For all the gloom, absences could actually help England thrive at Women’s World Cup

The Guardian says The key to England’s success under Sarina Wiegman has been consistency but injuries are causing uncertainty, an unfamiliar feeling for the Lionesses. Entering the World Cup without some key players is a problem but they have plenty who know how to be successful to counteract the losses.

One player who has excelled under Wiegman is Keira Walsh. She is in Australia after a Champions League-winning campaign with Barcelona, so will be confident. As a deep-lying playmaker, she is crucial to England’s style and opponents know that. Walsh is a highly intelligent player who reads the game superbly and has been targeted recently because teams know if they stop her they give themselves a good chance of winning. Australia showed the blueprint in April by disarming Walsh and England struggled because of it, losing 2-0. Other teams will follow suit during the World Cup.

England under Wiegman play a possession style, meaning someone with Walsh’s qualities on the ball is vital to bring fluidity. Individuals have to get used to the connections between players and understand those relationships, which come by playing regularly, but because of the forced changes within the team these are not as strong. The players will want to have the confidence to understand each other’s movements and runs, so having Walsh operating effectively at the base will help speed up this process because she is so clever in what she does.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/jul/21/england-womens-world-cup-chances-lauren-james