WIENER NEUSTADT, Austria — A goal in each half in Austria was more than enough for England, when the newly crowned European Champions returned to competitive action with a 2-0 win that secured their berth at the 2023 World Cup with a match to spare in their qualification group.
England’s record under Sarina Wiegman has been, in a word, breathless. Or, if you’d rather: irresistible. When the former Netherlands‘ boss was brought in by the FA at the conclusion of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — to officially start the job in September 2021 — even they could not have hoped for the unbridled success she and the team have enjoyed.
Each time England have taken to the pitch in the past 12 months, there has been a threat of the bubble bursting and the team finally being beaten over 90 minutes, yet their unbeaten streak has endured. From the first ball kicked against North Macedonia in qualification last September, the Wiegman era has only ever known victory.
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The important caveat that they’ve largely played teams ranked on FIFA’s outer edges, with just a handful of elite opposition, over the course of those 21 games does stand out. Some of those games told a story, such as a friendly against a COVID-ridden Germany team at the Arnold Clark Cup at the start of the year, but others have been rote and routine: just a long list of goal scorers and a reminder of the amateur status of their opposition. When you’re a team putting 20 goals beyond Latvia, questions have to be asked of just how much you can take from those 90 minutes, yet it all seems to have been a step on the path to the European success the Lionesses enjoyed at home over July.
Despite the lopsided nature of many clashes, those big wins have given England an air of the invincible. It’s a team that can boast lady luck in their ranks as much as they can incredible investment from the FA, all of which has been done in the pursuit of filling a barren trophy cabinet save for one Cyprus Cup and one SheBelieves Cup, two friendly tournaments contested before Easter.
In Wiener Neustadt, a sleepy southern suburb of Vienna, England continued to show the polish that has become so synonymous with the Wiegman era. With or without the ball, the players were free to mill about, always seemingly having at least one white shirt spare as the ball moved from one end of the pitch to the other.
An early goal from Alessia Russo — scored with a slice of luck as the ball found its way to the Manchester United attacker via deflection off teammate Georgia Stanway — allowed England to relax further. Manuela Zinsberger‘s net rippled in the seventh minute after Russo swept the ball low with her back to goal.
