England must ´reinvent themselves´ ahead of Euro 2025, says Stanway

Georgia Stanway said it is “inevitable” that England will plateau after their huge success and that they need to reinvent themselves moving forward.

After a 30-game unbeaten run under Sarina Wiegman at the beginning of her tenure, the Lionesses suffered their first defeat in April last year.

The Lionesses were crowned Euro 2022 champions and reached the Women’s World Cup final in Australia.

However, results have been hit-and-miss, including a disappointing Nations League campaign that saw Team GB miss out on qualification for the Paris Olympics.

England’s 4-3 defeat to Germany, the visitors’ first game under new manager Christian Wuck, was another reminder of the progress other teams on the continent are making.

Stanway, who scored twice at Wembley last week, said maintaining such a high level of consistency was almost impossible, but said her team must remain difficult to beat.

“When the expectation is continuous we are probably not able to live up to it. I think it’s inevitable that at some point you are going to plateau,” said Stanway.

“We have been with Sarina [Wiegman] for four years now so we will get to a point where we can’t continuously win because teams will figure us out.

“That’s where we have to work together to reinvent ourselves – change a little bit of tactics, bits here and there, and get the one up on the opposition again.

“As much as teams are evolving, we also have to evolve.”

Final yards before South Africa pic.twitter.com/mDMyTTaMh9

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) October 28, 2024

England are back in action when they face South Africa in a friendly on Tuesday, their first meeting on home soil.

The Lionesses have won 19 of their last 21 games when hosting an opponent for the very first time (D1 L1), scoring 96 goals and conceding just four times across those matches.

But the game offers the possibility of going three games without a win under Wiegman for a second time, with Stanway and her team-mates aiming to put things right.

“Facing adversities is normal. The Germany game was interesting. We couldn’t get control but it was an opportunity to keep growing,” she added.

“Outside media think us having a good game is the result. We need to become performance-driven.

“Playing for England is another level. We drive the standards, need consistency in emotion and set an example. People forget we lost a lot of big characters.

“Myself, [Ella] Toone and Alessia [Russo] were born in 1999. We’re not experienced leaders yet but I’m only 25. I’m also trying to learn every day.”