Sarina Wiegman has defended England’s decision to play two warm weather friendlies in Spain after just 949 fans watched them beat Austria last week.
The Lionesses are playing friendlies because they failed to reach the knockout stage of the Nations League. Wiegman opted to take her squad to Marbella for games against Austria and Italy, rather than playing fixtures at home, where they would have attracted bigger crowds.
Only 949 supporters were present as England thrashed Austria 7-2 at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla. The stand housing the fans did not have a roof, so many had to take cover when torrential rain hit in the first half.
With a similar crowd expected for Tuesday’s game with Italy, Wiegman defended their reasoning for choosing their Marbella base.
‘That’s finding balance,’ Wiegman said. ‘What we wanted to do was play good friendlies in good circumstances.
Sarina Wiegman took England to Marbella for warm-weather friendlies against Austria and Italy
The Lionesses secured a comfortable 7-2 win over Austria on Friday and take on Italy on Tuesday
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‘We have very good pitches here, the weather is also that we can stand still a little bit, have good training sessions and good pitches.
‘Then we did know that there probably wouldn’t be as many fans here as we had hoped. Of course there were fans on Friday and I hope they enjoyed it and I hope fans enjoyed it at home too.
‘We will be back in England. We have games in April, June, July and the rest of the season we’ll be playing a lot in England and I hope that connects with the fans enough.’
Wiegman was speaking after it had been announced that the Football Association had become the first national governing body to mandate training on female health.
As part of a new project, clubs in the Women’s Super League and Championship will receive new courses and best practice guidelines on pregnancy, the menstrual cycle and pelvic health.
‘We’re really happy to see that. It’s really good, it’s also very necessary,’ Wiegman said.
‘It has been said all the time, there needs to be more research about women in sport and more support too.
‘And this is another step in the right direction in that case. I think it’s really good and we have to keep going and keep doing research, which will take time with the outcomes of course, but keep supporting it too to make it the best for women’s sport and keep growing the game also, and so what’s best for them.’
Wiegman explained that her side were able to enjoy good pitches and good training sessions due to the more pleasant Spanish weather
Similarly low crowds are anticipated for the upcoming friendly with only 949 in attendance last week
Fran Kirby (centre) has been withdrawn from the squad to take on Italy having pulled out of the warm-up on Friday
England will be without Fran Kirby for Tuesday’s game after the Chelsea forward withdrew from the squad on Sunday. Kirby had been due to start against Austria but pulled out in the warm-up after feeling some irritation in her knee.
Kirby missed the World Cup with a knee injury but Wiegman insisted her withdrawal was precautionary.
‘She’s well but she went home, she went back to Chelsea. As we said, she has some irritation on her knee. It’s a minor injury but we didn’t want to take any risks so she’s being assessed at club. We don’t expect it to be a bad injury.
‘Moving forward we’ll see how things will develop and I hope she will be on the pitch quick and I’m positive about that.’