Wiegman knows what it means to be under the spotlight, after having led England to consecutive finals of the tournament.
When you have established this standard, nothing less is a disappointment.
The level of England fell spectacularly against France, which increased control of Wiegman, which underwent its first defeat in euros after winning 12 consecutive games during the two previous tournaments.
It was also the first time that Europe’s reigning female champions have lost their first defense in the following finals.
Wiegman admitted that the control was “hard” but it focused on the task in hand.
“I always knew before this tournament that it was a very hard group. It can happen, but you must then win the other games,” she said.
“So yes, I was excited, but at the same time, I also felt a little tense. I think it’s completely normal because you really want to stay in the tournament and you want to win.
“I just had to focus on my work, see again and think about how we could bring people together.”
Wiegman has often delivered in great moments and no manager won more games in euros than the Dutch (13 – at the level of the former German manager Tina Theune).
It also has the best rate of objectives per match of the competition between managers to take charge of four or more games, with its side marking 40 in 14 games.
Having criticized her decision to create Lauren James in the role number 10 against France – which left Vulnerable England defensively – Wiegman made all the right choices against the Netherlands.
James started on the right wing, with Ella Toone by Manchester United starting in the number 10 role. They scored three of the four goals of the night.
Jess Carter, who fought against France on the back left, was moved to a central defense, interacting with Alex Greenwood and England kept a white sheet.
“The priority was that we wanted to jump and exploit space. The Netherlands pushed, so we wanted to review them. It worked very well,” said Wiegman.
“When you are in their half of the field, you can start playing. We had beautiful crosses and we talked about it too.
“”[James] came in good positions, but it can also do it in the midfield. In the midfield today, we wanted Ella [Toone] Because she can do good shopping behind. “”
The plan worked.
The attacker of the Netherlands Vivianne Miedema had only eight touches in the first half and the Dutch conceded more than two goals in a single match in a major women’s tournament for the first time.
They also only managed four shots against England – their less recorded (since 2011) during a major tournament.
