4️⃣ questions before England's Sarina Wiegman era begins | OneFootball

A new era kicks off on Friday as the England women’s national team begins their journey under the guidance of Sarina Wiegman.

So before the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign, here are four questions ahead of this new period.

Can England find their scoring touch?

Ellen White has been a prominent source for goals in recent games. That extended to the Olympics too, with White scoring six of the Great Britain goals in an English-heavy squad.

During the last international window, England netted one goal (a Fran Kirby penalty against France) in two outings.

Despite being the common go-to source for goals, not everything can come at the hands of White’s heroics or from the penalty spot. Will someone else be able to step up and find the back of the net?

Looking at the squad selected for the qualifiers, the likes of Kirby, Lauren Hemp and Ella Toone all have the potential to chip in.

Who will wear the captain’s armband?

For the last seven years, the honour of captaining the national team has been awarded to Manchester City defender, Steph Houghton.

The 33-year-old confirmed to Sky Sports that since Wiegman has just met the group, she will continue wearing the armband during the qualifiers but a permanent captain has yet to be named.

“For me personally it’s an unbelievable honour to lead the team that I normally have done over the last few years,” said Houghton.

“But regardless of whether I have the armband or not [afterwards], I’ll still be the same leader.”

Whoever Wiegman selects will have a big impact on the tone for the team going forward. Will someone step up during these upcoming World Cup qualifiers and throw themselves in the running?

Houghton, Jill Scott, White, or possibly Millie Bright are all potential options.

Will England be more versatile?

With a squad as talented as the Lionesses, many would expect England to dominate with ease. But it’s almost as if there are too many eggs in one basket, resulting in a lack of cohesiveness on the pitch.

Wiegman has said she is hopeful England can be more successful by becoming more adaptable and she has taken the initial steps by calling up a versatile squad and suggesting playing in various formations.

According to her: “It’s all about quality and balancing the team and how everything relates to each other.”

So during this upcoming international window, with a number of starters unavailable, can a new-look England find their flow again on the pitch?

Will this new era start strongly?

The team’s last two outings were back-to-back losses against France and Canada. Finding their rhythm and bouncing back is crucial.

Drawn in Group D, England will battle Austria, Latvia, Luxembourg, North Macedonia and Northern Ireland for top spot.

According to Fifa’s world rankings, the Lionesses are 8th while their highest-ranked competitor, Austria, are 21st. However, even with a significant gap between rankings, things will not be a walk in the park.

If this September window finishes with wins over North Macedonia and Luxembourg, it could be an early suggestion that England are on a new path.