‘It was an incredible game’ – Wiegman reflects on England’s extra-time victory over Spain | OneFootball

Sarina Wiegman said that last night’s UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 quarter-final between England and Spain in Brighton was an incredible game of football.

The Lionesses won over more of the nation’s hearts as they battled back from a goal down to defeat Spain 2-1 in extra-time. Ella Toone rescued England with an equaliser with six minutes to go before Georgia Stanway thundered home a wonderful 20-yard strike in the first period of extra-time.

When speaking in the post-match press conference, England boss Wiegman admitted that the match was an incredible occasion for the women’s game.

“I think we showed resilience to come from behind,” Wiegman said. “From the 80th minute, we changed our shape and we scored a goal really quickly so then we could revert back to our original shape and in extra-time, from the moment that we scored, we were a little better and a little fresher. After that, they were pushing for another goal.

“For fans in the stadium and for those watching on TV, I think it was an incredible game. The fans in the stadium were so behind us, it was an incredible experience.”

Wiegman missed Friday’s game against Northern Ireland with COVID-19 and it wasn’t announced that she would return to the dugout until 5pm yesterday evening after testing negative. The England boss admitted that it had been a whirlwind day.

“Personally, it was a crazy day,” said the England boss. “It was also very exciting because we had this exciting game and it was all about the team but I was still waiting on this last tiny negative test, it looked good from Monday but it kept on going. This morning, I was ready to go but I still had to wait. Finally, in the afternoon, I could go.

“We had two scenario’s ready – one was to stay in the hotel and be connected and the other was that I was here, I am so happy that I’m here.”

Wiegman is a coach who usually doesn’t get emotional by highs or lows but she could not stop her feelings from pouring out at the final whistle. She said that it was a release of emotion on the back of a rollercoaster 120 minutes of football.

She said “I think I went a little crazy. Of course, I am a human being too and you try to stay calm but this was so close and it was a game that could go both ways.

“I was so happy that we won.”

England will take on either Sweden or Belgium in the semi-finals at Bramall Lane on Tuesday evening.