Karen Carney speaks exclusively to 90 minutes on why he believes England have what it takes to successfully defend their title at Euro 2025 next summer.
The Lionesses will travel to Switzerland next July hoping to create even more history after being crowned European champions for the first time at Wembley Stadium in 2022.
Sarina Wiegman had her last chance to test her talented options in Englandfrom the last international break, in which they drew 0-0 with the United States and beat Switzerland 1-0.
“I think in the game against the United States I was satisfied with our clean sheet,” Carney said. “After the last few games, I have spoken openly about our defensive weaknesses and I wanted to see a bit more of a tactical change. That absolutely happened, we got a clean sheet.”
“I’m sure Sarina will be happy. Having a clean sheet against the reigning Olympic champions and then getting a result against Switzerland was a victory. I think they will close out the calendar year and learn lessons from it. They will look forward to 2025. You always come back more refreshed after a break and now we have a couple of months to prepare for the Euros, so I’m looking forward to it.”
The Lionesses looked much stronger defensively in the two friendlies, but struggled to look threatening going forward in the absence of Lauren Hemp and Lauren James.
“It was a little bit of a detriment to our attacking game, but sometimes that happens naturally. There wasn’t a focus solely on the defensive side of the game, but there was clearly an emphasis. Once we get the two Laurens back, that will add a little more dimension,” Carney added.
“However, in the second game, you can’t just rely on those two players to come back, you have to try to test some other players. I thought it was a difficult game for our younger Lionesses, because it was a deep block.” From my own experience, they are the most difficult games to play because you have to delve into your own experience of how to take down a team. If it’s your first international match, or the early stage of your career, that can be a problem. a little challenging.
“This is a talented group and we have experience there,” Carney said. “I think it will be difficult, but we have won the Women’s European Championship, we have been to the Women’s World Cup final, this is an experienced group and they know how to do it. I’m looking forward to it.”
