England v Ireland Home

This was not as convincing a win as one hoped. However, England needs a win or draw to avoid Sweden, thanks to France beating Sweden. Sweden needs to beat England to qualify automatically.

The game started well; within 8 minutes, Alessia Russo scored, but it went flat. Unlike the 4-0 win away from home at the Aviva Stadium, this one at Norwich City Stadium was not as good. Brosnan denied multiple opportunities for England through Jess Carter, Hemp, and Mead, and the lack of ruthlessness and creativity to get the job done in the final third has been noted.

The Cushion which became incredibly important in the second half penalty when Niamh Fahey dragged down Lauren Hemp in the box by her top,

In the last minute of the game, Ireland scored their first goal of the qualification process. This threw a corner when Julie Russel poked the ball past goalkeeper Hannah Hampton from close range after a scramble in the box.

Although they cannot proceed automatically this time, they now have the drive to compete again for the last qualifying spots left, as this was possibly the first time they have been in such a competitive group. Since the World Cup performances have not been the best, with not qualifying for the Olympics and conceding a lot of goals in the process with no perfect performances as we saw in the last euros, it has become quite concerning

No one can fault Megan Campbell's trademark long throws, which England should have been more prepared for to cause problems.

With two new debuts, Naz and Beaver-Jones are coming on for the first time in the senior squad, and Jess Park is being allowed to impress Serena and learn from the best midfielder in Keir Walsh. When this group was formed for Ireland, it was hard to get goals, let alone any points, with three of the world's top six-ranked nations. Their future was also written, and they would have to fight for a place in the playoffs later this year. France will host them on Tuesday to complete the group's automatic qualification process.

Though England did not show up or perform well, Wiegman strategically saved energy and gave younger players a chance to make their debuts and prove themselves. The main challenge is Tuesday against Sweden, a team that beat the reigning champions, the USA, in a Penalty shootout, so they know how to dig deep.

Fans chanted "Football's coming home" in the stands at full-time and sang "Sweet Caroline" with a nod to their success in 2022 and in anticipation of England's men preparing for their own European final against Spain on Sunday. I hope the men can simulate the women's success and beat Spain, which the women could not do at the World Cup last year in Australia.

Afterwards, Wiegman was pleased with the performances of debutants Naz and Beever-Jones despite being frustrated by their lack of ruthlessness.

"They have been with us in training sessions and have been impressive," said Wiegman. "We brought Jess Naz on a little earlier. She can steal balls from players. In possession, she has so much depth and is so quick with her running in behind. 

"Aggie is so quick with her feet. They are learning and are eager. They are trying to step up." Wiegman also confirmed Fran Kirby missed out because of illness this week but has returned to training and is expected to be available to play against Sweden.

Though the win was not convincing and a more significant scoreline would have been preferred, France winning 2-1 against Sweden gives England a boost for the second automatic qualification spot on their road to retaining their trophy as they hit the road to Gothenburg in Sweden next Tuesday at 6 pm BST. They have one objective going into the final game: do not let Sweden win. It would not look good at the European hopes of retaining the title if they were not to qualify automatically and hope to break the curse of England teams' men or women yet to win a trophy outside that Wembley arch.