01 July 2023 , 17:49
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England boss Sarina Wiegman said she is "convinced" her side can do better after they were held to a goalless draw by Portugal in a World Cup send-off game in Milton Keynes.
The Lionesses seemed to be lacking fluidity in the clash at Stadium MK, with Aston Villa Rachel Daly carving open the only real chance of the first half with a tame header that couldn't beat Ines Pereira in the Portugal goal. Substitute Alessia Russo came close after the break but was denied by a fine goalline block from Ana Borges, while Lucy Bronze's header hit the crossbar.
The stalemate means England have now gone two games without scoring a goal, following on from their 2-0 defeat to Australia in April. However, Wiegman believes there are still positives to take from Saturday's encounter.
"Of course we’re disappointed we didn’t score a goal," the Dutchwoman told ITV after the game. "We’ve seen a lot of things and it was a little different between the first and second half.
"I think we were too slow in our possession game in the first half and we had too many players behind the ball so when we did pass it forwards we didn’t have enough players but it was also too slow. I think we did a little better in the second half with players higher up the pitch and in moments we played quicker and the ball tempo was higher but also still moments we were too long on the ball."
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She added: "I am convinced that we can do better. If we score a few goals nobody says anything. We could have been up 3-0. They didn’t have any chances and that’s what’s hopeful.
Alessia Russo came close for England"We also changed a lot of players and players have to adapt to each other again. I think we did those things really well. That looks simple but its not simple."
The England boss was also impressed with makeshift centre-back pairing Jess Carter and Esme Morgan, who came in for the injured Millie Bright and Leah Williamson. While Bright should be fit in time for the Lionesses' World Cup opener against Haiti in three weeks time, Williamson will miss the tournament with an ACL injury, meaning Wiegman needs to assess her defensive options in the coming weeks to establish who will partner Bright this summer.
"I think they were both also very calm and in the possession game did really well," she said. "Those two [Portugese]forwards are really good. They’re quick, they’re unpredictable. That’s what we’ve seen in other games so I think they did really well."
England will take on Haiti on July 22, before facing Denmark and China in Group D. Asked whether she is at all concerned about having to break down different types of opposition, Wiegman said: "That’s pretty exciting because it’s fun to play against different styles of play. That’s what's nice about the World Cup.
"We start with playing how we want to play and stick to our principles and come back to individual tasks. Then we look at what the opponent does and look what we can do to try and take out their strengths and exploit their weaknesses."