Four finals out of four: England's Sarina Wiegman in a league of her own among international coaches

With the best coach in international women's football at the helm, the Lionesses have the chance to win the World Cup for the first time on Sunday

England head coach Sarina Wiegman isn’t known for being overly emotional or for wearing her heart on her sleeve. When it comes to press conferences and interviews, the Dutchwoman is always so laser-focused on whatever the task is, so calm and composed under pressure and, admittedly, she doesn’t always enjoy the moment because she is concentrating on her job.

But after leading the Lionesses to a first ever Women’s World Cup final, becoming the first coach to take two different teams to the showpiece event, she couldn’t help but get swept up in what it meant. “It's like I'm living a fairy tale or something," she told the .

Wiegman’s recent record does read like some sort of fiction, too. After leading her native Netherlands to an unprecedented triumph at their home Euros in 2017, she guided the Oranje to the final of the World Cup just two years later, only defeated by a mighty United States team. Both of those were firsts for the Dutch.

Upon taking the England job in September 2021, expectations were pretty high, then. The Lionesses had reached three successive major tournament semi-finals, but had not gotten over that hurdle. That has all changed under Wiegman.

Last year, England beat Germany in extra- time at a packed Wembley Stadium to win the Euros for the first time. It was a success that captured the hearts of an entire nation and changed the lives of the players forever. Twelve months on, there’s an even bigger achievement at stake. On Sunday, England could back that up by winning the Women’s World Cup for the very first time, too.

“When you make the first final, you think, ‘This is really special. It might not happen again,’” Wiegman said after her side beat Australia in the semi-finals on Wednesday. “Then you make a second, a third, a fourth, but you think it might not happen again because it’s so hard.”

She couldn’t help reverting back to that laser-focus, though, adding at the end of her answer: “But then tomorrow I’m just going to prepare for Spain! We just want to win the final.”

It’s one of the qualities that makes her completely unrivalled in international management. If it wasn’t certain before, England’s run to this Women’s World Cup final has only confirmed that Wiegman is in a league of her own.

Getty ImagesChanging the mentality

The biggest thing that the England players talk about when discussing the impact Wiegman has had on this team regards mentality. The Lionesses have had a lot of talent for a while now – you don’t get to three successive major tournament semi-finals by chance, after all – but they’ve got over that hurdle with the Dutchwoman in charge, and it’s because of the confidence that she has instilled.

“I think we just believe,” Chloe Kelly said after the win over Australia. “We believe in the backroom staff and what they're training us to do every day. We're on the pitch and we just enjoy ourselves. You can see that we're having fun out there and when we're having fun, look at what we do.”

"The mentality of this group is something I have never seen before,” captain Millie Bright added. “That comes through Sarina and the belief she gives us.”

It cannot be underestimated how significant these changes have been in helping England become one of the absolute best teams in the world.

AdvertisementGettyGetting the best out of her players

Wiegman has helped take the players’ performances to another level, too, though. Time and time again, so many members of this squad have noted that she is getting the best out of them. How does she do it?

“She's always pushing us, whether that's on the pitch, off the pitch, in meetings and things like that,” Lauren Hemp, the star of the show against Australia, explained before the tournament. “I feel like for me personally, I'm always learning. There's always something that I don't know that she's bringing to the table, that she's explaining to me. I never go into a training session where I don't feel like I'm getting something out of it.

“She knows exactly what she wants and she's always pushing us to be that bit better. Like, 'Yeah, that's the level now but now you need to get higher than that'. We're always pushing on and wanting to do better, and Sarina is the driver of that.”

“I think it’s her directness,” said Chelsea defender Jess Carter. “[She and her staff] have a way they want to play and we all get on board with that. It makes it easier going out onto the pitch.

“When we are trying to get different players from different squads to gel together, she’s like, ‘This is how we want to play, these are our values’. It’s that directness. She knows what she wants and she lets us know that really well.”

“What you see is what you get,” added Ella Toone. “Direct but just a leader and someone who is very caring and wants the best for each of us. She really pushes us to be the best. I think the main thing Sarina always says is to make sure we enjoy ourselves.”

GettyBecoming adaptable

These two factors were evident throughout England’s triumph at the Euros last year, as well as during this World Cup run. One thing that has been different in Australia, though, has been the adaptability of the team.

During the Euros, Wiegman never changed her starting XI. The same line-up played all six games as the Lionesses lifted the trophy at Wembley, and the substitutions she made were usually pretty similar, too.

This time around, it’s been nothing like that. England came into this tournament without Ballon d’Or runner-up Beth Mead, captain Leah Williamson and playmaker Fran Kirby. With Williamson suffering an ACL injury in April, there wasn’t much time for Wiegman to trial different options and systems with the personnel she had available, and so some of that almost came in the group stages. After starting the first two games in a 4-3-3 set-up, England have played in a never-seen-before 3-5-2 system in their last four outings.

Briefly losing Keira Walsh to an injury scare and seeing star player Lauren James sent off in the last 16, Wiegman has been forced into personnel changes along the way, too.

“This tournament, she's shown a different side to her,” Lucy Bronze said on Wednesday. “She’s had to roll her sleeves up a little bit, make changes, adapt the team. Previously, people were like, ‘She keeps the same team and she doesn't change’. She's put in a lot of work this tournament to get us to the final and her experience has really shown throughout.”

GettyPart of a great team

Building the mentality, getting the best out of the players and being adaptable does not just come from Wiegman, though. This is a coach backed by a really knowledgeable and well-respected team of staff – and, of course, a really coachable and talented group of players, too.

Arjan Veurink, her assistant, regularly comes in for praise from the players for his footballing intelligence and passion for the game, as well as how well he works with Wiegman. Geraint Twose is another of her assistants, one who does a lot of the one-to-one individual development plan work. Goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck described him as "just good energy to have around".

Then there is Darren Ward, the goalkeeper coach who Manchester United's Dean Henderson dubbed as the best he has ever worked with. “He's incredible,” Roebuck said. “I loved working with him at the Euros and I was really excited to get into camp this time around and know that I've got six weeks of working hard, improving my game and really utilising his strengths. He's an excellent goalkeeping coach.”

“They bounce really well off each other,” Carter said of the whole staff. “They are able to provide us with everything we need.”

“We're really fortunate [because] the staff group is amazing,” Roebuck added. “Everyone is like family. It's really chilled. If you're around the hotel, it's not like players and staff. It's all integrated.”