Monday, December 23, 2024

England vs South Africa: Lionesses will ‘make changes’, says Wiegman

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England manager Sarina Wiegman will make changes to the team for Tuesday’s friendly against South Africa.

The Lionesses, who are preparing to defend their European crown at next summer’s tournament, lost 4-3 against Germany at Wembley on Friday.

Wiegman said there will be “different faces” in the side as England look to bounce back in Coventry (19:45 GMT kick-off).

“I’m not going to tell you [who], but you will see changes. We want to try out things to see players, different connections and also to manage the minutes too,” said Wiegman.

There was criticism of Wiegman’s team selection on Friday as England conceded four goals for the first time under the Dutch manager.

However, she said it was a valuable test against Germany that is part of their “plans” to perform at their best at Euro 2025.

As well as friendlies against the United States and Switzerland in November and December respectively, England have Women’s Nations League matches next year.

“What we do is we plan for 2 July [when Euro 2025 begins]. We have to be ready. We have five camps and we want to develop towards our ideal picture,” said Wiegman.

“That’s on pitch, that’s off pitch. Togetherness is really important to us because we believe if you know each other better you play better.

“We get information from these four games, from our players and conversations with them – then we adapt.”

The Lionesses have a fully fit squad, with midfielder Fran Kirby and defender Lotte Wubben-Moy in training having missed Friday’s defeat.

South Africa will pose a different threat to England and they are relatively unknown, with Wiegman’s side used to playing European opposition.

“That’s what we want, different styles of play against us,” she added.

“Of course, it will be a little different from the Euros but later on in our journey, towards the World Cup, I think this is great to play a team like South Africa.

“That will be another learning moment for us. How do we approach that? Can we dictate the game?

“Can we be calm on the ball playing forward, staying out of the duels and of course taking their counter attacks with the speed they have up front?”

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