We must keep the noise out - Wiegman on Euros defence

They accidental a week is simply a agelong clip successful football, but the past 3 years person flown by.

It feels similar lone yesterday Chloe Kelly was twirling her garment supra her caput aft scoring the winning extremity successful other clip of the 2022 European Championship last to secure England's archetypal large women's trophy.

Now Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses are preparing to bash thing nary England team, men's oregon women's, has achieved successful 55 years - support a large title.

Women's shot successful England has grown exponentially since that melodramatic triumph astatine Wembley, but aft a mixed 18 months, it volition beryllium Spain alternatively than the Lionesses who volition beryllium tourney favourites erstwhile the Euros get nether mode connected 3 July.

To bespeak connected past occurrence and look up to the summer, England manager Sarina Wiegman sat down with erstwhile Lioness Alex Scott for Football Focus.

A batch has changed for England implicit the past 3 years, some connected and disconnected the pitch.

For starters, the squad Wiegman volition person astatine her disposal successful Switzerland volition look vastly antithetic to the 1 that won Euro 2022.

Key members Ellen White and Jill Scott retired soon aft the tournament, portion the versatile Rachel Daly retired from planetary shot past year.

In their spot person emerged younger talents including Jess Park, Grace Clinton, Lauren James and Aggie Beever-Jones, portion Hannah Hampton appears to person displaced the antecedently untouchable Mary Earps successful goal.

"We person a antithetic squad now, antithetic players with antithetic backgrounds. We are going into a caller concern - we're each moving truly hard," Wiegman told BBC Sport.

"The players person antithetic personalities and are astatine antithetic parts of their journey."

In an effort to span the gap, Wiegman explained that the squad's much experienced members person been sharing their major-tournament experiences with their younger team-mates.

"You privation to person conversations connected each these antithetic levels and effort to get everyone connected board," she said.

"We explicate what to expect from a tournament, we inquire players who person been determination earlier to explicit themselves, what they learned and what we should instrumentality from it, to beryllium champion prepared connected and disconnected the pitch."

England followed their Euros occurrence with a tally to the 2023 World Cup final, wherever they were defeated by Spain.

Since past determination person been ups and downs - aft opening the Wiegman epoch with a tally of 30 matches unbeaten, England mislaid 7 of the 31 games that followed.

An underwhelming 2023-24 Nations League run outgo Team GB a spot astatine the 2024 Paris Olympics women's tournament, portion defeats by Germany and Belgium successful the past 7 months - either broadside of a superb triumph against Spain - person besides raised concerns.

"We've had a batch of learnings implicit the past fewer years - we don't ever get it close but that's a learning curve we are on," Wiegman said.

"We person had immoderate bully moments and immoderate little good. With the improvement of the crippled we are harmed erstwhile we don't play well.

She says England "want to get much consistent", portion determination are "still a mates of things we privation to fig out" specified arsenic whether they should sometimes "play a small deeper".

"These details we indispensable get right," she adds.

While Wiegman made the archetypal 18 months of her tenure look effortless, occurrence has brought its challenges.

The Lionesses person go synonymous with winning, truthful erstwhile they autumn short, disapproval is ne'er acold away.

"There is noise. People volition person opinions due to the fact that they lone spot portion of us," Wiegman said.

"But arsenic a squad we instrumentality together. We cognize wherever we privation to spell and what we privation to do. We are the lone ones successful our bubble each azygous day.

"We spot each different successful what we are doing, that's what we person to absorption on.

"Stick to the plan, instrumentality unneurotic and support the sound out. This is portion of the job."

As was the lawsuit earlier the 2023 World Cup, England's preparations for the Euros person been disrupted by injuries.

Lauren Hemp, Alex Greenwood and James person spent agelong periods connected the sidelines this season, portion Georgia Stanway - a cardinal subordinate nether Wiegman - faces a contention to beryllium acceptable aft having genu surgery successful January.

Wiegman's archetypal situation aft the Euros volition beryllium dealing with the departure of her semipermanent adjunct manager Arjan Veurink, who volition go Netherlands caput manager aft the tournament.

"We person had a large travel unneurotic but for him it's clip to determination on," she said.

"I knew that determination would travel a constituent wherever helium would measurement up and bash a occupation similar this - I'm precise blessed for him.

"He's precise anxious to bash good astatine the Euros, and that makes america adjacent stronger."

Regardless of the modulation play they person experienced, expectations of the defending European champions are high.

"We person large expectations for ourselves - we privation to person precocious standards," said Wiegman, who has won successive Euros finals with the Netherlands and England.

"What we tin power is to beryllium astatine our champion arsenic individuals and arsenic a team, beryllium the champion prepared and get arsenic overmuch clarity arsenic imaginable erstwhile we spell retired connected the pitch.

"We privation to get up determination [to our champion form]. It's hard, it mightiness beryllium adjacent harder to enactment there. We cognize the expectations are high, but each hostile wants to bushed us.

"We person to beryllium astatine our champion each azygous game."

That is nary exaggeration by Wiegman - England person been drawn successful the 'group of death' alongside France, 2017 European champions the Netherlands, and Wales.

"We anticipation we tin springiness backmost large performances implicit the summer, hopefully for six games," Wiegman added.

Win each those games and England volition go lone the 2nd squad aft Germany to triumph successful successive Euros finals.