England head coach Sarina Wiegman was full of praise for her side after they defeated a disciplined Iceland team 2-0 at The City Ground in Nottingham on Saturday afternoon.
Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway got the goals as the Lionesses made it two wins out of two in FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 qualifying.
When speaking to the media after the match, Wiegman insisted that her team performed well and ultimately left with the result that they came for.
“We’ve played two games and got six points,” Wiegman said. “Of course, we want to score more goals but first of all, the win and the clean sheet makes me happy. We created some big chances with some very good football.”
Analysing the game further, Wiegman acknowledged the fact that it wasn’t easy to produce a win against a well-drilled Icelandic side and she praised opposition goalkeeper Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir.
She said “Iceland are a very disciplined team. They have a lot of power, they are very compact and that’s really hard to break down. Especially in the first-half, they did that really well. Their goalkeeper had a very good game too.
“They came out well and Hannah [Hampton] had a great save, a really crucial one, then we took it to 2-0 which was really important. Iceland are a dangerous opponent and are really strong on the counter-attack. We took that out really well which is not an easy task.”
Wiegman also discussed the tactical decision to swap Lauren James and Lauren Hemp’s usual positioning on the wings during the game.
She said “[Iceland came] with a deep block but I think they played a little bit higher than Ukraine. We want to get behind the defence and sometimes, there’s not enough space, so we end up a little bit wide on the pitch and [the angle of] the cross becomes harder.
“The chances from scoring that far out doesn’t give us the best chances, so because Lauren [James] is right and left-footed, she can go both ways and having Lauren Hemp being more left, they can both go in-behind, come inside and be advantageous there; with their overlaps it’s easy to change it on the pitch.”
Wiegman also took a moment to highlight Bronze’s impact as the defender made her 145th appearance for England during the match. This made her the third-highest for all-time Lionesses appearances, overtaking Karen Carney on 144.
She said “She’s an incredible human-being, she has a mindset that is really incredible. A part of it is delivering yourself on the pitch and she has a lot of football intelligence. She also helps her teammates on and off the pitch which makes the team play better which is really important.
“She plays a big role in the team, she wants to make the World Cup and you can see she’s still building minutes. She’s so important with the connections she has between the players and with the staff. She’s an important player, so of course, I hope she keeps moving forward, stays fit and she’s able to go.”
England return to action on Tuesday 14 April 2026 when they face world champions Spain at Wembley Stadium.
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