Sarina Wiegman explains how Lionesses will tackle Denmark test and Pernille Harder
The Lionesses boss talked tactics ahead of England’s game with Denmark in Sydney - where her side must negate the talented Bayern Munich star Pernille Harder, who will lead the Danes attack
Sarina Wiegman faced the media ahead of the clash with Denmark on Friday
Sarina Wiegman says her England side will impose their “ruthless” style of play on European rivals Denmark to help nullify the threat of Pernille Harder.
The Lionesses play their second Group D match in Sydney, knowing a win will all but ensure a place in the last 16 of the tournament. The Danes do have their chief weapon in former Chelsea star Harder, formerly the most expensive women’s player on the planet.
For an England defence that struggled at times against Haiti in Brisbane last week, the prospect of facing one of the world’s best may appear daunting. But overly worrying about the opposition isn’t the Lionesses’ style and their Dutch boss was quick to point out that first and foremost England are looking to implement their own game.
Ahead of the clash, Wiegman admitted the Lionesses need to play their normal possession-based style and make good decisions on the ball if they want a successful outcome.
“Denmark are well organised with a clear game plan in and out of possession,” explained Wiegman. “(Pernille) Harder is a big, big part of that too, so that is how we prepare. So we need to have the ball a lot, play our style and dominate.
“We talked about ruthlessness but also said what is ruthlessness. We talked about connections in the final third and have worked on that again.
“In training today we looked really good actually, so we’re really looking forward to tomorrow.
“We’ll play our own style of play, being tight on the ball, keep the ball moving and create as much chances as possible and score goals. We want to play our possession game. We also want to develop it and score goals.”
Sarina Wiegman says she is not afraid to change her team when needed
England named a regular starting eleven at the European Championships last summer, with Wiegman not changing the side even in the final group game when qualification was assured. When asked if she may be ruthless with her approach to team selection, Wiegman denied she wants to avoid changing the starting team.
“That I’m more likely to make changes doesn’t have to do with that (ruthlessness) I want to make changes.” explained Wiegman.
“What we do is approach every game and then when we get ready to prepare, first of all we see who is fit and available.
“Then we make the decisions to what we need to start with and then we decide whether we’re going to start with the same (starting) eleven or maybe make some changes.”
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