Weekend Warm-Up: England's form crisis and a new Germany

Flo Lloyd-Hughes looks ahead to England's return to Wembley.

England head coach Sarina Wiegman speaks to media before England host Germany at Wembley

Welcome back to Weekend Warm-Up, the key to your women’s football weekend. It’s the international break so time to focus on England for the next 10 days.

Sarina Wiegman’s team have friendlies against Germany and South Africa, beginning with a game against the 2022 Women’s Euro finalists at Wembley on Friday.

Don’t forget we are hosting our first live event on 3 November in Haggerston, east London. We’re teaming up with the great crew at Baller FC for a special WSL watch party.

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Back to the big arch

England are back at Wembley for the first time since they drew 1-1 with Sweden in a pretty dull Euro 2025 qualifier back in April. That result sums up life for England in the past year.

There’s been an extended post-World Cup hangover which led to England failing to qualify - as Team GB - for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and then saw them stumble through Euro 2025 qualifying.

The important thing was qualifying, it would have been embarrassing for the European champions to end up having to go through the playoffs. But holding out for a 0-0 draw against Sweden in Gothenburg to get the job done didn’t fill fans with tons optimism ahead of next summer’s tournament.

England lost to France in qualifying - albeit it was a much tougher group to be part of than in previous editions - and also lost to Belgium in the Nations League last year. Emphatic wins over Austria, Scotland, Italy and Ireland have been a reminder that a goal-scoring side is still there and can showcase itself against lower-ranked opposition. The narrative of defensive issues and wasted chances hasn’t gone away.

The real concern for me is the players that are lacking form for club and country.

Who’s in form and who is going to start

On paper, England have multiple options in pretty much every position on the pitch. However, the gap between those in form and those that have struggled to hit the ground running this season is growing.

Wiegman’s go-to formation is a 4-3-3 so on that assumption, here’s what she has to work with.

Hannah Hampton will probably get the nod in goal ahead of Mary Earps given Earps’ struggles since joining PSG. She was knocked out of the Uefa Champions League at the qualifying stages and there was lots of media coverage about her being benched for a domestic game too. Things seem to be getting back on track but the fact Hampton is now the number one at Chelsea gives her the clear edge.

Defensive doubts

At centre-back, we’re used to seeing Wiegman pick a combination of Millie Bright and Leah Williamson, or Bright and left-footed Alex Greenwood. The latter is probably the most in-form of all England’s senior centre-backs. Williamson has struggled in the minutes she has had for Arsenal this season, Bright looks better but still isn’t the same player she was before last season’s injury.

On Friday, I expect to see Williamson and Bright start and it’s crucial the pair begin to rebuild the chemistry that helped England lift the European trophy two summers ago.

Wiegman has lots of options in the centre-back position as Jess Carter, Lotte Wubben-Moy (coming back from concussion), Maya Le Tissier, Lucy Parker and Esme Morgan can all play there. But we know by now that Wiegman doesn’t tend to try new things, she will want to go back to the tried and tested duo, which on its day and with two fully-fit and firing players can be one of the best in the world. It just feels like it’s been a while since we saw that.

Niamh Charles’ absence also means England need to fill in at left-back. This is where Jess Carter or Greenwood might end up. Both are good options but if Bright and Williamson start England are going to need some pace and Carter is one of their quickest defenders so Wiegman might want to see her at left-back over Greenwood.

Despite her steady drop in quality over the last few years (it pains me to say that), Lucy Bronze is still a guaranteed name on the team sheet at right-back. I’m not sure what it would take to see her dropped. It’s also a position where England have the least depth. Morgan played there for Manchester City but has played at centre-back in her limited minutes for Washington Spirit. Wiegman has also tried Le Tissier in that position.

England’s issues defending set pieces hasn’t gone away but they’ll pleased that Germany’s Alexandra Popp has retired from international football so there is one less giant of the women’s game to worry about. Arsenal’s set piece woes so far this season add some more worries.

Midfield momentum

England’s midfield is probably the most steady area of the pitch. There are several players who have been playing consistently for their club, have been scoring in domestic leagues and the Uefa Women’s Champions League. Georgia Stanway (four goals and two assists in the Frauen Bundesliga) and Keira Walsh (two goals in Liga F) are guaranteed starters. Grace Clinton should push for a start in the No 10 role over Ella Toone, who hasn’t been in great form for Manchester United. Lauren James misses this international window through injury.

The issue for England has been coping with teams targeting Walsh. Once Walsh is shut down, England get stuck in their own defensive third, end up under pressure and unable to use the midfielder to do what she does so well: get out of danger and progress the ball. Walsh keeps England moving and teams know that, it’s become an easy way for the opposition to cause problems.

Flat attack

England’s attack has been a bit a bit stop start too. Alessia Russo recently took home the England Player of the Year Award after scoring six goals in 2023-24. Her strongest performances in the past year have come in an England shirt, but she comes into this international break lacking goals due to a seriously misfiring Arsenal team. A recent goal against Valerenga in the UWCL felt like a vital confidence-boosting opportunity, but Arsenal still look stodgy going forward. Russo has one assist in the WSL and has been rotated across the front line, between the No 9 and 10 roles, and also out wide.

Russo has been at her best with England and under Wiegman. The system and style of play is one that suits her, but its worrying how out of form England’s main centre forward is and the lack of options in the No 9 role. Competition for places gets the best out of any team. For England, there’s certain positions that are locked down regardless of club form. Wiegman needs more challengers for the sake of England’s attacking threat.

The same can be said of England’s right side. Beth Mead hasn’t hit the ground running this campaign - no Arsenal player has - and Chloe Kelly isn’t starting for Manchester City. Both of them have shown they can deliver for England in key moments and on that alone they will always be in contention to start. However, in a team that has struggled to put away chances and hold onto leads, the above is worrying.

England’s saving grace is the unbelievable form of Lauren Hemp. The winger has two goals and two assists in the first five weeks of the WSL season. She also seems to have upgraded her defensive work which she showcased in Manchester City’s memorable 2-0 win over Barcelona in the UWCL and in recent league wins. There seems to be a new energy and drive to Hemp and she is willing to put the team on her back at every opportunity and matches it with what she delivers on the ball. Ralphael Adelugba wrote more about just how good she has been recently.

Hemp has always been one of Wiegman’s biggest weapons, but heading into these two games she is one of the few England attacking players in good form and visibly full of confidence.

A word on Germany

With all that said, should England be worried about these next two games? Well, the good news is they’re friendlies so there isn’t anything on the line apart from momentum and pride. Germany will be the toughest of the two tests but the eight-time European champions aren’t what they once were or even the same side that England beat 2-1 in the Euro 2022 final. The much bigger test for England will be a friendly against Emma Hayes’ USA on 30 November.

There’s been loads of change with Martina Voss-Tecklenburg leaving her role as head coach last year and Horst Hrubesch taking charge as interim for the Paris 2024 games. He helped the team win a bronze medal and now Christian Wück has taken over the role.

Wück has moved from Germany’s men’s youth team programme, having coached across various age groups for the last 13 years. He was a good player in his day, representing Germany at Under-21 level and also playing for some Bundesliga sides.

He seems like a character. Here are a few quotes from Wück about its first experiences in women’s football, courtesy of Bundesliga News English: "I took my first steps in women's football at the 2019 World Cup in France. I followed the entire tournament as a scout, saw and analysed other teams. I passed on the knowledge I gained to my team at the time.

"I approached the whole thing with great enthusiasm back then because I didn't know what to expect. But it was impressive to see the excitement the women generated in France. It was football at a very high level.

"Since then, I've always stayed a bit in the know. At coaches' conferences, we've also gotten together and discuss the latest in women's football."

On coaching and working in professional football: "I stopped playing for Bielefeld at the age of 29. I wanted to stay connected to football and worked for free as a coach in the sixth division. It's a different world there. For those players, it was important about having camaraderie in the locker room and their family coming to watch them play.

"Professional footballers care about points, money, and pleasing the fans. Amateur footballers want to sit together and have a beer while also staying connected to their coach. As a professional coming from above, I learned a lot about what they wanted and needed. 

"I learned the most from my head-coaching job at Holstein Kiel. It was one of the worst times for me. It was very frustrating for me because I would sit in my room at night wondering why some of my previous measures hadn't worked.

"That was the first time I realised how important it is to put together a squad, how important it is to adapt your concept to the team and not to impose anything on it. That's what I'm going to do here too. I'm here doing what I love. I don't have much of a life, but I'm fine with that." 

Popp isn’t the only player he needs to replace as defender Marina Hegering and goalkeeper keeper Merle Frohms have also retired from international football.

I’m not sure what to expect from a Germany team that will be in transition but for the sake of everyone’s big day out at Wembley, I hope England get the job done.