Qualification for World Cup semi-finals ‘special’ says England boss Wiegman | OneFootball

England head coach Sarina Wiegman says that qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-finals is a special achievement for the team.

The Lionesses came from behind to defeat Colombia 2-1 in Sydney earlier today. Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo got the goals as England took another step towards winning a first world title.

When speaking to the media after the match, England head coach Wiegman said that she was proud of the team for their special achievement.

“Of course, I am very happy to stay here for another week,” Wiegman said. “It is very special to get through to the semi-final.

“The team showed resilience and a lot of togetherness and I am just really proud of them again for their performance.”

One of the most notable characteristics of this England team is their ability to grind out results when they face stern challenges. Some fans have criticised performances at various points in the tournament but Wiegman highlighted the importance of being able to win games.

She said “Some people are maybe a little unhappy with some of our performance levels but with that, it’s maybe underestimating our opponents a little too.

“For example, the Nigeria game was so incredibly competitive. If you say that we didn’t play at our best (level), that also had to do with Nigeria because they were so good. Today, we’ve been challenged too; whenever we lost the ball, they were counter-attacking and they were really dangerous. We could deal with that a little better.

“There are moments in your career when you are not at your best but you can still perform as a high level team, work hard, do your job and find a way to win.”

The England fans were outnumbered by the Colombians in Sydney and Wiegman expects another challenging atmosphere when the Lionesses face FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosts Australia in the semi-finals.

“This didn’t feel like a home game for us, it felt like a home game for Colombia,” Wiegman said. “We expect a similar crowd for the Australia game.

“It’s incredible and we are really looking forward to it. We played Australia in April so we know them.

“We are happy to get through and tomorrow, we start our preparations for the Australia game.”

England’s FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final tie against Australia kicks-off at 11am on Wednesday morning.