How Wiegman's 'new England' have evolved ahead of Euro 2025

LEICESTER, England -- A handful of minutes after Beth Mead had made it 7-0 against Jamaica, the England squad were waiting on the King Power Stadium pitch for their official send-off to Euro 2025. The stage was setup, and a remix of "Sweet Caroline" played out. The echoes of that glorious summer in 2022 were unavoidable; we'd already seen highlights from the 2-1 win in the final over Germany earlier in the day.

But as the Lionesses head to Switzerland looking to defend their European Championship crown, this group are trying to separate themselves from that success. After all, as the players say, this is a "new England" team. Since they reached the World Cup final in 2023, this team has experienced mixed form. There were brilliant wins over France and Spain, but also uncharacteristic defeats to Belgium and Germany.

So, it begs the question, as England head to Euro 2025 as defending champions, what will they achieve? How have they evolved? Famous players have headed into the shadows since the last major tournament, personnel have slightly changed, but the aims remain unequivocally the same: England are heading to Switzerland looking to win and, as the King Power stadium announcer said, "make history again."

The power of youth

You're going to be hearing a lot about a "new England" over the next few weeks. It's a phrase manager Sarina Wiegman has used frequently with her team to draw a line between the squad that won Euro 2022 and reached the World Cup final in 2023, and the one heading to Switzerland this summer. It was noticeable in mid-June at the England media day how often that phrase popped up.

"We've got even more debutants that haven't played in a Euros [than 2022] and that makes it exciting," veteran right-back Lucy Bronze said. "For that reason, we're kind of the new England."

This is the most-experienced squad Wiegman has named, with an average of 41.3 caps per player (40.1 in Euro 22; 31.8 for World Cup 2023), but it is also the youngest with an average age of 25 years and four months [it was 26 years and four months for Euro 22; then 25 years and seven months for World Cup 2023.]

Of the 23-player squad that won Euro 2022, 16 were in the 2023 World Cup squad (Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby, Beth Mead were all injured) and 13 will travel to Switzerland. The notable absentees this year are Rachel Daly (who retired from England in April 2024), Fran Kirby and Mary Earps (who both retired from England before the squad was announced), and Millie Bright, who stepped away to prioritize her own physical and mental wellbeing.

Each case was different, but goalkeeper Earps' absence is partly down to Hannah Hampton's grip on the No. 1 jersey, while Wiegman has used Grace Clinton, Jess Park and Ella Toone in Kirby's No. 8 spot over the past couple of years.

"It always happens; people come, people go," midfielder Georgia Stanway says. "It's always nice to have fresh faces -- when you've got the youngsters especially, you've got the energy, maybe you've got the calmness, they're a little bit apprehensive of what's going to come. I think that's the duty of us to make sure that everybody's comfortable here; everybody's ready. Sometimes it's nice to go out there and play with no fear."

Hampton, 24, was named in the squads for both Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup, but heads into Euro 2025 as England's No. 1 without any major tournament minutes behind her. Park made her debut back in November 2022 but didn't make the cut a year later, while Clinton only made her England debut in February 2024.

Others who have broken through but are yet to play in a major tournament are uncapped goalkeepers Khiara Keating and Anna Moorhouse, defenders Maya Le Tissier and Lotte Wubben-Moy (part of Euro 2022 and World Cup squads but didn't play), and forwards Aggie Beever-Jones and 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang, who has played just 15 minutes of international football.

"We have so many players going into their first tournament this time, which in itself is exciting," striker Alessia Russo says. "You have seen the impact they have made straight away in big games. But we understand this is like a new England. We have lots of different players with different strengths and it's about bringing all of that together."

Hampton adds: "We are quite a youthful team but sometimes first tournaments are quite a good thing. People don't know what to expect from some of the younger players coming through. Only we know what to expect, what their capabilities are."

Those who were at Euro 2022 remember the impact midfielder Ella Toone and Russo had off the bench in that tournament. Back then, Toone had 15 caps and Russo was on just seven. But their game-changing ability in the second half of games helped England wrestle the balance of their quarterfinal with Spain back in their favor, and strengthen their grip on the semifinal vs. Sweden.

"[The young players have] creativity and fearlessness and want to go and make chances for England, want to go and create things, and I think all of them can have a massive impact on this team," midfielder Keira Walsh says. "[Like] Alessia and Tooney in the last tournament, they were incredible for us and I think yeah, we need the same from the younger players this time."

A team of leaders

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Chelsea star Bright, now 31, captained England through the 2023 World Cup in Williamson's absence. And since the 1-0 defeat to Spain in the final, England have played 25 matches, with Williamson captaining them 15 times, Bright on five occasions, Earps twice, Walsh twice, and Greenwood once.

But with Bright, Earps and Kirby missing this summer, there was a perception that England would be facing a leadership vacuum. Though one well-placed source described that as "nonsense."

"Leah, who leads with the armband on, you've got the likes of Keira, who led in performance, wanting to make sure that her game is on it 24-7. She can demand more from other people and also from herself," Stanway says. "I think the same with the Lucy [Bronze], she'll lead down that right side, making sure that she's given it absolutely everything for the team."

At Euro 2025, the core leadership group will be Bronze, Walsh, Greenwood, and Williamson, who replaced Steph Houghton as captain when Wiegman started the job in September 2021.

"Leah is a bit more reserved, but when she's speaking, you're really listening," defender Maya le Tissier says. "She knows what she's talking about, and she's won a lot now. I feel like she leads in more of a quiet way and by example with what she does."

But it's never down to just one player; the more-experienced players regularly intervene in training, offering little pointers to others here and there. "Grace [Clinton] didn't shoot in front of goal, and me and Alex [Greenwood] are like: 'You have a good shot, just take the next one,'" striker Beth Mead says. "It's really in her head and we tell her not to overthink it. But just little things like that where you're just trying to give little snippets to players and give them a little bit of confidence. So if Grace scores are worldie from the edge of the box now, you know why."

Goalkeeper Hampton has welcomed that guidance, too. "I think on the pitch, I know if I've got a problem, they will all be there to gather round me and help me out in situations that I need help with," she says. "Even off the pitch you've got leaders, pulling people together and making us all be sociable with one another and getting to know each other on a deeper level."

Wiegman's evolution

This is Wiegman's fifth major tournament as a head coach, and her record is astonishing. Having won Euro 2017 with Netherlands, then reached the World Cup final in 2019, she took charge of England in 2021 and promptly won Euro 2022, before reaching the World Cup final again in 2023.

"I'm a little more experienced in football, but also in life," she says. "And you recognize things just a lot quicker. Players develop, but I develop, too -- as a human being and as a coach."

In all that time, though, her methods have remained the same. Her messages are direct, there's no ambiguity, and the players know where they stand. "Sarina has always been direct," Stanway says. "She always says it the way it is, whether you like it or not, it's something you have to take on the chin."

But she has evolved too.

"The Sarina that first came into England is different to now," Bronze says. "She came in with a few more rules in place, she was the manager and the boss and we all respected Sarina for that reason. Over the years, her getting to know the team and the dynamics of each player, gaining trust with players, you can see how she's changed a little bit.

"It's a good thing she's adapted with the way that the team has adapted. The England teams at the Euros, the World Cup, and now, were each different tactically. There are different personnel with different strengths and weaknesses. But Sarina's had to evolve as well because the other teams are evolving."

Ready for anything

England's tactics haven't changed a huge amount since the 2023 World Cup, during which they made the most drastic tactical shift under Wiegman as they moved to a back three for the match with China as they tried to mitigate Walsh's absence in central midfield.

But since then -- apart from an experimental lineup against Switzerland in December 2024 -- they've predominantly played variations of 4-2-3-1. Wiegman switches between a No. 10 and pair of box-to-box No. 8 midfielders, but the focus remains the same. The team shift the ball to the wing when given space, with Bronze overlapping on the right, and the left-back dovetailing neatly with the left winger, with forwards and on-rushing midfielders creating havoc in the box.

During that time there were matches where they had to dig in, like their 1-0 win over Spain in February, and alternatives to their usual formation are always possible as Wiegman seeks the best way to deal with an opponent. But the players are ready for anything.

"When you have different players coming into the squad and players evolving, you're constantly changing," Russo says. "Whether that's different formations, different styles or using more things as a strength. You have different gameplans."

Toone adds: "You are always trying to learn and improve, and fit players in. Other teams are improving as well so you want to make sure you have a Plan A and a Plan B. You are always evolving and that's where the tactical stuff comes in. We are trying to prepare for when we get to those games."

But fundamentally, the look and feel of the England team will be familiar when they run out against France for their first Euro 2025 group game on July 5. The team Wiegman picked for the Jamaica friendly looked very familiar: Toone preferred over Clinton and Park; Greenwood over Esme Morgan; Carter in for Niamh Charles.

So perhaps the best way to analyze the "new England" is mindset rather than personnel or approach.

"A lot of people say we're holders, but we don't see ourselves as that," Walsh says. "There's been such a long time in between and the team has changed a lot, and other teams have changed a lot, that I feel like we're kind of just going after it again."

Bronze adds: "We're not too focused on previous tournaments and what we've achieved there. It's what this team can do in the here and now."

The Jamaica match was exactly what England needed. They dominated each aspect of the game and, crucially, avoided injuries as they ran out 7-0 victors. The crowd cheered every name of the 23 as they were read out for the final presentation. And after Williamson and Wiegman gave their departing messages, the flag of St. George was raised behind the players, and fireworks peppered the sky.

England will hope this won't be the limits of their celebrations over the next four weeks.

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