It's always going to be intriguing to watch what Sarina Wiegman achieved with England going into their last group stage encounter against the lowest-ranked team Northern Ireland after their 8-0 the thrashing of Norway. Wiegman normally sticks to the same starting lineup, but with a berth in the quarterfinals already secured, there was speculation over whether she would rest some players to allow others on the team more playing time. England in Euro Cup 2022
Despite being forced to sit out Friday's game due to a COVID-19 diagnosis, Wiegman's influence could still be felt across the team, which was once more unaltered. After all, why would she alter anything when the group is operating at such
peak efficiency collectively, regardless of the stakes?
England has continued to run like a well-oiled machine while other sides that were predicted to win have struggled or at times appeared unsure. England became only the second side in a Women's Euro to finish the group stage without allowing a goal thanks to their 5-0 victory over Northern Ireland.
Records on the field
To be fair to NI, they played well in the first 30 minutes; however, they didn't utilize the proper gaps to play in, which is something they attempted to focus on. They played well in the first 30 minutes of the second half, and it may be challenging while they are defending in a low block.
Fran Kirby, Beth Mead, and replacement Alessia Russo all scored beautiful goals for England on Friday, which was the first game in which it took them till the 40th minute to score. With the 5-0 victory, they set a team record by going unbeaten in their first 17 games with Wiegman, scoring 98 goals in all.
Wayne Rooney's all-time goal record is one goal away from being matched by Ellen White. Mead, who is now leading the race for the Golden Boot, is one goal away from matching Inka Grings' Euro record of six goals in a single tournament.
With one more goal, she would also tie Jodie Taylor for the most scored by an English player at the Euros. Four of the top six scorers in the contest thus far are English. The list of assists is led by Kirby. In the group stages, England also eclipsed the previous mark for most goals scored (14).
Few players stood out
Mead, who just experienced one of her greatest seasons in the Women's Super League, has the appearance of a player determined to score as many goals as possible. The biggest topic of conversation surrounding her going into the 2021–22 season was the fact that Hege Riise did not choose her to represent Team Great Britain at the Olympics. She appears to have utilized every chance since then to demonstrate why Riise made a mistake in doing that. With Arsenal, she amassed 11 goals and 8 assists, and she has carried over this form into her international games.
She wanted to have another brilliant moment here on Friday. With her right foot, she controlled it before bringing it around the defender for Northern Ireland. She immediately switched to her left foot and drove Jackie Burns out of the way.
Kirby is another competitor who has participated in this competition despite having her challenges before it. Even though she frequently plays in the middle of the field and is the queen of the assist, whether it is to Chelsea colleague Sam Kerr or her England teammates, her score against Northern Ireland served as a reminder of the exquisite strikes she is capable of. When Kirby handled the ball outside the area and rocketed the ball into the top right corner, England had been hammering away at the Northern Ireland goal.
Aftere xhaustion concerns caused her to miss portions of the season's conclusion, there had been some doubt about whether she would be able to play in the event, but she has demonstrated that this hasn't slowed her down.
