Sarina Wiegman’s position as England head coach is not under threat, even if the Lionesses fail to progress beyond the group stage at this summer’s European Championships.
England have been drawn in a ‘group of death’ alongside 2017 Euros champions the Netherlands and heavyweights France, as well as major tournament debutants Wales, and are coming into their title defence on an inconsistent run of form.
The year started with an impressive win against world champions Spain, as well as a 5-0 drubbing of Belgium in the Nations League, but both reverse fixtures away from home ended in disappointing defeats.
To add to this, the withdrawal of key leaders Mary Earps, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright in the lead-up to the squad announcement has added an air of uncertainty ahead of England’s Euros campaign, which kicks off next Saturday against France.
And FA CEO Mark Bullingham has thrown his weight behind Wiegman ahead of the curtain-raiser next week. When asked whether an early England exit would affect Wiegman’s position, he replied: ‘I think we’re delighted that Sarina’s in place for 2027 and I don’t see any scenario changing that.’
He added: ‘We know we’re one of a number of teams who can win it (the Euros), and there are actually three of those in our group. We’ve prepared well and we believe the Nations League provided us with some really testing fixtures for us to improve.
England will not replace Sarina Wiegman, even if they exit early from this summer’s Euros
FA CEO Mark Bullingham explained he is ‘delighted’ that Wiegman is staying until 2027 and that he does not see this changing
The Three Lions have been drawn into a ‘group of death’ alongside the Netherlands, France and Wales
‘Our aim is to win and, in terms of the tournament build-up, we feel like the team is in a really good place. There were obviously some players returning from injury and we’re delighted we’ve got them back now.
‘Obviously in a perfect world we would have had some of them playing for half a season, but that’s not the reality. But we’re really confident in the squad we’ve got going to the Euros.’
Wiegman is contracted to remain in post until 2027. When she took over in 2021, England were eighth in the world and have not left the top five since winning the Euros on home soil in 2022 and leading them to the World Cup final in 2023. She remains the only coach – men’s or women’s – to win two major tournaments with two different countries, having led the Netherlands to Euros glory in 2017.
As for extending her contract beyond 2027, those talks are yet to occur.
‘We think she (Wiegman) is a fantastic coach and she’s done a brilliant job for us,’ Bullingham said. ‘We’re delighted that she’s with us until at least 2027; we haven’t started to look beyond that timescale yet or engaged in those conversations. We’re locked in for this tournament and the next one (Brazil World Cup 2027) and that feels very good for now. But that’s not to say we wouldn’t have a conversation at some point in the future.’