England manager Sarina Wiegman is hoping to see her team ‘challenged again’ as they face World Cup co-hosts Australia on Tuesday night only days after a tense Finalissima against Brazil.
The Lionesses are unbeaten in 30 matches under Wiegman and take on the Matildas in Brentford in what is currently the last scheduled game before the World Cup. Even though Australia surprisingly lost 1-0 to Scotland on Friday, the England boss believes they will put pressure on her team.
“This is a big game where we want to see our team in the best possible way,” Wiegman said.
“Australia is a big country. It’s another top 10 ranking, so we hope we are going be challenged again. But we’re doing a little bit better at some moments than we did Thursday.”
The Lionesses took a first half lead against Brazil in the Finalissima at Wembley but conceded an equaliser in stoppage time, sending the game to penalties. Even after winning 4-2 in the shootout, Wiegman commented that there was a lot to learn from the game.
“We had some big challenges during the game,” she reflected. “In the first half, we did really well and in the second half we struggled a little bit. We did have an advantage with the fans in the stadium, but we bring it back to what we have to do.”
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Australia’s stand out player, Chelsea striker Sam Kerr, did not play against Scotland and most likely was rested ahead of the game tomorrow.
Kerr, who has 50 WSL goals for Chelsea, has been a prolific scorer for the Australian side and will pose a challenge for England’s back-line, especially with the omission of key centre-back Millie Bright and the withdrawal Alex Greenwood since Thursday.
“[Australia] rested her for a little bit for tomorrow’s game, I think,” Wiegman continued.
“They have had some very good results. The game against Scotland doesn’t really represent what they have done over the last few months. They are very physical and very direct. It is a little different to what Brazil did but still very challenging. We can expect some challenges.”
As co-hosts, Australia are among the favourites ahead of the World Cup. Beating the current European champions would give them an all-important boost going into the tournament, leading Wiegman to believe that they will offer a stern test.
“They play at home so really want to do well in a World Cup but even this [game] can give them an extra boost,” she added. “They have a good team, but I think…
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