England head coach Sarina Wiegman admits that it would feel extra special to come out on top when the Lionesses face Emma Hayes’ United States side at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening.
Wiegman comes up against Hayes for the first time at international level. The pair previously built a strong relationship when Hayes was in charge of Chelsea.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, England boss Wiegman said that she is looking forward to coming up against Hayes and that it would mean that little bit more to beat a friend.
“It’s really exciting,” Wiegman said. “We are playing at Wembley and there is going to be about 85,000 people there. We are playing the USA, they won the Olympics, they’re number one in the world and Emma Hayes is there. Where we used to collaborate, we are now opponents. In the football world, we are one family but we will be absolutely competing tomorrow. I’m just really looking forward to that.
“When you’re friends, you really want to beat your friends. It was like that when we played The Netherlands and now, it’s the same with the USA.”
Commenting on the challenges that the United States will bring, Wiegman says that England are ready to face a team that is physical and boasts plenty of pace.
She said “We know it’s very physical in the US. They can play very transitional but I think under Emma [Hayes], they’ve started playing with a little more patience.
“We see from most of the players that play in that competition in the USA that it’s very physical, very athletic and there’s plenty of pace in the game. Those are the details that we are prepared for.”
Reflecting on England’s four-game end to 2024, Wiegman said that the United States fixture presents another opportunity for the Lionesses to build and improve.
She said “We have four games, four friendly games. We gave ourselves that opportunity last summer and I think that’s really great.
“We are building with the team, we are trying to adapt to the changes of the game, we are trying to improve our game and different things. Tomorrow, we will have our game plan ready and we want to perform to our best in the game plan that we have. Of course, we are going out there to win.”
England’s international friendly against the United States kicks-off at 5.20pm on Saturday evening. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
