Sarina Wiegman was the "missing puzzle piece" England required to get over the line and win a major tournament, former striker Lianne Sanderson has told Stats Perform.
England Women landed their first major title on Sunday with a 2-1 victory against Germany at Wembley in the European Championship final.
In doing so, Wiegman became the first manager to win the tournament with two different nations, having previously gone all the way with the Netherlands in 2017.
Wiegman, who officially took over as head coach last September, has a record of 12 wins from 12 matches at the Women's Euros.
Sanderson herself went close to winning the competition in 2009, a substitute as England tasted defeat to Germany in the final.
The former Arsenal and Chelsea player, who earned 50 caps for her country, believes Wiegman deserves huge credit for helping the Lionesses end their wait for major silverware.
"I genuinely believe she's the missing puzzle piece," Sanderson said. "She's done it in back-to-back tournaments, both times on home soil.
"You have to have the right players, but also the blend of a good manager, and I think she's shown that.
"A lot of the players said that she didn't really draw upon her experience with the Netherlands, that she wanted to leave it in the past. But the players have been fantastic."
Wiegman settled on a winning formula across England's six tournament matches as they became the first team to name the same starting XI in every match.
The Dutchwoman regularly got the big calls correct, not least in the final as both goalscorers – Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly – were introduced from the substitutes' bench.
Indeed, seven of England's 22 goals came via substitutes when excluding own goals – only Germany (eight in 2009) have scored more in a single edition of the Women's Euros.
And in the view of Sanderson, that decision-making is why Wiegman deserves such high praise.
"Everybody knew their roles and responsibilities," Sanderson said. "That was pretty evident. At times, I thought we should mix up the team, like against Northern Ireland.
"There were times where I thought she'd play Alex Greenwood instead of Rachel Daly [at left-back]. But she's the only manager that's kept the same side and that proved the correct call.
"Last year in the men's [Euro 2020], everybody tried to pick the team. I thought Jack Grealish should be playing, then he didn't play in the final.
"We always say we're all the England manager when it comes to tournaments. But ultimately, that's why they get paid the big money. That's why they're in the positions they're in.
"I genuinely wish she was there when I was there because I think she's been a major, major catalyst in this. And she's not even been there a year."
England's triumph has been hailed as a landmark moment for women's football in England, with the tournament attracting record attendances.
More than 87,000 spectators were present at Wembley on Sunday, and Sanderson believes the perception of women's football has already completely changed.
"I've been so thrilled and blessed to be at all the games for England. I think that yesterday shows you where the women's game is at, where it's going to be," she said.
"It is massive for the women's game. But it's massive for football in this country. It's our first major trophy win [for the men or women] since 1966.
"A lot of people were sceptical. They've got nothing to say now because those people that have those dinosaur mentalities will get left behind, and I just think it's absolutely incredible."
'It's a poor season, not a poor football club' – Blades boss Wilder
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has defended Sheffield United, acknowledging it has been a bad season, but dismissing that the Blades do not have a positive future.
A midweek defeat to Manchester United means the Blades can be relegated back to the Championship should they lose to Newcastle United on Saturday.
The Blades are 10 points from safety with four games left, but even a point would not realistically be enough given they have a goal difference of -59, 41 worse than Nottingham Forest’s -18.
To make matters worse, the Blades will start their next season in the Championship with a two-point deduction for financial discrepancies.
"We're not saying everything is great," said Wilder.
"What we are saying is there is a load of optimism about the future of the football club.
"It's a poor season, not a poor football club. We've been in far worse positions than this as a football club, certainly over my time as a supporter, player and manager.
"So, we'll come again if the inevitable happens on the weekend. We'll try our best, as we did, like we did on Wednesday night at Old Trafford, to get a result for our club and our supporters – who yet again were magnificent."
Newcastle, meanwhile, are in the hunt for European football, and Eddie Howe wants a response following the 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in midweek.
Howe said: "We must learn and absorb all the lessons from Wednesday. Every game is so difficult, it is up to us to go into the game with the right mentality and let our players express themselves in the right way. We have to finish the season strongly, we are under no illusions on how important these fixtures are."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Newcastle United – Alexander Isak
Isak has scored in each of his last six Premier League home games, with only Andrew Cole (eight in 1993-94) and Alan Shearer (15 in 1996-97) netting in more consecutively for Newcastle in the competition.
Sheffield United – Ben Brereton Diaz
Brereton Diaz scored in Sheff Utd’s 4-2 defeat at Old Trafford – his fifth Premier League goal of the season since he joined on loan from Villarreal in January. With Oli McBurnie set to miss the rest of the season, Diaz will be the Blades’ biggest attacking threat.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE UNITED WIN
Newcastle are overwhelming favourites, and it is no surprise given Howe have lost just one of their last 25 Premier League games kicking off at 3pm on Saturday (W16 D8), going down 1-0 at Luton Town earlier this season.
The Magpies have scored in all 17 of their Premier League home games this season, with their 43 goals in total their most at St James’ Park in a top-flight campaign since 1996-97 (54).
Newcastle have lost none of their eight Premier League home games against promoted sides under Howe (W3 D5), with their last such defeat coming against Leeds United under Steve Bruce in January 2021. They also beat Sheffield United 8-0 in the reverse fixture at Bramall Lane – the most goals they have ever scored against an opponent in a single Premier League campaign is 10, doing so against the Blades’ rivals Sheffield Wednesday in 1999-00.
The Blades have lost three of their four Premier League away games against Newcastle, failing to score in each defeat. The exception was a 1-0 victory under Neil Warnock in November 2006.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Newcastle United – 71.6%
Sheffield United – 9.7%
Draw – 18.7%
Howe does not want 'constant speculation' over Guimaraes' future
Eddie Howe acknowledged he cannot control speculation over Bruno Guimaraes' future, though the Newcastle United boss wants it to end swiftly.
Reports emerged this week that Manchester City, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are all interested in the Brazil international, who has been crucial to Newcastle's rise under Howe, having been signed from Lyon in January 2022.
According to the rumours, Newcastle value their star player at a minimum of £80million.
And ahead of Newcastle's meeting with Premier League strugglers Sheffield United, Howe conceded the club cannot control the speculation.
"Having that was well planned and structured by the club, in a sense that there’s a sort of finish point," he said.
"We don't want constant speculation, it's not healthy for the player or for us.
"It goes without saying we want to keep him, I want to build our team around him. His form has been very good and he seems very happy and settled.
"He'll be thinking about a very busy summer ahead, where hopefully we can take the team, with him a big part of it. But we aren't in control of that so let's see."
Chelsea midfielder Fernandez undergoes groin surgery
Chelsea will be without Enzo Fernandez for their final six games of the season due to a groin issue.
Fernandez was forced off with an injury during Chelsea's 5-0 defeat at Arsenal on Tuesday.
And it has now been confirmed the 23-year-old World Cup winner has undergone surgery, and will subsequently miss the final month of Chelsea's campaign.
Fernandez has made 28 Premier League appearances this season, scoring three goals. Chelsea did not put a timeframe on his return, though Argentina will be hoping the former Benfica star is fit to feature in the Copa America, which begins in late June.
The Blues sit ninth in the table, though they do have games in hand on all of their rivals for European qualification.
Mauricio Pochettino's team take on Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa on Saturday, with fixtures against Tottenham, West Ham Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Bournemouth to follow.
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