On afternoon, 17 days shy of a full year since their last match, England’s Lionesses will at last play again. A friendly behind closed doors on a training pitch at St George’s Park is hardly realistic preparation for the Olympics they are building to, but there will be relief at finally being in action.
The suspension of women’s football in England last March due to Covid was followed by the cancellation of autumn fixtures against Germany and Norway. Even this month a proposed four-team tournament had to be scrapped.
Into the breach have stepped Northern Ireland, 49th in the world but enjoying a golden period with a shot at qualifying for their first major tournament. The Lionesses will be expected to win comfortably, but for both sides the match is more about the performance than the result.
While Northern Ireland are gearing up for a Euro 2021 qualifying play-off, England will be getting their first outing under Hege Riise. Much has changed since their last match, a disappointing 1-0 defeat by Spain in Texas last March which had manager Phil Neville questioning his own future after a performance he described as “nowhere near good enough”.
It transpired Neville’s future was in the USA, with men’s club Inter Miami. Dutch Euro 2017 winner Sarina Wiegman replaces him but will not do so until August. Norwegian Riise is interim coach and effectively on trial with the prospect dangling of staying in charge for Tokyo (Team GB is administered by the FA, England having earned the spot).
Riise met the team for the first time this week, having previously been in Norway. “It has been a wonderful few days,” she said, slightly wide-eyed. She included five uncapped players in the party, some of whom she confirmed will be involved. Of the last starting XI Toni Duggan, Carly Telford and Abbie McManus did not even make the squad and may never return (Lyon’s Nikita Parris is absent due to quarantine issues).
With Tokyo in mind, notably the prospect of an 18-woman squad playing six matches in 17 days, the emphasis is on versatility and physical conditioning. Players who are not club regulars will not be taken.
That explained Jill Scott’s return to Everton on loan last month from Manchester City. Scott, 34, survived the cull, but will wonder if that is because she has been marooned since March on 149 caps. However, Scott, who will captain the side today, sees the 150-cap landmark as a stepping stone not a destination. After 2012 she had an Olympic rings tattoo and is desperate to go to Tokyo. “Whenever I pull on that England shirt it’s such a proud moment,” she said. “It’s so weird to be sitting here at 34. I can’t stress enough how I still feel like that 19-20-year-old kid going away with England again, it’s mad.”
Riise suggested Scott had every chance of more caps when she said: “She is important for the team. She has the physicality, the running game and the experience.”
For Kenny Shiels’s team the target is closer to home with England hosting the Euros. This match is ideal preparation for a two-legged April showdown against opposition who will be higher-rated, but not at England’s level.
The bulk of a youthful squad play in the domestic league which has been suspended due to Covid and Shiels admits: “We’re not saying we can go and beat England. We’re saying we can go and learn from England. We have to have realism. We will give England as good and as competitive a game as we can, but more importantly it will help us for our play-offs.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3dEtroP
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