What next for the Lionesses?
A gold and silver medal makes for a successful 12 months for England, so with two years until the next European Championships, how can Sarina Wiegman keep them at the top?
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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