‘We should have scored more goals’ – Wiegman reflects on England’s victory in Norwich | OneFootball

England head coach Sarina Wiegman said that her side should have scored more goals in their 2-1 UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 qualifying victory over the Republic of Ireland at Carrow Road last night.

Alessia Russo and Georgia Stanway were on target for the Lionesses in Norwich, however, England could have found the back of the net on more occasions, particularly in the first half.

When speaking in the post-match press conference, England boss Wiegman admitted that her side could have taken more of their chances over the course of the 90 minutes.

“It was difficult,” Wiegman said. “We started really well and scored a very good goal. I think we should have scored more goals after that because we really dominated the game but as the first half went on, we got more sloppy.

“They tried to get a little more press and we had to get out of that quicker to make it easier for ourselves. With the chances that we created, you want to score more.

“In the second half, we still controlled the game. We created fewer chances but still enough to score goals. We had a good press which is why we won that penalty and when Jess Naz came on, she almost had a goal straight away too. At the end, they scored which was really frustrating.”

Wiegman went on to say that England are putting the work in on the training pitch in a bid to become more ruthless in front of the opposition goal.

She said “We have been working on it a lot in training. We have been telling them they have more time to consider the situation to get themselves into the best position and don’t be rushed. Sometimes, you work on things and you might exaggerate the other options that you have. At half-time, we did tell the players to shoot if they get the opportunity.

“The team are working really hard on it and trying to do things together as we saw on the first goal but you still have to make the right decisions.”

England will qualify automatically for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 if they record a positive result against Sweden in Gothenburg on Tuesday evening. Wiegman is not playing down the enormity of that fixture.

She said “Playing against Sweden, it’s a big game because you are fighting for automatic qualification for the EUROs. If you don’t get a result, then you’re into the play-offs.

“It’s a big game in Gothenburg. We are looking forward to it because we have to be at the top level and so do they.”

England’s final UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 qualifier against Sweden in Gothenburg kicks-off at 6pm on Tuesday evening.