Sarina Wiegman conceded England were "a little too sloppy" during their narrow 2-1 win over South Africa.

The Lionesses got back to winning ways following their 4-3 defeat by Germany last time out, with first-half goals from Leah Williamson and Grace Clinton putting them in control at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

However, South Africa halved the deficit 10 minutes into the second half, as Thembi Kgatlana pounced on Williamson's error before racing away and slotting past Mary Earps.

England subsequently endured a nervy finish to see out the victory, and Wiegman knows her players must improve. 

"I thought after the first half, it would be more straightforward," she told ITV. "We played well in the first half, we had some stronger moments. We were a little too sloppy, but we created some chances from corners. We scored a very good goal.

"Second half, we got there, but we were a little sloppy. They were smart on the counter-attack, and it was hard for us.

"We need to keep trying, keep playing football, keep playing forwards. At the moment in transition, they really jumped on us. [We must] talk about it and move forward."

Clinton grabbed her second goal in just four caps when she nodded in Maya Le Tissier's cross, and the Manchester United midfielder hopes she did her chances of featuring more frequently no harm.

"It was a tough game, South Africa are a great team," she added. "We expected them to be tough, and we dealt with their individual qualities.

"It is a good night for me. I'm nice and confident, and I'm happy to be there. Everyone wants to play for England, for their country. I want to stay confident and keep getting goals."

Leah Williamson admitted she is happy to be back with the national team having endured a "different" start to the season with Arsenal.

The Gunners have made a poor start to 2024-25, and are currently without a full-time manager after Jonas Eidevall left his position last week.

He left Arsenal when they were sixth in the Women's Super League table, having won just one of their first four matches in the competition.

In his final week, they were beaten 5-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League before suffering a 2-1 loss to reigning champions Chelsea in the league.

Interim boss Renee Slegers has since won both of her games in charge to somewhat steady the ship, and it is rumoured that New York City FC's head coach Nick Cushing is currently the favourite to take the full-time job.

For now, Williamson is enjoying the change of environment.

"It's been a different start to the season. We've obviously been at our clubs for a long time," Williamson said.

"Normally we'd have an international window before this. So, it's been different in that sense of being there for so long and being in one place. We're not used to that.

"I think results tell a story, but I think the work that I've seen going on, especially from my club, I can only speak for that, I think you can see again that the level of the whole world of football has gone up, and everyone’s enjoying that challenge, and things change every year.

"But this is a Euros year now and everyone will have a plan for the weekend and a plan for the next year. You'll see that sort of iron out over the next couple of months.

"Our job is to win games and that hasn't happened so smoothly. Like I said, results tell a story.

"Performance is another thing that you can actually change and affect on a day-to-day basis. And to be honest, I'm happy to be here in a different environment.

"I think sometimes that comes at the right time and, since I've been here, I've had no contact with the club."

England face Germany in the first of two international friendlies, a replay of the Euro 2022 final, at Wembley on Friday, before facing South Africa on Tuesday. 

Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall has confirmed Leah Williamson will miss Thursday's Women's Champions League second-round tie against Hacken due to concussion protocol.

Williamson did not feature in the Gunners' 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday, and is one of three absentees unavailable for the must-win game with Hacken at Meadow Park. 

Eidevall also revealed that both Steph Catley and Lina Hurtig will also miss the game against the Swedish side. 

The visitors hold a 1-0 advantage going into the second leg, with Tabitha Tindell's goal enough for the victory at the Bravida Arena last week. 

"I don't have a timeframe on Leah's injury at the moment. It's guided by our medical team," Eidevall said. 

"When I have something more concrete to communicate, I will do that. She sustained the concussion during an incident in training.

"If we don't qualify, I would definitely consider that a failure. We need to get into the groups."

Sarina Wiegman and Leah Williamson were both left with an overriding sense of relief after England secured their Euro 2025 place on Tuesday.

The Lionesses managed a goalless draw with Sweden at Gamla Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, with that result sending them to next year's Women's European Championship.

Wiegman and Co. knew the equation was simple heading into the clash, needing to avoid defeat to have the chance to defend their title in Switzerland.

Olympic silver medallists Sweden, the sixth-best side in the world according to FIFA's rankings, provided a late onslaught but will ultimately face a lengthy play-off process between October and December.

"I'm happy, I'm very relieved because it was a tough game," Lionesses head coach Wiegman told ITV Sport after the 0-0 draw.

"The first half I think we dominated. When you are so dominant we have to create more chances and score goals. In the second half, we couldn't keep up that level.

"We did fight for it. I think we can do a little bit better, but keeping the 0-0, qualifying in this group, I am relieved.

"I am very happy. I take many positives. This game and against France showed in moments we played so good, we just want to keep up."

Sweden mustered 1.11 expected goals (xG) to England's 0.48, but it was the latter who secured their place in the tournament after a resilient showing.

England, Italy and the Netherlands joined Germany, Spain, France, Denmark and Iceland as automatic qualifiers from League A of this qualifying system, much to the relief of captain Williamson.

"We don't make it easy for ourselves when we don't score," Williamson told ITV Sport. "We've seen out a game, same in France. These are tough places to come.

"They had a change of tactics, they have different threats. We stood firm and we stayed true. We couldn't play the football we wanted to play the second half which put us under a lot of pressure."

Williamson still believes there is more to come from her national side, referencing their Euro 2022 success on home soil.

"We took care of business, we qualified and we can get the most out of ourselves before the tournament," the Arsenal defender added. 

"We did that the last time and we all know how that went."

England responding to their Euro 2024 heartbreak with success in the future will taste "even sweeter", according to Lionesses captain Leah Williamson.

The England Women's star launched a staunch defence of Gareth Southgate's men's side after their 2-1 defeat in the European Championship final to Spain.

Southgate's Three Lions are the first side in history to lose two consecutive Euros finals, while the England manager is the first to suffer defeat in two separate showpieces of the tournament.

Having lost the Women's World Cup final to Spain last year, Williamson can somewhat relate, but reminded England supporters of the good times under Southgate, whose future remains uncertain.

"Devastated, especially knowing some of them personally as well," Williamson told reporters ahead of Tuesday's clash with Sweden in qualifying for the Women's European Championship in 2025.

"What Gareth and his team have done over the last three, four years, reaching finals and bringing that dream closer to reality, we are very lucky as fans of England, men's and women's, to be in the position that we're in.

"They didn't quite get over the line to a fantastic Spanish team, I know they'll be devastated about it, it will take a while for them to get over it.

"But us as a country, we've been blessed with incredible tournaments. And when those wins come, which I do believe they will, then they'll be even sweeter."

England Women's boss Sarina Wiegman led her side to Euro 2022 glory against Germany before the agony against Spain the following year.

Therefore, Wiegman knows all too well about suffering from setbacks.

"Takes about three weeks, it took me three weeks to get over it," an honest Wiegman said on how Southgate and Co. will recover.

"It's very hard ... when you have given your everything, then you hope you win and when you don't, you are really disappointed.

"But then you start thinking: Okay, did we get everything out of ourselves? Did we do everything that we could that was in our control?

"And then you have to accept it. It's easier to accept a win than to accept a loss but yeah, for me that takes it took a while."

Arsenal have confirmed that Victoria Pelova has sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury while on international duty with the Netherlands. 

The 25-year-old, who scored two goals and provided seven assists during the 2023–24 Women's Super League campaign for the Gunners, is expected to undergo surgery in the coming days, but it is not the first time an Arsenal player has suffered an injury of this nature. 

England pair Beth Mead and Leah Williamson were forced to miss the 2023 Women's World Cup, with Pelova's compatriot Vivianne Miedema also missing out on the tournament in Australia because of the same issue. 

In a statement, Arsenal said: "Victoria was substituted after her knee extended in the 12th minute of the Netherlands' UEFA Women's Championship qualifier in Tampere, Finland, and subsequently underwent testing to determine the extent of the injury.

"She will undergo surgery in due course and will be sidelined for an extended period."

Pelova was one of the Gunners' most influential players during their third-place finish in the WSL, creating 30 chances from her 22 appearances, the third-highest in the squad behind Mead and Katie McCabe, as Arsenal finished third, while also winning the Women's League Cup. 

ACL injuries have become a major problem for the women’s game and in April a new three-year project researching them was launched.

Sarina Wiegman rued England's sloppyness from set-pieces, as the Lionesses' Euro 2025 qualifying hopes were dented by a 2-1 defeat to France.

England suffered their first home defeat in a qualifying match since October 2002 with Les Bleues - ironically the last nation to inflict such a loss - coming from behind to prevail at St James' Park.

The reigning European champions had the opportunity to leapfrog France to the Group A3 summit and, despite losing goalkeeper Mary Earps to injury early on, the hosts appeared on course to do just that when Beth Mead opened the scoring after half an hour.

However, they were undone by set-pieces in both halves, as goals from Elisa De Almeida and Marie-Antoinette Katoto completed the turnaround in the visitors' favour.

The Lionesses, who travel to Stade Geoffroy-Guichard for the return meeting on Tuesday, slip to third place in Group A3. And though Wiegman hailed the overall performance, she acknowledged her side must improve.

"It was frustrating," she told ITV Sport. "I think we played pretty well, we conceded two goals from set plays, which we have to do a lot better on.

"In these matches, you don't get too many chances. In the first half, we created multiple, but only scored one - and they unfortunately scored one too.

"We were more on the ball in the second half without creating too many more chances, but we were dangerous. The final pass needed to be better.

"We know France are really good at set-pieces. Of course, we were prepared, but they still got that time."

Skipper Leah Williamson added: "[We're] really disappointed, the game was there to be won. It was a fantastic occasion. The fans have never let us down, so it's a shame not to give them a win as well.

"We played well, not good enough to win the game, but the chances were there to win it. Two set-pieces have killed us. There's an element of luck to those things, but first contact and second contact need to be better. We will be better on Tuesday."

Leah Williamson has put pen to paper on a new deal at Arsenal, extending her 19-year stay with the Gunners.

The England defender, who was eight years old when she had her first trial at the club, has agreed fresh terms with the Women's Super League side.

Williamson returned to action in February following a lengthy lay-off with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which forced her to miss the Lionesses' run to the 2023 Women's World Cup final.

The 27-year-old, who skippered England to Euro 2022 glory, has made 232 appearances for Arsenal, winning the Women's Super League as well as the FA Cup and League Cup on two occasions.

"Everyone knows what Arsenal means to me, but I think every time I sign a new contract, I feel that love ignite all over again," she told the club's official website.

"I'm very happy to be staying. This is a place where I can still continue to grow, develop and be challenged. As a group, we're all very focused on bringing more silverware to this club and I can't wait to get started again when the new season comes around."

"Leah is an essential part of our team, so we're delighted she has signed a new contract with us," Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall added. "She brings us so much on and off the pitch - leadership, accountability and commitment.

"Leah has a special bond with Arsenal, and I'm looking forward to continuing to work together to bring more success to this great club."

Clare Wheatley, the club's director of women's football, said: "Leah's connection with Arsenal runs so deep. I can remember her as a girl in our academy many years ago, and I'm so proud of the determined, passionate woman she has become.

"We're thrilled that Leah has signed a new deal here, and I know our supporters will join me in congratulating her today."

Defending champions England kicked off their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign with a 1-1 draw against Sweden in front of 63,248 at Wembley.

Alessia Russo nodded home Lauren James’ delivery to open the scoring inside 24 minutes, and the Lionesses managed to preserve their lead at the break despite Sweden threatening.

An equaliser felt imminent after the interval, and finally came when Fridolina Rolfo headed past Mary Earps, while the Lionesses were lucky not to fall behind when Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius squandered a good chance for Sweden.

Euro 2022 captain Leah Williamson watched on from the bench as Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp led a late rally, but could not find the finishing touch as the sides settled for a point.

Williamson missed out on the Lionesses’ historic World Cup campaign last summer after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament, and was also forced to pull out of February’s friendlies with a hamstring issue after being named in her first England side in 11 months.

The 27-year-old made her Gunners comeback in January but the journey has not been smooth with her most recent setback coming during Sunday’s League Cup final, which she started with a taped-up knee before being replaced in the second half.

Grace Clinton tried to volley England into an early lead, and there was worry for Sarina Wiegman when Russo went down after clattering into former Chelsea skipper Magdalena Eriksson, receiving lengthy treatment to her lower leg before she was deemed fit to continue.

Barcelona’s Rolfo came close with Sweden’s first good chance, sending Earps sprawling with a low effort that edged just wide of the far post minutes before Russo broke the deadlock.

It began with a fine effort by James to control the ball at the edge of the area and deliver a pinpoint clipped cross to the awaiting Russo, who stooped to head home in the 24th minute.

Sweden looked to reply on several occasions and largely looked the more threatening side in the half’s closing stages, but England clung on to their lead as Wiegman made her first change, swapping Clinton for Ella Toone, before Lucy Bronze had a weak header simply saved by Jennifer Falk.

Sweden boss Peter Gerhardsson made a pair of his own changes, a move that proved prescient when England momentarily switched off and allowed substitute Rosa Kafaji to make an instant impact, delivering the cross for Rolfo to nod past Earps.

England were lucky not to concede a quick second when Arsenal’s Blackstenius, who netted the winner in the Gunners’ Conti Cup final, found herself one-on-one with Earps but directed her effort wide.

On came more Euro 2022 stars – that tournament’s Golden Boot winner Mead in place of James and Chloe Kelly, who memorably scored the winner in that tournament’s final, while Jess Carter replaced Chelsea team-mate Niamh Charles.

The Lionesses had less than 10 minutes to alter the outcome, and they came close when Hemp latched on to the rebound of her own effort and fired a shot that Falk, who had slide out to make the initial save, would have had no chance of stopping.

It took a well-placed Eriksson to clear off the line, the stalemate standing after a fine save from Falk to deny Mead and preserve the point.

England coach Sarina Wiegman believes Leah Williamson is ready to make her long-awaited return in Friday’s Euro 2025 qualifier against Sweden.

Williamson trained on her own on Tuesday after coming off at half-time of Arsenal’s Conti Cup final win over Chelsea on Sunday.

But she trained with the group on Wednesday and if she makes it through Thursday’s session unscathed she will be in contention to make her first international appearance in 12 months as the Lionesses begin their qualification campaign.

She has not featured for her country since suffering an ACL injury last April, having pulled out of a training squad in March with a hamstring strain.

“We need to manage it a little bit. She had a full training session on Wednesday, she will be on the pitch today (Thursday), so that looks really good,” Wiegman said.

“We know where she has come from, she is still building but she is in a good place and she is ready, if she comes through today OK.

“It’s just really good that she is back, first of all for herself because she is so excited to come back, that means she is fit, it is good to have a quality player in the squad.

“We are in a good place already and now we are in an even better place.”

Williamson, who returned to club duty in January, captained the Lionesses to glory in Euro 2022 and Wiegman said she would resume her leadership duties if she was selected at Wembley.

“We have another training session. Leah is our team captain – that will not change, but we want to get through this training session first and then see what final decision we make tomorrow,” the Dutchwoman added.

“If she plays, she would be captain, we just want to get through the training session and see how she is and how the team is. She needs that team environment from where she has come.”

Wiegman was asked for her opinion on Emma Hayes’ confrontation with Gunners counterpart Jonas Eidevall after that final at Molineux.

The Chelsea boss said after the game that male aggression was a problem in the women’s game, but Wiegman did not bite.

“It was a great final, very competitive, so the emotion builds up,” she said.

“I haven’t been there in that situation so I really don’t want to comment about that one day before the most important game in a couple of months for us.”

England midfielder Grace Clinton is excited to “hit the ground running” as the Lionesses start their European Championship qualifying campaign this week.

The defending European champions kick off against Sweden at Wembley on Friday before facing Republic of Ireland in Dublin four days later.

England then play France at St James’ Park in May and Tottenham loanee Clinton believes the side will need to be on “top form”.

“It was drawn right after the last camp, it’s a really competitive group but that’s always going to happen when you’re in such an amazing tournament,” Clinton told a press conference.

“I think we’re all really excited to get started to be honest and hit the ground running.

“(Sweden are) another team that has amazing depth and are a really strong side, they’re very physical and quite direct, score goals. So we’re going to have to be on top form if we want to get a result against a team like that.”

Clinton has two senior England caps under her belt already having made her debut in two friendlies in Spain, which included a debut goal in the Lionesses’ 7-2 victory over Austria.

After impressing in Spain, the 21-year-old will be aiming for more minutes in this month’s qualifiers and believes she has gained more confidence since making her senior bow.

She said: “It brings so much more confidence, in the lead up to getting your first cap you’re always going to be very nervous and now that you’ve been out with the girls on the pitch and really gone in the deep end it just feels a lot more natural when you’re in training.

“You have far more confidence to express yourself each time.”

Captain Leah Williamson is aiming to make her international comeback in the upcoming matches.

A post on the official Lionesses X account confirmed the defender was following an “individualised session” on Tuesday and Clinton is looking forward to seeing Williamson back on the pitch.

“It’s my first camp with Leah back in and she’s one of the best in the sport isn’t she? So it’s amazing to have her back,” she said.

“Obviously she’s getting integrated slowly and we’re only a couple of days in, so it’ll be really nice to get her back with the team on the pitch.”

Leah Williamson is part of the England squad for next month’s Euro 2025 qualifiers against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.

The Arsenal defender returned to the international fold in February for the first time in nine months having recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but subsequently had to withdraw before friendlies against Austria and Italy due to a hamstring issue.

Chelsea’s Fran Kirby is also back, having missed the games in February after pulling up in the pre-Austria warm-up with a knee problem, while club mate Millie Bright remains out injured.

Maya Le Tissier misses out, with fellow Manchester United defender Millie Turner retaining her spot after being a late call-up in February, replacing Williamson, and making her debut against Italy.

Euro 2022 winners England open their bid to qualify for next summer’s tournament in Switzerland by facing Sweden at Wembley a week on Friday before continuing their Group A3 matches against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin four days later. The pool also features France.

Boss Sarina Wiegman, who saw her side beat Austria 7-2 and Italy 5-1 in last month’s games, said in a statement from the Football Association: “There’s no time to waste.

“February’s window showed who we are and where we want to go and we’ll look to continue that momentum from the minute we arrive at St. George’s Park next week.

“We know it’s a challenging group, but it’s really exciting. These are all big games that will test us and that’s the kind of fixtures we want to play in.

“Every opponent we face is a top nation and we know we have to perform at our best to achieve our goals. We’ll be ready for Sweden at Wembley.

“Wembley has been the home of some of our biggest moments together and it holds such special memories. It’s no coincidence that we feel inspired when we play there. The fans have provided such fantastic support every time and there’s no doubt they can help us again against Sweden.”

Leah Williamson has withdrawn from her first England squad since last April due to injury, with Millie Turner called up in place of the Euro 2022-winning captain.

Arsenal described the 26-year-old’s problem as a “minor hamstring injury” ahead of Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Manchester United, less than a month after Williamson returned to action for the Gunners following a nine-month recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

World Cup runners-up England travel to Spain on Monday ahead of two friendlies against Austria and Italy, with Manchester United defender Turner replacing Williamson in Sarina Wiegman’s squad.

A Football Association statement read: “Millie Turner has been called up to the England squad for this month’s fixtures with Austria and Italy being played in southern Spain.

“The Manchester United defender replaces Leah Williamson, who has withdrawn after missing out for Arsenal at the weekend with an injury.”

England boss Sarina Wiegman is happy to have Leah Williamson back in her squad.

Williamson has been named in a 23-player group for friendlies against Austria and Italy in Spain later this month.

It marks a first return to the Lionnesses’ camp for the 26-year-old since she suffered an ACL injury last April, which ruled her out of last summer’s World Cup.

Wiegman said: “It is really nice, especially for her, she is back, she is gaining minutes at Arsenal, doing well, she is happy at Arsenal and they are of course happy too.

“It is really nice to have her back because she is a very good player, even though she has been out for months, now she has come back her decision-making is still really good.

“She is still building. The team picked up very well, players stepped up but it is still really nice to have her back.”

Williamson captained her country to Euro 2022 success, but Wiegman did not say whether she will still have the armband.

“I have to talk to the players first about that,” she said.

“We come in and we have to start again, we will revisit that and have a conversation with the players first.”

There was no room in the squad for in-form Manchester United forward Nikita Parris, who has been overlooked despite scoring 15 goals in the last 16 matches for her club.

Wiegman spoke to the 29-year-old to explain her decision but says she has tough choices to make.

“The competition up front is really high, in the autumn she didn’t play much,” Wiegman said. “Since the new year she has played in the nine position and has done really well, of course we have noticed that too.

“We have had a little chat and I hope she shows consistency because we are talking about her again but I made some other choices now for this camp.

“With the players we have, they have done well so it was a hard decision.

“I had conversations with her in the autumn, that was a different situation. I had a short conversation with her yesterday and I explained a little bit and that is now just the way it is.

“We have many players up front, it is so competitive that I have to make choices and some players who are doing really well will be kept out. She is available and she knows we are watching her closely.”

The Lionesses take on Austria on February 23 and Italy four days later.

Leah Williamson is back in the England squad for the first time since recovering from injury.

The 26-year-old, who has won 46 caps and captained the Lionesses to Euro 2022 glory, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury last April and missed the World Cup, but returned to action with Arsenal recently and gets the call-up from Sarina Wiegman.

Millie Bright and Bethany England are out injured while there is no room for Nikita Parris despite a good run of form for Manchester United.