England's coach is not a fan of strike partnerships, but the one she has ended up with in this World Cup is proving extremely effective
England head coach Wiegman is, in keeping with most of her profession these days, convinced of the benefits of playing one up front and flooding the midfield. When asked before the tournament whether she’d consider fielding two strikers together, she indicated it was a last resort to be used when England were trailing.The absence of Keira Walsh for the middle group game against China two weeks ago convinced Wiegman to switch to a back three and use two holding midfielders.
“She’s a fantastic player to play alongside — I know whenever I get it she’s going to be there and throughout the tournament, we’ve built a really good connection on and off the ball, so she’s a great person to be my strike partner.”Hemp came short before dribbling at a back line that was slightly disorganised after a tactical switch to put more resources into attack as Australia chased an equaliser.
Suddenly, Hemp is England’s key player. “I feel like I came into this competition with so much belief,” she said afterwards. “I just want to be fearless. I want to show what I can do on the world’s biggest stage. As a group, everyone has got the best out of me and everyone is pushing me to try to be better.
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