“It’s how you define success, right?” says England Under 23s head coach, Emma Coates. “How I would define success for a development programme in our youth teams is, are we giving Sarina Wiegman problems, and are players going through the pathway? Some of the players are competing for places and some have made their debuts, so I think we’re doing that.”

It’s October, and Coates is speaking from the team’s hotel in Germany where the next generation of hopeful Lionesses are set to kick-off a new season of European competition friendlies against a familiar rival.

It’s a busy six-week period which will see the U23s travel back from Germany to host Portugal in Northampton, before two more home games at the end of November against Norway and the USA, the latter a friendly match not contributing to the league table for European competition friendlies.

Coates, who has the likes of Aston Villa’s promotion-winning coach Gemma Davies and former England international Izzy Christiansen on her staff, has already seen many of her young chargers make the step into Wiegman’s senior team in the past 12 months, and can leave with her head held high as she and Davies head to NWSL side Bay FC in the new year.

Ruby Mace, Laura Blindkilde Brown, Michelle Agyemang and Missy Bo Kearns are the latest to have made the step, and she’ll hope others follow across the next six weeks with Wiegman having four home friendly matches of her own to test out the next bunch ready to make the step up.

For this camp, the triple European champion-winning head coach has taken Arsenal centre-back Katie Reid and Aston Villa midfielder Lucia Kendall, meaning youngsters Laila Harbert and Lexi Potter step up from the Under 19s group led by another promotion-winning coach in former Bristol City boss Lauren Smith.

“The skill of our role isn’t just through our performance lens, it’s giving a little bit of time for our young players to develop and fulfil their potential,” continues Coates, who has worked in the pathway for some time now, initially as the U19s head coach.

“The trade-off sometimes is giving a safe space to make mistakes, show their capabilities, familiarise themselves with how we play, our game model, to make that transition between groups easier.

“Whilst maybe if you go solely off results without the context it hasn’t been amazing 12 months, if you look at the players who have come through, it’s been a great 12 months.”

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On the surface, things couldn’t be going a lot better right now for England at international level.

Sarina Wiegman has led the senior team to success like the nation has never seen before in the women’s game, including the historic Euro 2022 success on home soil, following that up with a run to a first World Cup final 12 months later.

The Football Association has not been shy about the work it has done to develop the women’s game, pouring money into the right places over the past decade to try and not just catch up with world leaders such as the USA, but usurp them.

A near-miss against said rivals in 2019 only increased the spark, which was lit when the FA went all out for European champion Wiegman to prize her away from her home nation after Phil Neville left before the delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

But like many associations, they understand much of the work has to start at the bottom, developing players into a pathway which eventually leads to the senior team.

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At the 2023 World Cup, England was the only country where 100% of their 23 players selected had all come through at least one of the youth national teams.

Altogether, 23 players have transitioned from the youth teams to a senior debut over the past five years, and had the highest increase of players under the age of 25 integrate into the squad between World Cups in 2019 and 2023, six of which played in either the Euro 2022 or 2023 World Cup finals.

The new ETCs have also had a desired effect on development, with the talent base increasing by an incredible 265% from 1,722 players to 6,215.

At youth level, that work is also being seen in hard evidence on the pitch. 2024 is the first year since 2008 England has qualified for both the Under 17 and Under 19 European Championships, Natalie Henderson’s side’s run to the U17s final in June ensuring just a third appearance at the Under 17 World Cup in the Dominican Republic in October.

“We were very grateful to be part of the tournament,” said Henderson, who will lead the group in October’s showpiece youth tournament. “It shows where we are in the current pathway, it’s heading in the right direction. The girls were happy, but the bigger picture is it’s heading in the right direction.”

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England bounced back from a disappointing Friday night in Newcastle to open the group right back up again with themselves, opponents France and Sweden going for the two automatic spots after a 2-1 win in Saint-Etienne.

It was very much a game of two halves as the Lionesses raced into a 2-0 lead, and it could have been more despite a fine strike from Georgia Stanway and a clinical header from Alessia Russo.

France’s changes allowed England much more freedom, and while Herve Renard rectified things at the break and got a much better performance for it, there wasn’t enough time to claw back a result despite a nervy final 15 minutes after Kadidiatou Diani halved the deficit from the penalty spot.

England had Hannah Hampton to thank for an excellent late save to divert a clearance from Lucy Bronze past the post as France threw everything at the Lionesses, and while the result leaves England still in third, on seven points they are level with Sweden and two points behind France, with both England and France to play Sweden in next month’s window.

Sarina Wiegman will be pleased overall with her side’s performance, even if in the second half there were glimpses of the frailties of the past few games when France reverted to something close to the team from Friday’s win, but a win is a win and England needed that right now.

Here’s five key takeaways from the match in WFC’s view…

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England stick, France twist

There were a few raised eyebrows when Sarina Wiegman named the same eleven, bar Hannah Hampton, which lost to France on Friday, partly because it wasn’t a great performance, and secondly because this is a tiring part of the season for everyone involved - but that’s not another story.

But while England and Wiegman stuck to their guns and certainly put in a better performance, it was the two twists from France head coach Herve Renard which allowed the game to get away from Les Bleues.

Renard changed two of his midfield three as both Grace Geyoro and Amandine Henry came in, with Sakina Karchaoui moving out wide, but it just didn’t work.

Once again, Kenza Dali shadowed Keira Walsh, but the space afforded to Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone in comparison to when Sandie Toletti was on the pitch cost France dear, with both able to enjoy much more of the ball than on Friday, until Renard went back on his changes and introduced Toletti and Delphine Cascarino at the break.

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As was mentioned several times during the evening, this was not a particularly good advert for the now infamous May/June international window, and it’s a potentially long, hot summer ahead for England with three crucial games to go.

Neither England nor France showed their best, but it was the all too familiar sloppiness for the hosts which cost them a first defeat of the Euro 2025 qualifiers, leaving them now third in a group with away trips to both France and Sweden still to come.

It just didn’t click, and that’s been an all too common feeling with this England side since even during the World Cup, let alone since.

Chances were few and far between, with France goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin only really making one save of any meaningfulness in the first half, and while returned-from-Australia centre forward Alessia Russo doing a great hold up job, there was little behind her to pick up the scraps.

France were also not at their best, and like England looked a little tired and disjointed playing out, but they did just enough to take the three points off two set-pieces.

They too did little to really regularly test Hannah Hampton after the Chelsea shot-stopper replaced Mary Earps in the opening minutes, and in truth it wasn’t a great spectacle for the 42,000 inside St. James’ Park.

From unbeaten in 30 under Sarina Wiegman, it’s now five defeats, and while this is far from terminal, it leaves England in a tough spot in League A, and no improvement will see them staring down the barrel of a play-off to make it to Euro 2025.

Here’s five key takeaways from the match in WFC’s view…

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Wiegman opts for defensive compromise

Alex Greenwood, not for the first time in her career, may have felt somewhat harshly done by to not be in an England starting eleven, with the main talking point in the build-up about who would play at left-back.

With Rachel Daly now retired and Niamh Charles injured, there was an assumption Greenwood would slot in there as she has in the past, particularly as a natural left footer, but Wiegman opted for Carter, specifying pre-match Greenwood was more adept to centre-back with Carter's defensive solidity clearly wanted against France's quality out wide.

In general, it worked, but it came at a compromise. Apart from when Delphine Cascarino got away from her towards the end of the first half and drew a yellow card from the Chelsea defender, Carter's presence had the desired impact, but England lacked the attacking quality of a Daly, Charles or Greenwood.

It also ensured England had four right-footed defenders, and it showed at times in their build-up play, and with Williamson and Bright, the latter in particular, still building back up after long-term absences, while Greenwood’s absence at left-back was understandable, perhaps her absence in the heart of the back four was more questionable.

It was though in many ways a sensible compromise and showed some rare compromise from Wiegman, and it will be interesting to see if she sticks to the same way of thinking when the sides meet again on Tuesday in Saint-Etienne.

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Perhaps we should have known.

For all the talk of the potential twists and turns and banana skins which could potentially befall title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City, the now seven-time Women’s Super League champions sent Emma Hayes out of English football in a style befitting of the occasion.

From the second minute when Mayra Ramirez headed the champions in front, it was never in doubt, and one of the most one-sided games you could imagine between two teams who went into the final day 12 months ago vying for the title.

Ramirez was superb, despite being a shock addition to the teamsheet pre-match, but this was Chelsea as a team blowing Manchester United out of the water, with Marc Skinner’s side showing nothing of the fight and determination which saw them knock Chelsea out of the FA Cup a month ago.

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This was the relentless calm of a team who knew exactly what they had to do and didn’t look even remotely affected by the nerves.

Nor the 30,000 inside Old Trafford or the expectation on them to send their manager out with one final title to her name.

This was a cold, ruthless demolition, of which Ramirez was the leader of, and you’ll be hard pushed to find many spells of 45 minutes more dominant by one individual in the history of the league.

For United and Skinner, there will be many questions going into the summer and perhaps this was just a hangover after the high of last weekend, but they did not do themselves any justice in front of their loyal Old Trafford fans, and won’t make those fans feel any better about the new contract announced for Skinner the day before the game.

For Chelsea, it’s the end of an era, but given what they’ve missed this season and still come out on top, it’s one of Hayes’ best achievements.

So simple it was the second half was more pantomine than football match, with away fans chanting “Emma, what’s the score?” and Hayes obliging with the full five fingers on her left hand.

Here’s five key takeaways from the match in WFC’s view…

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Chelsea flew out of the box with no nerves

It’s hard to compute for the most part whether this was Chelsea at their very best or United at their very best, perhaps it was a combination of the two.

But United just weren’t at it, and from the moment Maya Le Tissier was caught behind her defensive line playing Guro Reiten onside, the Norwegian had the chance to pick out Ramirez who set the tone for her one-sided battle with the United defence with a clinical header from close range.

You’d have been forgiven for thinking Chelsea might be nervous, especially given it was the last game for Hayes, but this was a side who just knew what to do, because they have done it so many times before.

Seven titles in all, an incredible five in a row, sending Hayes off to the USA still unmovable from the top of the English game.

Every goal got worse for the hosts as the defence continued to part, whether it was leaving substitute Sjoeke Nusken with the penalty box to herself for the third or their inability to lay a boot on Ramirez for the fourth, it peaked with the fifth after half-time which only lacked some comical music over the top as Mary Earps saved, a clearance rebounded onto the post and yet still Melanie Leupolz was unmarked in the box to turn home.

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Manchester United and Marc Skinner finally have their trophy. Whether it will prove to be a turning point after a dismal season off the back of a positive 2022-23 campaign, it’s too early to tell, but it is at very least a reprieve Skinner was in desperate need of if he is to stay at the club beyond this month.

In the end, it was a simple match up, as United’s extra quality and experience counted over first-time finalists Tottenham Hotspur who didn’t offer enough until it was too late.

It had vibes of Skinner’s first final when Birmingham City were overawed by Manchester City, and when Matt Beard’s West Ham United befell to the same punishment a couple of years later against the same opponent.

Simply, it was just a step too far after a superb run to the final.

It started reasonably evenly, but United always looked the bigger threat in front of goal, with the closest Tottenham came Bethany England’s header against the crossbar just after the score ticked over to 3-0.

From Leah Galton testing Becky Spencer early on, the new cup winners had the better opportunities, particularly from set-pieces which were a constant nuisance to Spurs and in the end one of the decisive factors in the outcome of the contest.

There will be plenty for both teams to take away from both the game and their individual cup runs, and Tottenham now have to pick themselves up for a midweek clash with WSL champions Chelsea, before United face the same opponent on Saturday on the final day of the season.

Here’s five key takeaways from the match in WFC’s view…

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Manchester United’s experience counted

While Skinner was keen pre-match to dampen the expectation on his team being the favourites, he did suggest the experience of his side being at Wembley 12 months ago and the quirks that come with a one-off final could favour the red side of the final against first-time finalists Tottenham Hotspur.

It’s hard to argue it didn’t have an effect either. Yes, the quality also told, and United throughout were the better team and Spurs struggled to ever really threaten Mary Earps in goal, but it was for the best part a smart performance from Skinner’s side. Disciplined, no frills, nothing spectacular, but clinically effective.

Many of the players, including goal scorers Toone, Garcia and Williams all played some part in the final last year, while Williams has been taking part in finals for as long ago as 2012 when Birmingham City beat Chelsea on penalties.

Once it became two and three, United did a good job of managing the game out, bar giving Tottenham the chance to hit the woodwork not long after Garcia made it three, but there never looked any real doubt of them holding out for a first major trophy at the top-level.

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A dramatic finale at the City Football Academy saw the Barclays Women’s Super League title race take another twist - or two - as Stina Blackstenius scored twice after coming on as a substitute to dent Manchester City’s hopes of a second title in a decade.

1-0 up until the 89th-minute after Lauren Hemp’s early opener, Gareth Taylor’s side were on the verge of a result which would have left them needing just a point to secure the title on the final day, but now may have the destination of the trophy taken out of their own hands depending on Chelsea’s next two results.

Emma Hayes’s side defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday means this result is not terminal, but it may get Hayes both rethinking her comments which suggested the towel was being thrown in and dreaming again of a farewell WSL title before heading off to the USA.

Where Arsenal brought on options from the bench such as match-winner Blackstenius, as well as the likes of Kim Little and Caitlin Foord in the attack, City toiled and looked both leggy and nervy throughout the second half, with the only guilt-edged chance for a second coming when Mary Fowler was denied by the foot of Manuela Zinsberger.

Without the focal point of Khadija Shaw, City struggled for an outlet second half as long balls continuously came back at them, and the pressure told as the hosts conceded a first headed goal of the season in stoppage time to leave the title hanging once again by a thread for both sides involved.

Arsenal had not won at the CFA since 2017 in the Spring Series but in the space of five dramatic minutes became the second team in WSL history to record three straight wins against the blue side of Manchester - all of them ending 2-1!

For Hayes, it was a much-needed favour from an unlikely ally in Jonas Eidevall, putting to bed the demons laid by former Chelsea and Man City defender Gemma Bonner on Wednesday, as well as the manager she replaced at Cobham in Matt Beard.

Here’s five key takeaways from the match in WFC’s view…

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Manchester City struggled for an outlet without Khadija Shaw

This was always going to be the key test for Taylor without talismanic forward Khadija Shaw.

Beyond her 21 league goals this season, the whole look and style of City’s attack changes without the presence of Shaw in the attack and Chloe Kelly understandbly couldn’t replicate the same impact in the lone forward role, with Mary Fowler and Lauren Hemp once again either side of her.

Things got off to a good start as City caused problems in particular down Arsenal’s right, and that’s where the opener came from as a loose ball dropped to an untracked Leila Ouahabi who pulled the ball back for Hemp to slot home the first blow.

It was Hemp’s fifth goal against Arsenal, now third most in the league’s history behind Rachel Williams and Toni Duggan, but City struggled to build on that goal, and bar the big save to deny Fowler in the second half, the hosts just couldn’t muster enough to find the critical second.

There was little for Taylor to turn to with only Filippa Angeldahl replacing yellow card-carrying Laura Coombs in a straight swap before a late change was enforced when Kerstin Casparij picked up a knock and was replaced by Alanna Kennedy.

Beyond that, it was untested youngsters such as Laura Blindkilde Brown and Poppy Pritchard, and they never managed to set up the counter attacks with both Hemp and Kelly looking more tired with every hoof ball up the pitch.

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On the pattern of the final hour of the game, it would have been scarcely believable for Manchester United to record their first win against Chelsea, but after 30 minutes where the visitors couldn’t get to grips with their set up and a disciplined defensive showing did the job for the hosts who head to a second FA Cup final in succession.

Yet based on that first 30, Chelsea would have been pleased to have been in the game at all as twice Man United exploited their right-hand side and twice Leah Galton and Ella Toone between them placed pin-point crosses onto the heads of Lucia Garcia and Rachel Williams respectively.

The first, which came inside the first 60 seconds, set the tone, as it could have back at Wembley back in May had an offside flag not intervened, and Emma Hayes rued a slow start which her side did recover from to pin United back for most of the second half, but were denied by some solid defending, superb goalkeeping and certainly a few debatable decisions inside the United box.

It wasn’t just the referee’s decision making which Hayes was flustered with though as she turned to her bench and shouted “decision making” as substitute Aggie Beever-Jones drove an effort into the side-netting deep into stoppage time, with almost every Chelsea attacker available crammed inside the box waiting for a ball in.

For Hayes, it’s another trophy gone on a farewell tour which is threatening to fizzle out, while for Marc Skinner it’s the injection needed for an under-pressure manager who now has a clearer shot at a first major trophy, with fellow first-time potential FA Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur waiting in the final after beating Leicester City.

Here’s five key takeaways from the match in WFC’s view…

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Marc Skinner’s bold calls pay-off

Chelsea’s starting eleven raised few eyebrows when the teams were announced at 1:35pm, but United’s definitely caused a few in the press room. Aoife Mannion in at right-back, while perennial super sub Rachel Williams led the line, with all three of Geyse, Melvine Malard and Nikita Parris left on the bench.

If it was part of the masterplan to use Williams as the focal point to get them into the lead and unleash the pace and energy off the bench to launch counter-attacks in the second half, it worked, and it appears it was.

Within 60 seconds, Galton pounced on a miss-kick from Eve Perisset whose floated ball for Garcia was inch-perfect and raised the roof at Leigh Sports Village.

It was almost shades of last season, given the personnel involved.

Williams has rarely let her manager or her team down when called upon and scored at vital moments both this season and last, and yet again she popped up with a huge semi-final as she did 12 months ago against Brighton & Hove Albion.

"It [Wembley] sounds nice,” said Skinner post-match. “We needed to do something different to what we usually do against Chelsea. We're a football team and when we've opened Chelsea up we've been countered.

“Today it was being a bit more direct and sacrificing off the ball. I've got Tooney at half-time saying she's doing doggies, but she understood it. The capability of the whole team outweighs the attacking part today and we should admire that because today the defending as a collective was great."

"Chelsea have an incredible squad depth and that brings it's different challenges for Emma. but you need your players to step up in one-off games and that save from Mary...there's a David Seaman save from years ago, that's up there for me to push it out and keep it away. Maya, Millie, Aoife, blocking; my midfielders blocking. The forwards were pressing, an incredible feeling for them."

"We wanted to give Chelsea’s [back] four three real threats and we did that. Rachel, Leah, Lucia. Chelsea wouldn't have expected to see Rachel I imagine, they can outrun you and we had to be compact.”

Naturally, the onslaught from Chelsea came, and Skinner would have been frustrated to see the visitors score in the 50th-minute of the first half, but on this occasion he got his changes right as Chelsea bombarded his side’s box for most of the second half.

Hayley Ladd came on for Toone for protect the defence, while both of Parris and Malard immediately offered an outlet on the counter, and while often it wasn’t pretty, it was enough.

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This time last year, things looked a little different at the top of the Barclays Women's Super League table, particularly for the two Manchester sides.

After 15 games 12 months ago, Manchester's City and United stood level on 35 points each, with an identical record of 11 wins, two draws and two defeats apiece.

United though had scored 39 goals and conceded just nine, while City lagged seven goals behind and had conceded five more, albeit six of them coming in their opening two games of the season amidst an injury crisis and lots of new players against Aston Villa and Chelsea respectively

12 months on, the differences are stark. City are two points better off, and their 39 goals with nine conceded is identical to where their Manchester rivals were at this time last year.

United on the other hand have just 25 points, 12 points worse off than the blue side of the city and nine off the Champions League spots, leaving them sat level with Liverpool, battling for best of the rest rather than a place among Europe's elite.

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They've won seven games and failed to win in eight. With 32 goals, they're not a million miles away, their tally just one less than Arsenal in third, but their 19 goals conceded is 10 worse off than this time last year.

Quite simply, too much has changed from last season, and United have for various reasons strayed away from what made them so tough to bea 12 months ago.

On Saturday, City made it nine league wins on the bounce, matching the last time they managed the same feat at the end of the 2021-22 season, while United have failed to win more than two league games on the bounce all season.

12 months ago, while sat level on points and battling it out for a top three spot with Chelsea and Arsenal, both Gareth Taylor and Marc Skinner were under pressure.

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Spain was one step too far for England. Sunday's World Cup final bore many similarities to last year's meeting between the two at the European Championships, except this time Spain saw out the 1-0 lead they'd earned with their performance.

But given their injuries to key players and need to completely change formation partway through the tournament, this was not a failure for the Lionesses, and may actually have shown them plenty they can take forward.

Sarina Wiegman has said she intends on going nowhere at the very least until her contract expires after Euro 2025 and for the first time now has a two-year gap to develop her squad until the next major tournament, pending any inolvement in next summer's Olympic Games in France.

The frailties in regards to being clinical in front of goal, the main concern for many supporters heading into the tournament, was their undoing on one too many occasions throughout the past month, and they failed to get away with it one last time.

So, looking ahead, what might be key to England defending their European Championship crown heading to Switzerland in two years time, with the chasing pack on their backs?

- 3-5-2 or 4-2-3-1?

For the first time in her tenure, Wiegman ripped up the rulebook this World Cup. Everyone anticipated potential personnel changes with the knowledge England weren't clicking in quite the same way they were 12 months ago, and sub-par performances in their opening games against Haiti and Denmark only acclerated the process.

But few expected Wiegman to change system completely. It did work though, and England were certainly more of a threat with a front two combined of Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo, and it definitely got more out of both than they managed in a frustrating opening two games.

Who knows how different it may have been had Lauren James taken game time and momentum into the final as the difference maker so often for England before her red card, but we'll never know.

It even shored them up at the back, with the trio of Jess Carter, Millie Bright and Alex Greenwood forming a partnership which became tough to breach. On the three occasions they were in the knockout stages, it was from two superb finishes from outside the box and a goal in transition after Lucy Bronze conceded possession.

Whether it's here to stay remains to be seen, but it has at least given England an opportunity to be less predictable than they were becoming.

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- Fresh faces will be necessary

Which brings me nicely onto point number two. There's no doubt about it, England were becoming too easy to stop coming into the World Cup.

Wiegman's coaching talent, combined with a home crowd behind them, resulted in a juggernaut which none of Spain, Sweden or Germany could stop last summer, but there always the worry Wiegman's famed lack of rotation would soon work against them.

The first cracks emerged even as early as last year when the Lionesses struggled to a 0-0 draw with Czech Republic, before Wiegman's first defeat against Australia in April sparked further concern as teams looked settled inside their own box, knowing England were going to send the ball out wide, and Russo would soon become isolated inside the opposition box.

What stood out in this tournament was most of the big teams had some a bit unpredictable, someone who went off script, someone who held different attributes. For Spain, it was Salma Paralluelo, for England it was undoubtedly Lauren James.

But perhaps one or two more are needed. I rate Jess Park highly, and I think in years to come her quick feet and low centre of gravity will offer a really different threat in England's attack.

It's a similar story for Ebony Salmon. I wrote pre-tournament how Bethany England's form was hard to ignore, but she has also continuously struggled for minutes under Wiegman. She didn't vene get on the pitch last summer, while she was used sparingly at the World Cup.

As talented as she is, she offers similar qualities to Russo and Rachel Daly, while having worked with Salmon first hand, her burst of acceleration is like nothing I've seen in the women's game. Against tired legs late in tournaments, Salmon would certainly offer a different kind of Plan B if she works her way back into the squad.

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Rachel Daly got the nod

When the starting eleven was published it was easy to think Sarina Wiegman was offering clues as to the team she will play against Haiti in a couple of weeks time.

Perhaps she was, but there were also definite experiments in this match, but Daly getting the nod over Alessia Russo and Beth England in the team's final warm-up match felt significant.

Daly is coming off the back of the best season of her career where she won the golden boot for an Aston Villa side not part of the established 'big four' and scored more than double the goals of Russo at Manchester United.

The striker didn't find the net but was in all the right positions and crucially constantly read where crosses from wide would go, which is a key part of the Lionesses' game right now.

Nothing can be confirmed just yet, but that looked like a big tick in the box in the 'who will start up top?' quiz for Daly.

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Centre-back auditions

There was two interesting elements to note of Wiegman's defensive selections. The first was pairing both Esme Morgan and Jess Carter together at centre-back, rather than the more experienced Alex Greenwood, who who was the second interesting element, remaining at left-back and who we will come on to.

One of the big remaining question marks coming into the World Cup is who would replace Leah Williamson alongside Millie Bright? With Greenwood an obvious candidate, but leaving a hole at left-back.

Wiegman seemed to offer an audition to several players, with Morgan and Carter playing 90, while Niamh Charles got a chance to show herself at left-back in the second half. On the one hand, it made it look like a straight shootout between Morgan and Carter for the remaining spot, but Wiegman testing out Charles at left-back may also hint at a consideration for Greenwood to go back into the centre to form a more experienced partnership with Bright.

Wiegman probably didn't get the answers she was looking for in this game, but the back four remains an intriguing and potentially unanswered piece of the jigsaw.

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It is easy after a big game to look at the match winner, and in truth it was no shock to see Sam Kerr's name as the only goal scorer at Wembley on Sunday, such now is her penchant for a big game goal.

In fact, while her tap-in from Pernille Harder's low cross was one of the easier goals she will ever score, it was also the sixth major domestic final she's found the net in for Chelsea, and whichever way you spin it that's pretty incredible.

But Kerr was not the focal point of this final. As so often, the game was won and lost in midfield, with some vital tweaks and the introduction of the aforementioned Harder at the heart of what helped Chelsea turnaround an opening hour where they looked anything but the free-flowing side we've come to expect.

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On the face of it, there was nothing major which stood out in the midfield battle when the teams lined up. Chelsea opted not go with a back three and matched up Manchester United's usual midfield three.

Marc Skinner went with the tried and tested trio of Hayley Ladd, Katie Zelem and Ella Toone, while Hayes went with Erin Cuthbert, Melanie Leupolz and Jessie Fleming.

Harder started on the bench, and while her superb 30-minute cameo won the game, it would have been interesting to see how the game had developed if she'd started, such was her impact in changing how Chelsea played, and indeed restricting their opposition.

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Sam Kerr needs one moment

The Australian had just nine touches of the ball in the first half at Wembley. Marc Skinner boasted he'd worked out how to stop Chelsea's star striker, and for the most part he had, with United stopping runners getting forward to help the striker by pressing their midfield and relying on the excellence of Ona Batlle and Hannah Blundell to restrict Guro Reiten and Lauren James.

But in one moment, it unravelled. United switched off from a throw-in, Pernille Harder ghosted in behind for the third time in about 10 minutes since her introduction and the otherwise Maya Le Tissier stepped across, sensing the danger, hoping and praying Harder didn't execute the pass. She did. Kerr scored. Back-flipped. Trophy in the bag.

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Harder offers a reminder of what could have been

It was one of the most anticipated transfers in the world when Pernille Harder left Wolfsburg for Chelsea. The move which was viewed as a game-changer and a further shift of Chelsea's growing reputation on the world stage.

Has it fully worked out? Not quite. There's been moments of brilliance, as you'd expect, but primarily Harder has just been unfortunate with injuries, and just as it looked like she'd found her place in the team, she got the longest term injury yet, and has only just returned.

There are now strong rumours she will move on in the summer, and her half hour cameo at Wembley offered not just a reminder of what could have been, but at the end of the day what Chelsea are also losing, given Denmark's star player changed the game and played a significant role in securing the Blues a third straight FA Cup.

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“We’ve not faced that before,” said Keira Walsh just an hour after Brazil had offered up England one of their toughest games in the tenure of Sarina Wiegman, despite the Lionesses stretching their unbeaten run under the Dutch head coach to an ever-increasingly impressive tally of 30.

“A lesson for us” and a “a lot to reflect on” were the words of Rachel Daly and all the comments coming from England’s side were vastly different to what we’ve become used to, with some games under Wiegman turning into a robotic procession, such has been England’s dominance and confidence before, during and after the European Championships.

The first half looked to be setting up a familiar affair as England’s new belief in possession along with the intensity of their attacking play made life increasingly difficult for Pia Sundhage’s Copa America champions, and it felt like a mere matter of time before Ella Toone slotted home the opener with what was one of the best team goals we’ve seen under Wiegman.

16 passes all told leading up to Lucy Bronze’s trademark burst into the box, her pull back finished off emphatically by Toone, who had a much more impressive game than at the Arnold Clark Cup and looked every bit the England number ten.

The game from a tactical point of view was fascinating, and all down to the fact it became two different games rolled into one.

That was due to Brazil and Sundhage shifting away from their almost ever-present 4-4-2 and going with a 3-5-2, in the first half at least, in order to try and stifle England’s threats out wide.

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Antonia and Tamires were the wing-backs left to deal with England’s wingers, and the latter, now 35, understandably struggled somewhat to contain the brilliance of Lauren James, and even if she did, Bronze was galloping forward on the overlap.

Antonia had more luck with Lauren Hemp, but the flying winger still got plenty of balls into the box, though more often had to go on her own with Jess Carter finding it less natural to get forward as Bronze did down the right.

Sundhage was open in her belief a 3-5-2 would allow her wing-backs to get closer to England’s wingers, and three centre-backs of Lauren, Rafaelle and Kathellen would be able to deal with the sole presence of Alessia Russo, who indeed had a quiet game in front of goal.

It was the lack of tracking from Ary Borges which was their downfall as the Racing Louisville midfielder failed to get close to Toone was she strolled unmarked into the box to slot home the opener. But beyond that, they did a good job of frustrating England in front of goal, with Leticia relatively untroubled bar a couple of long-range efforts from Bronze and Georgia Stanway.

“I'm very happy with the players because they embraced new ideas,” said the experienced Swedish head coach. “Five at the back made us look good in the second half because we had energy for the second half. They're young, a young team and a big crowd, but they did great.”

Sundhage’s admittance she not only played a back three to thwart England, but to also conserve her team’s energy, knowing they would do a lot of sitting back without the ball was interesting, with the head coach clear flexibility would be important at the World Cup.

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England needed second half adversity

When Pia Sundhage ditched the 3-5-2 she started with to try and nullify England's threats out wide, she reverted to a more common tried and tested 4-4-2 in the second half, and it caused England as many problems as they've endured during Wiegman's tenure.

With Andressa Alves on to sit around the space Keira Walsh wanted and two strikers up top to harry the Lionesses defence, England were sloppy at the back, with all four defenders guilty of giving the ball away under the pressure, losing out in the press, while even the usual solid midfield at times buckled under the pressure of a Brazil team much more at home in their 4-4-2 system.

Wiegman was quick to point out after the game it was a test England struggled to deal with, but also one they needed. Many games have become too comfortable for the Lionesses of late, but this was far from it, as shown by Andressa's late equaliser to send the game, deservedly, to penalties.

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Lionesses will need to make more of dominance

At one point in the first half, England's possession stat stood at 82%, not something that has often been associated with England teams of the past, certainly not against an affluent ball-playing side such as Brazil.

At one stage in the first half, it looked like becoming the kind of monotonous, yet effective, performance we have come to expect from the Lionesses under Wiegman, almost robotic in its execution. Rarely giving the ball away, constantly getting the ball into dangerous areas but not always creating the chances we have become used to, largely due to the presence of Brazil's three defenders deep inside their own box.

For once, England struggled to penetrate and Leticia remained largely unbothered bar Toone's goal, and England will have to make more of their possession in the big games this summer if they are going to back up their Euro 2022 title.

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Has Sarina shown her hand?

England head coach Sarina Wiegman made plenty of changes and offered minutes to every outfield player in the opening two games, but was the return to a more conventional line-up against Belgium a sign of things to come?

If the starting eleven on Wednesday night was the starting eleven against Haiti in July, it would be little shock, and it feels a little like Wiegman has dropped a strong hint based on what we saw in the opening two games.

Alex Greenwood remained at left-back, Lauren James remained in the side in what would be the key changes from the European Championship, while everything else had a distinctly familiar feel to it. That will leave players like Rachel Daly and Lauren Hemp with work to do, but what depth to have.

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Key tweaks from Euro 2022

As mentioned above, what now looks like Wiegman's strongest eleven does appear to have a couple of key tweaks from the successful Euro 2022 campaign.

Alessia Russo has by design taken on the role of the retired Ellen White, while Ella Toone will expect competition from Fran Kirby when she returns from injury, but the key changes came out wide and in the infamous left-back role.

I pointed out in the opening game how impressive Greenwood had been at left-back and crucially we haven't seen Rachel Daly at left-back for a single minute across the three games. England and Greenwood will have tougher defensive tests than the three offered in this competition, but it looks like she might be back in the reckoning.

Elsewhere, Lauren James looks like she's keeping Hemp out of the team for now, with Chloe Kelly impressive on the other wing and taking home the Golden Boot with her three goals. Hemp though has every chance of winning her spot back given her incredible burst of pace and ability to beat her marker, and again, it shows the superb depth England has in their squad right now.

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England head coach Sarina Wiegman was pretty emphatic in stating she got what she wanted from her team's win over Italy as every outfield player has now had minutes on the pitch across the opening two games of the Arnold Clark Cup.

Wiegman ripped up her usual consistent rulebook and made nine changes, with Ellie Roebuck, Maya Le Tissier, Niamh Charles, Keira Walsh, Laura Coombs, Jess Park, Lauren Hemp, Katie Robinson and Rachel Daly all coming into the team.

Many, like two-goal match-winner Daly, took their opportunities, others were quieter, but Italy did well at frustrating England, just like Korea Republic did and just as predicted pre-tournament as England look for tests against sides likely to replicate the low block they expect from opposition at the World Cup.

Both goals came from crosses, which England made 25 of during the game, but only completed five, though the two from Robinson and Lauren James which led to the goals were enough for another win.

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As expected given the changes, it was a slightly more disjointed performance than on Thursday as a new-look back four, a new-look midfield and a new-look attack all got adapted to not just playing with each other, but the other units on the field, yet England ultimately dominated the majority of the game, only dropping their levels slightly in a small period of the second half, but it was enough to allow Italy to equalise.

"I’m very happy with this game, and of course happy with the win. We always play to win. But today we’ve seen many players on the pitch.

"What we want to see this week too is what kind of options do we have and just try it out so that’s what you saw today. We’ve played some scenarios where we’ve put in two centre forwards but for now, how we play, we wouldn’t start with two at this moment because I think the way we’re playing now, we’re doing really well."

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Sarina Wiegman opened the door

Sarina Wiegman often doesn't make too many changes to her England side, even in friendlies, but she did promise them after Thursday's win over Korea Republic. Nobody probably quite expected nine of them, but it showed that despite a successful winning eleven, a majority of which are still very much involved, from last summer's Euros, Wiegman gave opportunities to a variety of players against Italy.

Many took their opportunities too, with Rachel Daly scoring both goals from her number nine role, and Katie Robinson shining with an assist on the wing. Jess Park was also lively while Laura Coombs a little quieter, but tidy, and Niamh Charles got forward well from left-back. Maya Le Tissier was a little more reserved on the other side, but it's hardly a surprise given she's played centre-back all season.

With Jordan Nobbs making a positive impact off the bench and Ebony Salmon lively in her ten minutes, Wiegman will have taken a lot of positives when it comes to some of those battling for places they missed out on last summer.

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England's depth out wide shone through

England's game plan was clear from the start, and why wouldn't it be when you have the talent out wide the Lionesses hold at the moment. After both Chloe Kelly and Lauren James shone against Korea Republic, this time it was Katie Robinson and Lauren Hemp, the latter a stalwart now in the squads, but as mentioned above, Brighton's Robinson took the opportunity granted to her.

With four tricky, pacey and skilful wingers to choose from, Wiegman can change it up as she pleases, as she did when Kelly and James came on in the second half, with the latter once again involved as she set up Daly's winner after Robinson had set up the first.

England's width proved devastating last summer, and even without Beth Mead, there is still an embarrassment of riches out wide for Wiegman.

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Sarina Wiegman admitted she was generally pleased with her England team’s performance as the Lionesses got both the Arnold Clark Cup defence and 2023 under way with a comfortable 4-0 win over Korea Republic.

Many may have expected a closer encounter given the opposition were ranked 15^th in the world, but Colin Bell’s side being out of season generally showed as the game wore on, but they remained more than competitive for the most part despite missing several key players to injury, but the lack of fitness in comparison showed later in the match.

The big question mark ahead of the game was what would Wiegman do in the likely absence of Keira Walsh who had a stomach bug, and the answer wasn’t entirely unpredictable. Rather than switch the personnel around more than she would usually like, Wiegman pushed Leah Williamson forward into Walsh’s role, one she’s been more than familiar with under the former Netherlands head coach, and brought Jess Carter in at centre-back.

The latter was somewhat of a surprise given Carter was temporarily out of Wiegman’s plans post-European Championships, with many expecting Alex Greenwood to go in alongside Bright. That’s what we saw so often pre-Euros, and would have allowed Rachel Daly to go in her usual left-back role that she’s held down for her country.

But Wiegman admitted post-match she won’t stick with a consistent starting eleven that she has become so well-known for in England and will be using the remaining games against Italy and Belgium to continue to test different aspects of her squad.

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“I want to try out things,” she said. “I think this tournament is really a big step in our preparation for the World Cup. It's not the 22nd July just yet, we really need to see a couple of things to see where are we as a team and where are some individuals.

“We still have a couple of months, so yes we will figure out a couple more things, we will do some changes. Keira is doing well, we expect her to be on the pitch tomorrow and she will be assessed, but it looks good."

Whatever happened first half, something didn’t quite gel for England, although potentially understandable as this is generally the longest gap between international breaks, so some fluidity is lost, plus the changes made to the usual starting line-up.

Then when you take into account Korea Republic’s extreme defensive methods, not necessarily by design, it was a tough first half for England who were well held at arm’s length by some solid defending and a couple of good saves from Kim Jungmi.

Their English head coach Colin Bell admitted afterwards his team hadn’t wanted to be as defensive as they looked, but a combination of factors, all mentioned above, contributed to how his side ended up largely sat around their own penalty box as England looked to break them down, which they did when Lauren James, who will come onto, was tripped inside the box just over the half hour mark.

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Lauren James shines

What is there to say? On her third England appearance, James has arguably made herself impossible to drop between performances for her club and country. What's scary for the rest of the world is James wasn't even part of England's Euro 2022 winning squad, she is purely a glittering addition to what has already been successful.

James was again the catalyst of England's attack, making penetrating runs which led to England's first goal as she was tripped inside the box as the Lionesses struggled to break down stubborn Korea Republic side in the first half, and she added a goal of her own with a fine drive in the second half to bookend her performance.

With Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp, plus the likes of Jess Park and Katie Robinson, England has an embarrassment of riches on the wings, but James is standing out above the rest.

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Midfield Rotation

There was intrigue over who would replace the ill Keira Walsh in England's midfield given her importance to the Lionesses and questions over a lack of depth in that role over the years.

While England will endure much tougher tests than an out of season Korea Republic, Sarina Wiegman went with the tried and tested Leah Williamson, but more than experimented with Katie Zelem getting a solid 45 minutes in the same role, while Laura Coombs also came on for her first England performance in eight years.

With Jordan Nobbs left on the bench and still a quality option in the midfield too, England seem to have a few more options than previous in the middle, which may be much needed heading into the summer.

Wiegman said post-match the Zelem change was pre-planned to give her 45 minutes on the pitch, and added Walsh should be back for Sunday's match against Italy.

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