Rachel Corsie: England must focus on team culture if they’re going to repeat Euros success
Former Scotland captain joins The Cutback as guest columnist for Euro 2025
The dawn of another major tournament is almost upon us.
For those fortunate to be part of a qualifying nation, and those who’ve earned squad selection, this next week is full of surreal calm – or so I found.
The hard, physical graft is in the bank, your body stood the test and you made the cut. The real fun awaits.
For England, though, there is always a headline. Whilst their performances in recent tournaments have welcomed mostly glorious write ups, inevitably it won’t always be rosey.
The current noise around the team has come largely from an overstated media frenzy after the omission of some of England’s previously relied upon players.
Last week, Sarina Wiegman and her players endured a pre-tournament media day where several players were grilled a little harder, depending on their rank or position and asked how those absentees might affect the culture of the group. The questions were batted away professionally.
The high-profile squad omissions may seem like a distraction to outsiders but to me, the noise would have been far more damaging if it had focused on players that were still going to form part of the decorated 23.
Given the debate largely focused on those on the outside, I can’t see it causing much (if any) disruption by the time they will be on that plane to Switzerland for their opener against France on 5 July.
Sport is scathing, players want to win, and by the time those players fasten their seatbelts, they’ll only be concerned by who’s alongside them.
That lends nicely to what may actually be the biggest challenge: the heavy weight of great expectation. Anything short of the final will be an underachievement for the European champions.
Tripping up in the knock-out rounds is one thing - but for England, a tough draw means a little clip on the heels in the group stage and they could also stumble home all too early. Which as one of the favourites, the neutral might quite enjoy.
That is where character and resolve will actually be tested - far more so than seeing how Hannah Hampton copes without Mary Earps encouraging her and serving balls in the days between games.
The Euro 2022 triumph was special for England but few acknowledge the paramount work ethic and graft of players like Ellen White. The highlight reels from that summer all feature the audacious back heel of Alessia Russo, not the character and team work of White or Jill Scott.
Culture is key and at the last Euros Wiegman exhibited that with perfection. However, as the modern game continues to evolve so do the temperaments and attitudes of those playing it.
Players nowadays pin their value on every ounce of validate-able success. It’s a rather unforgiving sphere but a rite of passage for modern day players. Every achievement is only given a moment's satisfaction, before you’re chasing the next.
At Euro 2022, the collective buy-in from all of Wiegman’s players was key. After all, it was substitutes Russo, Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone that ended up being the game changers and names many remembered.
There is value to every role, whether that’s being in the starting XI, coming off the bench or just being a squad player who never steps on the pitch. However, there are some players who can’t handle that and they can hamper preparations.
No team wants to let that division be their downfall but it can arise when there’s a difficult moment or some fine margins in a critical knockout game.
Who will be the ones to make the difference? That doesn’t just mean scoring the winner. It means who stands with a teammate after a mistake, or helps turn someone’s nerves into a place they can thrive, maybe make everyone laugh at dinner, or give those quieter ones a safe place, too.
Those players are not always the most marketable or carry the greatest excitement, in fact often the opposite - but the greatest teams always have them.
Have England got it? We will see.
Lovely piece.
It’s so interesting to me, the lingering memories we (as fans) have vs you (as players)
You are so right about the marketability of certain players, and to some degree, that’s what helps them stay in our minds, but actually they don’t always end up being the players the players remember making their mark.
Recently Leah cited Demi Stokes as the underrated teammate of the team of ‘22, and yet I don’t think she played a minute.
I guess that’s the right way round though, whilst it would be nice to get the nations flowers, it probably seems more valuable when it comes from the truth inside the camp, not just what is seen on socials or on the pitch.