RULE OF THREE

England were "struggling". Two games into the World Cup and the final seemed a long way away. Despite the opening wins against Haiti and Denmark, England needed to change. While players and managers at major tournaments often repeat the line that results are all that matter, Sarina Wiegman was more concerned with how her side were underperforming. The Lionesses were faced with a lack of creativity and a vulnerability to the counterattack.
But Wiegman and her coaching team had a backup plan. A change in formation was an idea she and her staff discussed in April when they were designing a way for England to be more unpredictable at the World Cup. A 3-5-2 system was identified as a way to get more from certain players in the squad and play to their strengths, while also giving their opponents something new to think about. Still, when Wiegman was faced with the decision to rip up England’s approach and start again, she required courage and conviction to commit to it.
She found it in the form of her assistant Arjan Veurink, who has been at Wiegman’s side for the past four major tournaments, previously with the Netherlands and now with England. With the injury to Keira Walsh following England’s win over Denmark, a blow that at the time appeared to rule the midfielder out of the tournament, Veurink went to Wiegman and said the time had come. “You’re completely right,” Wiegman replied. “This is the moment.”
This story is from the August 20, 2023 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 20, 2023 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In

ELVIS AIN'T DEAD?
Some want to convince you that Justin Bieber is a lizard and Stevie Wonder isn't blind. Ellie Muir and Roisin O'Connor on the oddest music conspiracy theories that are out there

Shots fired! But just who'll pull the trigger in paradise?
Rogue Russians, a lovelorn cop and a spurned nepo baby... our Culture desk viewers have been speculating about what might play out in the season three finale of The White Lotus’

Missing stars reflect lost lustre of Champions Cup
It was the sight that no English rugby fan wanted to see. After 80 gruelling minutes at Welford Road last Sunday, Maro Itoje sunk to a knee, the lock clearly spent. It takes a lot to bow the England and Saracens captain but his exhaustion was clear; it was not just the strain of a gutsy Premiership win over Leicester taking its toll but the lingering impacts of a physically, emotionally and mentally draining Six Nations campaign, too.

Trump is plagiarising a very old playbook for his tariffs
It is doubtful if Donald Trump has ever heard of Albert Hirschman. If asked, the president would probably speculate as to whether he was that German guy who came third in the Masters”. But there may be those in his advisory circle who are well-versed in the works of the economist, author of National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Jonathan Buckley remembers the best fiver he ever spent on Wallace Stevens' precise and profound 'Collected Poems'

TRIED AND TESTED
Sean O’Grady on the Nissan Qashqai N-Connecta the latest iteration of a family car that has stood the test of time

Man who left Coke for tribe on isolated island arrested
A 24-year-old American tourist has been detained in India for entering a remote tribal area where islanders have no contact with the outside world.

Since Trump came to power, cowardice seems contagious
Do you remember Julian Assange’s catchphrase,“Courage is contagious”? I think he may have borrowed it from the old Bible basher the Reverend Billy Graham, but no matter: it had a catchy ring about it. Sadly, there is something even more contagious: cowardice.

England thrash Belgium to head Nations League table
Sarina Wiegman praised her England team after they “kept it simple” in a 5-0 rout of Nations League opponents Belgium at Ashton Gate.

Charles drawn into Andrew spy scandal, papers reveal
The Duke of York and his former adviser twice went to Windsor without being seen” to talk to the King about an investment fund linked to an alleged Chinese spy, according to newly released tribunal documents.