Chloe Kelly was sidelined for almost a year with a cruciate ligament injury, but the talented attacker from Manchester City was nevertheless included in the European Championship selection by Wiegman and lived up to that confidence. She made the 1-0 for England in the 62nd minute, which immediately took a 2-0 lead via Rachel Daly in the 66th minute. An own goal by Belgian goalkeeper Nicky Evrard made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute. With a chance ratio of 25-5 (10-1 on goal), the result was still low.
Wiegman was happy with the win, but especially grateful for the support she received from her players last week. “They have been such a great support to me. The captains came up to me and asked if they could play with mourning bands to support me. They are such wonderful people and it shows how close we are to this team, including the entire staff. It was a great gesture and I’m sure my sister would have been proud,” said Wiegman, who had to leave training camp at St. James’ Park last week to attend her sister’s farewell.
England will play the friendly match at Elland Road in Leeds next Friday, the team with which Wiegman won the European Championship in his own country in 2017 and reached the World Cup final in France two years later. She hopes to win the European title in her own country this summer, but then as the national coach of the English women’s team. England will play in the group stage of the European Championship against Austria (July 6 at Old Trafford), Norway (July 11 at Brighton) and Northern Ireland (July 15 at Southampton). The final of the European Championship is on Sunday 31 July at Wembley that has been sold out for months.