An hour or so after England had won the Euros, the players were still in their match shirts — goalkeeper Mary Earps was dancing on the table in the press conference room, and the team had only enjoyed a couple of renditions of Celine Dion’s “River Deep, Mountain High.” But manager Sarina Wiegman was already thinking about the challenges ahead.
As the players later danced and sang with their nearest and dearest at the post-Euros party in the Lensbury, a couple of them started to talk about the World Cup lying in wait just under a year away. After all, they’d just conquered Europe, now for the world. Less than 24 hours after England won the Euros, the team were in Trafalgar Square celebrating in front of a few thousand fans. Wiegman referenced the World Cup there, so did a couple of the players.
You’ll hear a lot about this Arnold Clark Cup being the starting point for England’s World Cup campaign: with eight games in three days, it’s a chance for players to force their way into the squad or play their way out when England opens the tournament against South Korea on Thursday. But the truth of the matter is, if you’re looking at mapping out a strategy for a World Cup as a 10-step plan, we’re already about seven or eight steps into that timeline. This is a chance to finesse ideas, rather than form them, ahead of England’s World Cup opener on July 22.
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The nature of Wiegman’s meticulous planning means she likely pencilled in an iteration of a potential World Cup squad when she started her job in September 2021. Over the next fortnight, once the Arnold Clark Cup is over, you can expect roughly 20 of the 23 World Cup places to be confirmed, too.
You can ink some in now: Earps, for starters, along with the likes of Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby, Keira Walsh, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly, Lucy Bronze, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Alessia Russo, Rachel Daly and Millie Bright — all of them featured at the Euros. There are those who have since forced their way into contention like Lauren James. Then there are those who have retired since last summer like Ellen White and Jill Scott.
There’s always room for a surprise — perhaps forward Katie Robinson — but regardless, there are some tough decisions around those flip-of-a-coin spots. As Wiegman says, “Nothing is set in stone,” though she also wants the team to force her hand in certain spots.
“There are youngsters in the team again who have to prove themselves — well, everyone has to. Everyone has to show consistency in their performances and it’s a big step forward because we play three games.”
