Sarina Wiegman urges England to learn from goalless draw with Czech Republic

Posted Wednesday, October 12, 2022 by PA

Sarina Wiegman admitted England must do better after they were held to a goalless draw against the Czech Republic at the Amex Stadium.

The Lionesses had been on a 15-game winning run after beating the United States 2-1 on Friday, but were unable to extend their streak against a side ranked 28th in the world.

However, they have extended their unbeaten run to 24 games but – despite hitting the woodwork twice – could not find a breakthrough in front of a crowd of 21,222.

The manager admitted she was disappointed, but said that her side would have learnt from the stalemate.

“We’re absolutely disappointed because we think we could have won. We knew Czech was a very tough opponent, very physical and direct,” Wiegman said.

“We just had to do a little better I think, we had a couple of chances.

“First half we hit the post, second half we had three opportunities to score a goal and we didn’t.

“For us a very good learning moment.”

It was a game of milestones and first appearances with Lucy Bronze gaining her 100th England cap, while Esme Morgan made her debut and Lauren James her first start.

Wiegman believes the Czech Republic were as challenging as she expected, adding: “They were (tough to play against) because, of course, we saw them against the USA.

“They tied the Netherlands twice in the qualification rounds, we saw how tough they were, how physical they were but I hoped we would have broken down their defence quicker.”

The visitors had a chance in the second minute from a corner, but the shot from Klara Cahynova went over the bar.

Czech Republic had to resort to attempts from distance as their tactics did not support attacking in numbers. Tereza Krejcirikova tried her luck just before the hour mark but her shot was well wide of the target.

Head coach Karel Rada insisted that his side was happy with their result against the European Champions, but stressed their aim was to qualify for a major tournament.

“We are very happy because we knew about England’s great run, winning the European (Championship) and I think so many teams around the world would be delighted with this result so we are happy tonight in Brighton,” Rada said.

He added: “We played some great matches, for example the Unites States, the Netherlands, we played some draws against them as well as today and these matches strengthen our self confidence.

“These matches are helping us a lot but our dream is clear, we still haven’t played in the European Championships or the World Cups so our aim is to qualify (for those tournaments).”