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HomeSourcesmirror.co.ukEngland's response to Colombia adversity says it all about Sarina Wiegman's 'machine'

England’s response to Colombia adversity says it all about Sarina Wiegman’s ‘machine’

England will meet Australia in Sydney in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday – after a hard fought 2-1 win over Colombia thanks to goals from forwards Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo

There are few managers in the business more composed than Sarina Wiegman.But midway through the first half of England’s quarter-final with Colombia even the Lionesses’ Dutch coach was, by her standards, animated. Rachel Daly had just been clobbered by Colombian substitute Ana Maria Guzman and was down on the turf.The referee waved play on despite the fact it probably warranted a yellow card. As anticipated the South Americans were not scared of imposing themselves physically.Guzman had already smashed into Lauren Hemp only a few minutes earlier. The England side could be forgiven for feeling aggrieved and the backroom staff were getting a little tetchy.

When Georgia Stanway put in a robust challenge only a few minutes later that was deemed a foul, it felt like things could boil over. But this England team doesn’t get angry, they get even.

The Lionesses took the hits throughout a physical first half, and continued to play their game. Throughout their time in the Colombian cauldron, they remained ice cool, despite Sydney feeling more like Bogota. Every touch of the ball from an England shirt was greeted with jeers.Even when Leicy Santos caught out the previously unbeatable Mary Earps with a superb chip, Wiegman’s team stayed focused.

“We weren’t stressed,” Alessia Russo revealed after the win. “It was something we took in our stride, but we knew there were areas we wanted to exploit and we did that more in the second half.

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