‘England need to bottle disappointment and use it as fuel against Dutch’

I was a member of the England squad that won the tournament’s opening game and advanced to the final.

Italy defeated us 2-1. Casey Stoney was sent off, and I was forced to play left-back and sustained injuries. It didn’t go according to plan.

There was no such external pressure, as in the case of this England team, who will have to overcome their 2-1 defeat by France.

There is more expectation given that Sarina Wiegman’s side is currently the defending champion.

In the end, there is a second chance to recover and improve. You can’t go into too much about that outcome. We were devastated and lost, but we had to park it, store it, and use it as extra fuel.

That victory for France doesn’t guarantee their place as European champions. Losing that game does not imply that England is out.

France executed everything with quality and it seemed to work out just fine. That was the difference.

England simply failed to carry out the necessary steps.

Not a surprise result, either. One of the tournament favorites is France, who have rebuilt in an effort to win something. Since reaching the Women’s World Cup final, England has been inconsistent for two years. They never even attempted to take control of the game.

Europe’s level is constantly rising. Every game, you must perform at your absolute best.

Afterward, everyone speculated that England might lose their matches. Was there a lack of desire or a tactical reason for that? Did we not take control of the situation, or were we too far off the mark to make the tackles? The players simply have to be better, and they will be aware of this.

The best instance is when Sandy Baltimore wriggled away from the two players who were watching her during the second goal. We kept our minds and engaged with conviction even though we shouldn’t have.

Sakina Karchaoui was running everywhere in the middle, so we needed to get a hand on her and warn her not to get hurt. We had to stifle the game, use the dark arts a little, and settle in for a while.

Who are the squad’s characters and leaders who sense that the battle is raging? That is, in my opinion, a question mark for England. From the outside, I can’t tell. The communication is not where I see it. Do we have a presence on the pitch despite having mature players and well-considered personalities?

England can still make the quarter-finals, of course. Absolutely not. However, they cannot afford to have ignored the lessons of France.

Can we exploit our strengths more frequently when they face the Netherlands next, which will be a similarly challenging game? Vivianne Miedema needs to be constrained, so she drifts further away from the intended goal. Long-range shots must be stopped by Jill Roord.

We know so many of the Netherlands individually because they frequently play for English clubs or have recently done so. Both countries have very similar play styles.

When at their best, England can play through the lines, find Russo to collaborate with the other forwards, and get Keira Walsh involved. The way they play is a fluid one.

However, I’ve always wondered whether Walsh can play that role for the defense of quick transitions and how effective he is at defending fast transitions. When the game is scruffy, she lacks a real defensive presence. We put a lot of emphasis on her possession-related behavior, but we don’t really observe her off-the-ball. When England is on her own in a single pivot, perhaps that is where she appears vulnerable and exposed.

Why don’t we play with two defensive midfielders, I frequently ponder? Walsh is already marked out of the game by everyone who knows we want to play through her. Why aren’t we able to identify those instances where Georgia Stanway might need to turn around?

little adjustments. I don’t advise making drastic changes. When a game is transitional, the players must be aware of how to change within the system.

At the World Cup two years ago, we looked vulnerable against Haiti and Nigeria for the same reasons. We need a framework that makes us less vulnerable because we aren’t counter-pressing well enough to stop those attacks.

A player of her caliber needs to be in a position where she can isolate defenders more frequently, even though I’m a big fan of James, who only had an impact in the number 10 role during the game against France. Wiegman’s planning didn’t work, despite what I could see. In that capacity, you must be defensively aware. I would play her wide against the Netherlands. There is room for Ella Toone. She can play that role, but we haven’t seen her play for more than 90 minutes off the bench.

Michelle Agyemang came on and made a big impact, but I don’t believe people should be yelling at her for five more. Due to her energy and run-in-the-field ability, which complements Russo’s hold-up play, Aggie Beever-Jones might be able to play this kind of game.

Although Wiegman’s side has previously lost to France, she has not yet lost a game at Euros.

They can of course recover from back-to-back losses against strong opposition, but it’s uncommon.