England’s 2-1 win over South Africa left more questions to be asked than answers, but friendlies are a time when you can tolerate being far from your best to some degree.
There will be little to complain about if Sarina Wiegmann’s men are ready by July 2, when they begin their defense of their European title at Euro 2025 in Switzerland.
However, the Lionesses were unable to extend their lead beyond two goals and ultimately allowed Cristina Catlana to expose a defensive weakness that would never go away, allowing the visiting team a point and putting pressure on them in the closing stages. There are many things to think about.
“We still have questions, but that’s what we talked about before camp. We don’t need to have all the answers right now,” Wiegman said. “We have two more games (this year), so we’re just trying to get as much information as possible…We need those games to try different things.”
“You’re going to see changes,” the manager promised after a far more familiar XI took to the Wembley pitch in Friday night’s 4-3 defeat to Germany. Eight players took part in the trip to South Africa, but only Georgia Stanway, Beth Meade and Leah Williamson retained their places in the starting XI.
Alex Greenwood started at centre-back alongside Williamson, with Millie Bright dropping to the bench, but Wiegmann tried out a less familiar partnership (between the three) to keep the Germans at bay. He continued to maintain faith in his captain, who had gotten off to a rocky start in the team competition. Spent a season at Arsenal.
Mary Earps has returned to the starting XI, with Manchester United centre-back Maya Le Tissier starting at right-back as the battle for the number one shirt intensifies. Furthermore, up front, the in-form Grace Clinton and Jess Park started in the center, and Jess Naz was given her first cap as a forward.
There were four changes for South Africa, who lost 5-0 to Denmark on Friday, including Hilda Maguire replacing Nthabiseng Maziya up front and Thuberile Chamase, his identical twin sister. A certain Spumelele Chamase joined the bench.
Christina Gatlana beats Georgia Stanway to score. Photo: Sean Botterill/Getty ImagesIt took 12 minutes for England to break through in front of an enthusiastic crowd at home to Coventry City. Meade’s corner kick was cleared to Nas, who rolled the ball to Williamson, who fired a low shot past Kaylin Swart and into the bottom corner.
The Lionesses captain, making her 50th appearance for the Lionesses team, let out a cathartic scream as she was mopped up by her teammates, and her cheeks trembled as Stanway slapped her on both sides of the face.
Within two minutes of taking the lead, England found themselves in a pinch at the back, with Esme Morgan forced past Noxolo Cesane, whose ball was flicked away from her to Katlana, and the full-back sneaked a cross into McGuire. As she tried to shoot, Clinton chased after her. He played the ball into the net and somehow managed to work with Earps to push the ball away.
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Clinton was sensational, her proactive play causing all kinds of trouble for South Africa, but she scored in return for some defensive heroics, slotting Le Tissier’s ball down the right to give the Lionesses the lead. Spread it out.
Although never as complicated as Germany, South Africa continued to cause problems for the hosts despite being ranked 48 places below England in the FIFA rankings and were rewarded for their efforts ten minutes into the second half. Williamson’s illegal pass was missed by Stanway, who reacted a bit late, allowing Katlana to intercept and slip it past an infuriated Earps.
“We were sloppy in some moments and it wasn’t good,” Wiegman said. “We also put the players in different positions, so it wasn’t easy to adapt to that or make the right connection. I asked the players a lot. Soccer is a sport full of mistakes. So I want to make as few mistakes as possible, and I want to make those mistakes as far away from the goal as possible.
Kgatlana made a number of attempts to break through in the closing stages, but was ruled offside once, with Bronze deflecting a shot and Earps making a save to deny her on another occasion.
The end was far uglier than the beginning, but England just hung on to secure victory. It is rare that England have the opportunity to play against an African team. In Africa, women’s football is developing rapidly in some regions, but lags behind in others. But they would not have enjoyed how much trouble the South Africans caused. The search for forms continues.
