‘Stick with the plan’ – Patience key for England, says Wiegman

England manager Sarina Wiegman says it is “very important” her team remain patient if the goals do not come quickly in their 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifier against Iceland on Saturday.

The Lionesses start as favourites for the match as they aim for a second successive qualifying win following their 6-1 victory over Ukraine on Tuesday.

All seven goals were scored in the second half of that match, with England not finding a breakthrough in Antalya until the 47th minute.

They will play in front of an expectant home crowd at a sold-out City Ground in Nottingham on Saturday (12:30 GMT) and Wiegman says it is crucial they stick to the plan as they did in midweek.

“It’s very important. That’s what we showed on Tuesday,” Wiegman told her media conference on Friday on the importance of trusting that the goals will come against Iceland.

“Of course we wanted to score goals in the first half and we did have some opportunities, but the team showed that we could do better.

“We stuck with the plan and everyone kept doing their tasks together. We didn’t start doing things on our own because that doesn’t help in those moments.

“We just stayed calm, kept doing our task and got some opportunity up front. In the moments where we lost the ball, we won it back so quickly as well. That says a lot about the mentality of my team.”

Wiegman, who has led England to successive European titles and the 2023 World Cup final, says the big match experience of the squad is key when they have a frustrating 45 minutes.

England struggled to break down Ukraine’s stubborn defence in the first half despite having 40 touches in the opposition box and 85% of the possession.

“It’s a bit to do with experience and a bit to do with the environment,” Dutchwoman Wiegman said.

“It is about managing the game too and that comes with a lot of experience. We have a good balance in the team with players who really know what to do in those moments.”

It was Alessia Russo who provided the breakthrough for England two minutes into the second half against Ukraine and the Arsenal striker – who plays as a number nine for the Lionesses rather than her more withdrawn role for her club – will likely be the woman tasked with doing the same versus Iceland.

Iceland were beaten 3-0 by Spain on Tuesday but frustrated the world champions until the 39th minute in Castellon.

“We knew we were dominating the ball, we wanted to be ruthless in the final third,” Russo told BBC 5 Live, speaking about the first half against Ukraine. “They also defended well, then the spaces opened up.

“Scoring early in the second half was important. It allowed us to play with more freedom so we want to use that ruthless edge going forward.

“As long as we are doing our job with our counter-pressure and creating the chances, that breeds confidence. If the goal comes in the first 10 minutes or last 10, that doesn’t matter. We know we can change games in a matter of moments.”

“They are a very strong team,” Wiegman said of Iceland. “They are very disciplined, very physical and very direct, with a lot of pace.

“We have seen some of their earlier performances, specifically against Spain. We think we will have the ball a lot but it will also be very hard to breakdown their defence.”

Only the winner of Group A3 will qualify directly for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and it has been widely billed as a battle between European champions England and world champions Spain for that place.

But Wiegman flatly refused to underestimate Iceland, who have qualified for the last five European Championships but have never made a Women’s World Cup finals.

“We aren’t talking about Spain at all at the moment – we are only talking about Iceland,” she said.

“We know it is going to be a very tough game tomorrow. They are tough to beat and we will have to be at our top level.”

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