{"id":298375,"date":"2023-12-04T17:25:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T17:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=298375"},"modified":"2023-12-04T17:25:09","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T17:25:09","slug":"no-way-scotland-let-england-win-to-aid-olympic-hopes-sarina-wiegman-insists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/no-way-scotland-let-england-win-to-aid-olympic-hopes-sarina-wiegman-insists\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018No way\u2019 Scotland let England win to aid Olympic hopes, Sarina Wiegman insists"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
England boss Sarina Wiegman has stressed there is \u201cno way\u201d Scotland are going to \u201cgive away\u201d the game when the sides meet at Hampden Park on Tuesday in their final Nations League group fixture.<\/p>\n
The second-placed Lionesses may need a high-scoring win against the already-relegated Scots to claim top spot in the group, the finish required to keep Wiegman\u2019s team in contention to secure Paris 2024 Olympic qualification for Great Britain.<\/p>\n
With England success on that front the only way Scottish players will be able to play at the Games, Andries Jonker, head coach of group leaders the Netherlands, described the situation as \u201cstrange\u201d after England\u2019s 3-2 win over the Dutch at Wembley on Friday.<\/p>\n
Wiegman told a press conference on Monday: \u201cI understand the conversations about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you have seen our group, seen Scotland and know the history of Scotland and England, then there\u2019s no way that they are going to give away this game. They really want to beat England and we want to beat them, of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s such a rivalry that that is absolutely not going to be the case. We saw it when we played in England (a 2-1 win for England in September).<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have the solution. This is the first time we\u2019ve played the Nations League, and how are you going to solve this situation? Maybe you don\u2019t want them in the same group, but then if Scotland topped another group, we topped one and we went into the finals, you\u2019d have the same situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just about fair play, about football, and in football everyone wants to win, and we know the rivalry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have professional players here who really want to show up \u2013 England players and Scottish players. I think it\u2019s going to be a good game where everyone wants to perform at their highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n
England head coach Sarina Wiegman was confident her side could fight back against the Netherlands <\/p>\n
England midfielder Keira Walsh said: \u201cNobody is questioning the professionalism of this game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got some top players, so do we and we both want to win. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a case of they\u2019ll be thinking about anything else, I think we both want to play a good game and hopefully win.\u201d<\/p>\n
While England and the Netherlands, each on nine points from five games, are locked on head to head record, the latter have a goal difference that is superior by three. The Dutch on Tuesday host a Belgium outfit who lie a point behind in third.<\/p>\n
Wiegman said of her players: \u201cYou don\u2019t want to be erratic. We want to be controlled, but we really want to play our best game and create chances, get a lot of players up front, but do the right things, make the right choices, stay calm at all moments and score as a team, and again then don\u2019t concede any.<\/p>\n
\u201cLets start, play a possession game, try to get in behind the defence, create lots of chances and score.\u201d<\/p>\n
England battled back to triumph on Friday after being 2-0 down at half-time, with the second Dutch goal coming when Mary Earps got a glove to Lineth Beerensteyn\u2019s shot but could not stop it crossing the line.<\/p>\n
Earps afterwards said she had \u201creally let the team down\u201d, something Wiegman then said was not the case.<\/p>\n
Walsh added: \u201cMary has saved us in so many situations. For me, she\u2019s always been there in the big moments for us, so she really doesn\u2019t need to take that on herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has to go past 10 other players before it gets to her and I think there were numerous mistakes leading up to that one.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s in good spirits now I think. Even at breakfast this morning she was making jokes about it. Mary\u2019s delivered before so I\u2019m pretty sure she will again.\u201d<\/p>\n