Wiegman solves the problem – again
Sarina Wiegman isn’t dubbed one of the best problem solvers in football for no reason.
It may not happen instantly, but more often than not she pulls it off.
Her substitutes came at the right time, calling on exactly the players needed to inject something different into the game.
Turning to her bench became a marker of their success three years ago, with the Dutch manager relying on it again to aid their title defence.
When the Sweden defence when largely untested for most periods of normal time, she called on teenage nuisance Agyemang.
The 19-year-old brought a real competitiveness and hunger to get on the ball and take the game to the Scandinavians. Such physical presence and quality in front of goal provided the focal point the Lionesses were lacking.
With an opposing backline, once disciplined and organised, now dishevelled, on came Kelly. One of the best crossers of the ball, the Arsenal winger played a pivotal role in both goals to turn the tide.
It took just three minutes after coming onto the pitch for it to go from 2-0 to 2-2, such is the impact of the electric forward.
The result? Becoming the only side in the history of the competition to overturn a two-goal deficit at the quarter-final stage.
As much as it was important to provide more of a goal threat up top, England also needed revisions at the back. Bringing Esme Morgan on for Jess Carter was necessary as much as it was brazened, handing the defender her first major tournament minutes in a high stakes environment.
Yet it paid off. It was by no means perfect, but it steadied the ship in a crucial period of the game.
Wiegman called on every trick in the book to pull off a miracle in Zurich.
Even in the penalty shootout, when it looked like they were done for, the dream was kept alive against the odds.
Is this title defence written in the stars?