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England scraped through to the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals, beating Nigeria on penalties after Lauren James was sent off. Now they will face either Colombia or Jamaica in the last eight on Saturday and their underwhelming performance in the first round of the knockout stages leaves Sarina Wiegman with plenty to ponder.
Here Telegraph Sport looks at what she must do ahead of the next match…
1. Replace Lauren James
With the Chelsea star suspended for at least the next game, someone else will now need to step up for England, not just in terms of replacing her in the starting XI but also in the sense of providing the moments of individual quality and creativity that James provides on the ball.
First in line is likely to be Manchester United playmaker Ella Toone, who excelled in last summer’s European Championship but will now need to rediscover her best form at a vital time.
2. Decide whether to stick or twist with their formation
England’s 3-5-2 setup worked superbly against China, partly because of how much space it afforded James on the ball as the number 10, but now that she will not be available to face Colombia or Jamaica on Saturday, should Sarina Wiegman revert to her side’s more usual 4-2-3-1?
If they do that, her full-backs will have to be less adventurous and leave fewer gaps behind the back-line – Nigeria enjoyed too much success in attacking down the flanks with pace.
3. Move the ball quicker
All too often against Nigeria, England were slow in possession and that is something they cannot afford to be against well-organised opposition. Jamaica, in particular, have a similarly impressive defensive structure to Nigeria and will be hard to break down.
England need to be slicker, brighter and take their opportunities to progress up the pitch.
4. Attack the six-yard box
England’s strikers were guilty of looking a little flat-footed when crosses were coming into the box and they will need to find their poacher’s instinct. England fans need to see Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp getting in front of their marker.
5. Get more from Georgia Stanway
The 24-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder has so much to offer this World Cup and one of her best weapons is her ability to power strikes at goal from the edge of the box. However, at this tournament, England have not seemed able to get her into the positions to do that.
Her confidence might have dipped after missing her penalty against Nigeria, but England will know that an in-form Stanway can be the difference.
Five problems England must fix for Women’s World Cup quarter-final
From replacing Lauren James to changing formation – Sarina Wiegman has several key decisions to make