It has been confirmed that Sarina Wiegman will be in charge of England Women’s when they play their World Cup Qualifier match against North Macedonia on 17th September. The match will be played at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium and will be the first match in charge for the ex-Netherlands boss. Some of the latest betting offers from whichbookie.co.uk show that there are several available for this match from the UK’s top online bookies.
It was confirmed some time ago that Wiegman would be the successor of Phil Neville who managed the England Women’s team from 2018 – 2021. Following England’s semi-final exit from the 2019 World Cup at the hands of the United States, England’s form dropped dramatically. The team failed to defend their title in the 2020 SheBelieves Cup and had their worst losing streak since 2003, losing 7 of their 11 matches. The team’s poor run of form prompted Neville to hand in his notice and agreed to stay until his contract expired in July 2021.
Wiegman remained as Netherlands boss throughout their Tokyo 2020 campaign in which they reached the quarter-finals of the competition before being knocked out by the USA on penalties. It would have been ideal for Wiegman to have ended her 5-year spell with the Netherlands with success at the Olympics but a new era starts for her as Lionesses boss next month. Team GB also reached the quarter-finals of the Olympics under Norwegian football coach, Hege Riise, but were sadly eliminated in extra-time by Australia.
Wiegman’s first task will be to qualify for the 2023 World Cup and that campaign starts with her first game in charge against North Macedonia next month.
Who Is Sarina Wiegman?
Sarina Wiegman is a Dutch football coach who had a playing career as a midfielder and defender for Ter Leede in the Netherlands. She also notched 99 caps playing for her country during which time she scored 3 goals. She played as a senior for nine years before moving into management shortly after. She managed her old club Ter Leede where she won the Dutch championship and the KNVB Cup in 2007. She also had 7 years managing ADO Den Haag before being recruited by the Netherlands national team where she had an assistant role before being made interim boss in 2015. It was in 2017 that Wiegman was made manager on an official basis where she has remained until her move to England.
Following Wiegman’s first match in charge against North Macedonia next month, the Lionesses play Luxembourg four days later followed by Northern Ireland, Latvia and Austria.
England 2023 World Cup qualifying fixtures
- 17 September 2021 – North Macedonia (H)
- 21 September 2021 – Luxembourg (A)
- 23 October 2021 – Northern Ireland (H)
- 26 October 2021 – Latvia (A)
- 27 November 2021 – Austria (H)
- 30 November 2021 – Latvia (H)
- 8 April 2022 – North Macedonia (A)
- 12 April 2022 – Northern Ireland (A)
- 3 September 2022 – Austria (A)
- 6 September 2022 – Luxembourg (H)
