-10 opposition. In the end, she saw resilience and an impressive response from her side in England’s first penalty shoot-out victory under Wiegman, which is another box ticked ahead of the World Cup.