Sarina Wiegman has to make biggest fix yet as England go into Women’s World Cup quarter-final without Lauren James
Having taken the long flight from London to Sydney, I’m here to catch the World Cup from the quarter-finals. And when I looked at the final eight, I’d say the four teams with greatest clarity were on the same side of the draw: Sweden, Japan, Spain and the Netherlands. You don’t need to second-guess them, they’re confident and know their roles so well. On the opposite side, each team have improvements to make, including England, where Sarina Wiegman is still searching for the tactics to bring the best from her players.
Availability is so important. England are without the suspended Lauren James against Colombia, just as Australia prepared for the tournament with Sam Kerr as their No 9 but lost her until the closing moments of their last-16 match. Wiegman had gone into the tournament hampered by not having Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby from the team that won the Euros.
