serial victor Wiegman inspires fearlessness
Through bans and injuries, a Dutchwoman has calmly led her team to the World Cup final matchup against Spain.
Following England’s World Cup semifinal victory against Australia, a beaming Millie Bright came over to Sarina Wiegman and extended her arms. While shaking hands with Australia’s goalie Mackenzie Arnold, the manager whispered something that caused her captain to stop before waving Bright back in. Bright complied, encircling Wiegman in her arms and hoisting her into the air.
Bright had hoisted a beaming Wiegman before, and it was probably not the last time. Cameras wait for the much-loved manager’s hug with her captain because it has become ceremonial and maybe even superstitious.
Bright now embraces the entire country rather than just herself. Wiegman has led an England senior team to a World Cup final, something no manager of the men’s or women’s team has done since 1966. The fact that she accomplished this one year after leading her team to its first-ever major tournament triumph at a domestic European Championship—after doing the same for the Netherlands in 2017—makes it even more astounding.
The Dutchwoman has only lost once at a major competition, in the Netherlands’ loss to the United States in the 2019 World Cup final, and has lost just once in the past two years with England, in a friendly match against Australia. She has won several times, therefore if she leads the Lionesses past Spain onShe’s not bad is she?” says a grinning Lucy Bronze, part of the England teams that lost World Cup semi-finals in 2015 and 2019. “
This tournament she’s shown a different side to her; had to make changes, been the last woman standing for a couple of rounds now … Previously, people were saying she keeps the same team and she doesn’t change. She’s put in a lot of work this tournament to get us to the final and her experience has really shown through.” This tournament has perhaps provided the biggest test of Wiegman’s managerial career. Curveball after curveball has been delivered with only one year separating the Covid-delayed Euros and the World Cup, retirements, injuries and the suspension of Lauren James during the competition. The
